Unitarian universalism is an organized religion with a very loose definition of faith. That is to say, it is a church (with all the religious trappings of set meetings, teachings, rituals) with few, if any, set creeds other than each church member is free to pursue and define his/her own beliefs (ranging from atheism to polytheism). One may wonder, then, what common ground the congregations have for teachings. What I understand is that the teachings are about supporting the respect for, dignity and freedom of the individual in society, and the idea that any and all faiths could be/are equally valid for the individual concerned, as long as those beliefs do not impinge on the freedoms of others.

Unitarian Universalism isn't a Christian OR multi-religion religion... yet it can be either of these things. It's confusing, I know.

The basic belief of UUs in a nutshell is that ALL religions are equal in their validity, importance and spiritual opportunities. There's no right way to have or show your faith; it's all a matter of what works for you and what brings you closer to spiritual well-being. Some UUs have Christian beliefs, some Muslim, some Wiccan, some Agnostic or even Atheist, etc, etc... and some have an interesting mixture of beliefs culled from any number of religions.

Congregations tend to be just as close-knit as any other church's. They do a lot of the same secular activities, sports and bake sales and what-not, depending on the interests that congregation has.

Gatherings and church discussions tend to focus more on learning about various religions than focusing on just one. One week's discussion topic might be Jesus and his teachings, the next might be about the Qur'an. A common thread in most discussions is finding the basic lessons and teachings that anyone and everyone can take away from a religious figure/ideal - whether it's your personal belief or not. All members of the church are encouraged to share their own beliefs with everyone else and to join in celebrating the universal search for spiritual growth and meaning.

...That was a pretty big nutshell. XD

I guess you could say Unitarian Universalism is religion with less "My God says your God is a charlatan and you're going to hell!" and more "Our Gods may go by different names and come from different parts of the world, but they both seem pretty awesome."