In its earliest days of revolt from Catholism, Unitarians emphasized the humanity of Jesus and the essential openess of God. No trinity. This heresy brought on the wrath of other protestants, such as Calvin, who brought about the martydom of Michael Servetus.
Over the years, Unitarian and Universal thinking has moved increasingly to emphasis on a spirit of search for truth, an avoidence of dogma, the inherent value of each individual and the right --indeed the necessity--for each individual to find ultimate religious reality within. This has fostered a wide tolerance for and interest in studying faiths of peoples through the world.
Each Unitarian Universalist church is autonomous, and there can found a wide range of practices and commitments. Throughout history, however, this "Free Religious Faith" puts faith in the individual's ability to pursue the good life without having to subscribe to an arbitrary formula.
Historically, we came out of the Protestant Reformation. In the 17th Century, the ideas that came to be called Unitarian and Universalist spread to New England, eventually forming the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America. The two bodies merged in 1961 to form the Unitarian Universalist Association, a voluntary association of independent congregations now 1200 strong.
Unitarians in Hawai'i first came together in a lay led fellowship in 1952. The fellowship grew into a congregation that became a church with a minister in 1957. Some of the founders continue their active participation in the First Unitarian Church of Honolulu today. In 1962, the Church purchased and modified a spacious residence in Nu'uanu Valley, an ideal location for an island-wide congregation. It houses our Sunday morning services, adult and children's religious education, offices and meeting rooms. Space is also made available to other religious groups and community organizations for meetings and special events.