FAQ for Visitors

Some of you have never heard of Unitarian Universalism. Some of you have never visited our church. Some of you found us by accident. We have three pages, one for each type of visitor. You are welcome to look at them all, of course. Start with the one that fits you best:

I have questions about Unitarian Universalism.

I have questions about visiting your church.

I found you by accident. (Our most common accidental visitors want a map of Modesto, news of modesto, or to change the font or text size in their browser.)

We copied our five most popular* questions here:

• What do adults wear?
• Will I be pressured to join or to be saved?
• Does your congregation have diverse beliefs?
• How can an agnostic go to church?
• Did you ordain Carson Kressley, star of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy"?

What do adults wear?
You are welcome to come in whatever makes you comfortable. If you are a gentleman who feels most comfortable when he looks like the rest of the guys, then navy blue Dockers and a dress shirt (no tie) will put you right in the middle of the crowd. Most, not all, of our ladies wear a dress or dressy pants and a nice blouse. On any given Sunday at least six men and women will be in jeans and two men will be in a coat and tie.

Will I be pressured to join or to be saved?
No. In fact, people sometimes think we are being aloof because we don't approach our visitors as if we were selling used cars. We'll welcome you at the door. We'll send you our newsletter for a while, if you ask for it. We'd be happy to have you join us, but we won't try to push ourselves onto you. We'll never pressure you to be saved, either. We don't believe in salvation by grace. That is where the "Universalist" part of "Unitarian-Universalists" comes in. You can read more about our beliefs or a personal anecdote about pressure.

Does your congregation have diverse beliefs?
We have some mild differences of opinion. Most of us started out as Jewish, Catholic or Protestant. Some of us are still Christian or Jewish. Some of us are agnostics or atheists. Some of us believe in an earth-based spirituality. Some of us are Buddhists. We all believe in the search for truth and a deeper meaning in life. We asked our members to answer the question "What do you believe?" in 30 words or less. You can see the responses on our Beliefs page.
You may also enjoy The Morality of Atheism, by one of our atheists; Zen, UU and Me, by one of our Buddhists, or Sacred Ground, our earth-based spirituality group.

How can an agnostic go to church?
By private automobile, bicycle or on foot.

Seriously, this is one of the things about us that puzzles people. Why would an agnostic (atheist, humanist...) go to church? We give people a place to explore and grow spiritually. We teach their children to respect all religions. We give people a chance to work for social justice in a group. An agnostic working alone would have a hard time feeding 120 homeless people. We have a team of two dozen who do it in 8 hours, once a month. Finally, there is the social aspect. Even agnostics like potlucks.

Did you ordain Carson Kressley, star of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy"?
No. He meant the Universal Life Church. Read more.

* Popularity measured by how many visits they trigger or how many other UU web sites have used them.