This site is sponsored by The Hibbert Trust which was founded in 1847 under the Will of Robert Hibbert, a Unitarian. It seeks to promote liberal religion and upholds "the unfettered exercise of private judgement in matters of religion"

Unitarianism is a religious movement that imposes no creed on its members. Each person is helped and encouraged to discover his or her own path to truth and meaning in life, and to practise tolerance towards the views of others.

The name "Unitarian" comes from the period (some 400 years ago) when the movement arose out of the radical wing of the Protestant Reformation, emphasising that Jesus was a man whose teaching was to be followed rather than a God to be worshipped (the "Unity" as opposed to the "Trinity" of God). This break with orthodoxy liberated Unitarian thinking which has, over time, come to value the insights of other religious and philosophical traditions and, in accord with modern environmental and scientific thought, places an emphasis on the underlying Unity of the Universe and the interdependence of all Life.

In Britain, Unitarianism has grown from Protestant Christian roots into a faith which confidently asserts that "revelation is not sealed". We therefore welcome inspiration from diverse sources including the arts, science and our everyday human experience. British Unitarians include people who feel themselves strongly part of the Christian tradition but cannot accept some of the "fine print" of the doctrine of traditional churches, "religious humanists" (and atheists) who value liberal religion as a human-centred activity, folk who draw their spiritual inspiration primarily from nature, people from a Jewish background, and others who have found insight in Eastern religions. We hope that newcomers to our churches find the diversity liberating as well as intriguing.

Unlike the Quakers in Britain, another religious group without a creed, Unitarians have ministers. In contrast to most mainstream churches, however, we do not regard them as having special powers or authority to perform certain functions which cannot be exercised by lay-people, but as specially trained people with a particular vocation to nurture spiritual growth among members and to provide a liberal religious witness to the local community. The Unitarian movement was the first religious group in England to welcome a woman into the professional ministry (in 1904).

Unitarian worship bears similarities to that found in other Nonconformist denominations, but with greater scope for diversity of practice and belief. The organisation of Unitarian congregations is described on the home page of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches.