2023 UUA Certification Report
Executive Summary
I'm excited to finally share the new 2023 Certification Report! My team has been working hard this past summer to create a modernized approach to analyzing and sharing the results of certification.
This new report lays the groundwork for more dynamic and interesting reporting in the years ahead. Our main goal with this first iteration is to build the foundation and start sharing the data.
From the start of this project accessibility has always been part of the development and planning. There is still much work to do here and some of this involves working with other companies to address accessibility problems with their products.
There are many ways to present this data and I am excited about some of the things we will be able to do in the years to come to better understand the trends in our UU faith community.
Larry Stritof
UUA ITS Director
Changes to the 2023 Certification Process
In Section 5, the language used to ask for the number of BIPOC administrative and facilities staff was modified to reduce data entries errors. A question related to "change in BIPOC leadership over the past year" was removed.
In Section 6, many popular write-in answers from 2022 were included as selectable options. Two questions (what new platforms and services congregations used during its first year of the pandemic, and description of its 2021 multiplatform worship services) were removed.
Section 1: Counting UU Congregations
The definition of a congregation is evolving just like our UU communities. In 2015 the Covenanting Communities program was born out of recognition that there are many UU communities that want to be in closer relationship with the UUA but don't meet the criteria to become a member congregation.
Sections 3-6 of this report only include submissions from Member Congregations, but work is being done to include the Emerging, Covenanting, and International UU communities who are in active relationship with the UUA.
Learn more about becoming a member congregation or covenanting community (opens in a new tab).
We acknowledge that multisite communities (opens in a new tab) are not yet represented in this report and we're exploring how to best include them. These communities often involve two or more congregations or covenanted communities sharing staff, programming, and mission to have greater impact and reach than any of them could have on their own.
UU Communities Served
As of September 2023, the UUA serves 1,085 UU congregations and communities. This is made up of 1,005 Member, 28 Emerging, 31 Covenanting, and 21 International congregations and communities.
Note that these classifications may overlap and the sum of these does not reflect the total communities served. For example, many Canadian congregations still hold UUA membership and are counted as members and international congregations.
Member Congregations
These congregations completed the application process (opens in a new tab) and were admitted by the UUA board. As a member, these congregations are able to send delegates to General Assembly to vote on business and in UUA elections.
Emerging Congregations:
actively working toward becoming member congregations in our larger association.Covenanting Communities:
an alternative kind of Unitarian Universalist (UU) group. They claim a UU identity and advance UU values, but they look and feel different from a traditional congregation.International Member Congregations
Certified Member Congregations / Non-Certified Member Congregations
Complete list of Certified Congregations can be found at: 2023 Certified Congregations (opens in a new tab) .
Complete list of Non-Certified Congregations can be found at: 2023 Non-Certified Congregations (opens in a new tab) .
Section 2: Staff Count
Congregational Staff counts represent the contacts we have on record related to each role in a congregation and do not represent membership counts for Religious Professional Organizations like Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association (UUMA), Liberal Religious Educators Association (LREDA), Unitarian Universalist Association of Membership Professionals (UUAMP), Association of UU Administrators (AUUA), and Association for Unitarian Universalist Music Ministries (AUUMM).
We recognize that the data below excludes a number of religious professionals and volunteer/paid positions in congregations. Let us know what roles/positions you'd like to see included in future reports.
Staff Count
Serving Ministers Count
Section 3: Congregational Fiscal Health
Understanding how the UU Community is doing financially is an important indicator of the health and vitality of our congregations.
Key take aways from the charts in this section:
- The number of Individual and family pledges are down 26%.
- However, average pledges are up 34% from $1,362 in 2013 to $2,051 in 2023 and total of pledges is up 11%.
- UU Congregational endowments and reserves continue to grow and total just over 1 billion, up 26% from 2016.
- Long term debt continues to shrink from 113 million in 2016 to 79 million in 2023.
- Operating expenses have increased 2% in the last year.
- Operating expenses during the past decade are on a neutral trend, and if inflation is taken into account, down.
Questions to Explore:
- Why are pledging units down?
- With operating expenses flat yet inflation and other costs increasing, how are these expenses not keeping pace? Does this relate to salaries and benefits and are we paying a living wage?
The data in this section comes from 976 member congregation's certification submissions in 2023. Prior year certification data was rolled up for the 49 Non-Certified member congregations.
Total Individual and Family Pledging Units
Total pledging units have decreased by 1/3 in the past decade; however, the average pledge amount is up 34% leading to an increase in overall pledge income as illustrated in the next chart comparing total pledge income and total operating expenses.
Congregation Property Ownership (own/rent)
By itself this data point isn't indicative of anything but may play a role in understanding if building ownership has any impact on the health and vitality of congregations.
