The UUA holds no position on the second coming of Christ, and the vast majority of UU members do not affirm a literal, personal return of Jesus Christ as a future historical event. The UUA's Unitarian heritage applied Enlightenment rationalism to biblical eschatology: apocalyptic language was interpreted as the first-century Jewish mode of expressing hope for justice, not as predictions of literal future events.

Among the minority of UU members with a broadly Christian orientation, some may hold views about a symbolic or spiritual 'return' of Christ's values and spirit in history, understood as the ongoing work of justice and love in the world. Very few contemporary UU Christians hold a literal, bodily return of Jesus as a significant theological conviction.

The UUA's orientation is toward this-worldly transformation — working to realize the 'kingdom of God' (or analogous values) in the present — rather than waiting for a supernatural intervention from outside history. Social justice activism, interfaith coalition building, and democratic participation are the UUA's eschatological practices.