Rental/Building Use Income
Income generated from building rentals and use fees by outside parties. This question was added in 2020 and it's still too early to identify any trends or correlations here.
Endowment and Reserves
Funds held in long-term investment accounts including restricted, unrestricted, and board-restricted funds are counted as part of endowments These funds may be in accounts directly held by the congregation or in separate entities such as foundations or trusts established primarily for the benefit of the congregation.
Funds held for emergencies, future building projects, and/or capital improvements but not for regular operations are counted as reserves.
UU Congregational endowments and reserves continue to grow and total just over $1 billion, up 26% from 2016.
Long-Term Debt
Long-term debt including mortgages, bank debt with multi-year payment schedules, and bonds or loans from congregants and friends. This does not include credit card debt or other loans due in one year or less.
Long term debt continues to shrink from 113 million in 2016 to 79 million in 2023.
Pledging Income and Total Operating Expenses
Total Operating Expenses include all costs of running a congregation for one year. This includes salaries and wages, rent, mortgage payments, insurance, legal fees, utilities, supplies, denominational contributions, and capital expenses.
Operating costs continue to fluctuate and have a flat trend over the past decade. 2023 saw a 8% increase over 2022. Additionally, until 2017, Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock was included in these statistics.
Even with less pledging units, total pledges are up 11% since 2013.
Total Operating Expenses by Region
Total Operating Expenses Include all costs of running the congregation for one year, such as salaries and wages, rent, mortgage payments, insurance, legal fees, utilities, supplies, denominational contributions, and capital expenses.
Over the last decade, operating expenses nationally have increased 2% but varied between 6% and 11% within the regions. The Southern Region saw the largest increase of 11% followed by Central East with 9%, New England with 7%, and the MidAmerica and Pacific Western regions with 6%.
Average Total Operating Expenses
A look a the average total operating expenses. Note that these numbers are heavily influenced by congregations with large capital expenses.
Total Operating Expenses per Member
A different look at operating expenses per member. This chart nearly mirrors the average total operating expenses chart above, however we're seeing the numbers for the New England and Pacific Western Region align. Ditto for the Southern and MidAmerica Region.
Section 4: Membership, Religious Education, and Participation
As congregations continue to adjust to life after the pandemic, many continue to see declines in membership, engagement with non-member friends, and religious education enrollment.
Key take aways from the charts in this section:
- Membership has been declining about 5% year for the past two years, which is up from the 1% we were seeing prior to the pandemic.
- Religious Education Enrollment has declined 62% over the last decade.
- Online participation declined as people feel safer returning onsite for services and programming.
Questions to Explore:
- What's behind membership declines? What tools do congregations need to help with exit surveys, to learn more?
- Why has Religious Education Enrollment been on the decline for the past decade? What can be provided to congregations to rekindle interest in RE?
- Is it important to continue to provide online experiences? And how can congregations make multiplatform events sustainable?
The data in this section comes from 976 member congregation's certification submissions in 2023. Prior year certification data was rolled up for the 49 Non-Certified member congregations.
Members, Non-Member Friends, & Religious Education Enrollment
Membership has been declining about 5% year for the past two years, which is up from the 1% we were seeing prior to the pandemic.
Non-member friends increased 6% over last year, but is still down 7% from 2020's pre pandemic numbers.
Religious Education Enrollment has been on the decline for the last decade with enrollment failing faster in the years after the pandemic.
Membership by Region
All 5 regions are seeing a decline in membership. Over the last year the national decline is 4% with the Southern Region seeing the largest decline of 5% followed by MidAmerica 4%, New England 4%, Pacific Western 6%, and Central East 3%.
The Southern Region was previously the only region with small increases to membership each year from 2013 to 2019.
Membership Over the Last Decade
Over the past decade national membership is down 16% from the 2013 high of 155,868.
Patterns of Growth?
Membership decline isn't universal. 272 congregations saw increases to membership.
257 Congregations saw increases to RE Enrollment.
287 Congregations saw increases to Non-Member Friends.
Participation & Religious Education Enrollment
Starting in 2021 we started tracking Attendance differently to account for Onsite and Online participation.
Congregations select a range instead of providing a specific number related to attendance. This range is used to determine the minimum and maximum participation range illustrated in the graph.
Online Participation changes between 2022 and 2023
As members feel more comfortable, they are returning onsite for participation. We do not yet have a baseline to know what percentage of members will continue to participate onsite or online.
Youth Bridging
Bridging ceremonies celebrate the transition of our youth from their high school experience into young adulthood.
The collection of bridging data begain in 2022 to help plan for the Synergy Worship Service during General Assembly. It's too early to determine if there are any trends or correlations to consider as we continue collecting this data.
Congregations wanting to learn more about bridging should consider Resources for Bridging from Youth to Young Adulthood (opens in a new tab).
253 congregations made at least one selection, 338 reported none or 0, and 158 skipped the question.
Section 5: Diversity & Demographics
To understand and analyze the impact of racial disparities in Unitarian Universalist faith communities, we need to understand the racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity of our congregational members, staff, and leadership teams. This work is a small part of a long-term commitment to better understanding congregations' ability to nurture antiracist and antioppressive ministry along with understanding the quality of livelihood of our religious professionals.
While the certification period is a great time to collect some of this information, we recognize that it often falls upon individual administrators to complete the certification process, many of whom may not fully know the makeup or extent of diversity within staff and leadership teams.
This year's diversity questionnaire results: 817 congregations completed the questionnaire with 92 opting out. These congregations represent 190,762 members and non-member friends, 3,951 paid full-time and part-time staff—including ministers—made up of 713 administrative/facilities staff and 857 religious professional staff, and 5,779 board/standing committee positions.
Of the 190,762 congregational members and non-member friends, 1,908-7,630 (1-4%) are estimated to be BIPOC and 19,076-45,783 (10-24%) are estimated to be LGBTQ+. The questionnaire did not consider any overlap between these two identity groups.
Of the reported 3,951 paid full-time and part-time staff, 647 (16.38%) identify as BIPOC. This includes 258 (6.53%) religious professionals and 389 (9.85%) administrative/facilities staff.
Of the reported 5,779 board/standing committee positions, 365 (6.32%) identify as BIPOC.
The table below includes the national totals along with the totals for each UUA Region.
Section 6: Congregational Questionnaire
This section of certification is comprised of 14 questions designed to help inform UUA and regional staff on a range of topics.
The results below are from a sampling of congregations who opted to complete some or all of the questionnaire. These numbers by themselves don't necessarily reflect full engagement with a program or resource. Additional work needs to be done to compare these numbers with engagement statistics from other sources.
Each question includes a note on how many congregations responded to the question.
Support to the Congregations from the UUA (including regional staff)
1) In the past year, how helpful has the UUA (including your regional staff) been to your congregation in advancing its mission and addressing key challenges?
724 congregations made one selection, and 25 skipped the question.
Conflict in Congregations
2) On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate the conflict in your congregation this past year?
734 congregations made one selection, and 15 skipped the question.
(1) Aware of Conflict and is Well Within Healthy Range The Conflict is Causing the Congregation to Implode (10)
Safe Congregational Policies Adoption
3) Which of the following are currently addressed by Safe Congregation, Board, Personnel, or other policies in your congregation?
695 congregations made at least one selection, 2 reported none, and 52 skipped the question.
The Extent which mission and strategic goals drive and challenge the work and ministry of congregations
4) To what extent do your congregation's mission and strategic goals drive drive the work and ministry of your congregation? (For example, do they shape your budget decisions, programs, worship life?)
721 congregations made one selection, and 28 skipped the question.
Congregational Collaboration with Other Congregations
5) Has your congregation collaborated with another UU congregation in your area or cluster on any of the following over the past year?
604 congregations made at least one selection, 13 reported none, and 132 skipped the question.
Congregational Public Support of Social Justice Issues
6) Has your congregation publicly acted in support of any of the following social justice issues in the past year?
697 congregations made at least one selection, 2 reported none, and 50 skipped the question.
Multicultural or Anti-Racism Learning Program Engagement
7) Has your congregation engaged in any of the following multicultural or anti-racism learning programs in the past year?
538 congregations made at least one selection, 8 reported none, and 203 skipped the question.
Faith Development / Religious Education Resources Usage
8) Which of the following has your congregation used to help lead faith development or religious education this year?
624 congregations made at least one selection, 5 reported none, and 120 skipped the question.
UUA.org Resources Used by Congregations
9) What online congregational leadership and management resources or materials has your congregation used in the past year via UUA.org?
678 congregations made at least one selection, 1 reported none, and 70 skipped the question.
UUA Region Services, Resources, and Programs Usage/Participation
10) What services, resources, or programs from your UUA region has your congregation or members used or participated in during the past year?
653 congregations made at least one selection, 5 reported none, and 91 skipped the question.
Identity Based Caucus or Covenant Groups/Circles
11) Does your congregation host an identity based caucus or covenant group/circle for any of the following:
342 congregations made at least one selection, 14 reported none, and 393 skipped the question.
Youth Bridging
12) Number of youth bridging in 2022
Question 12 is shown in Section 4. Jump to Question 12.
Congregational Life
13) Which of the following aspects of congregational life have you done virtually?
696 congregations made at least one selection, 4 reported none, and 49 skipped the question.
How the UUA can help Congregations
14) In what ways can the UUA help your congregation?
643 congregations made at least one selection, 2 reported none, and 104 skipped the question.
Feedback
Send your questions or feedback regarding the Certification Report to app.support@uua.org.