The Unitarian Universalist Association was formed in 1961 by a merger between the main body of American Unitarians and the Universalist Association of America. The Unitarians emerged from the Congregational denomination about 1800. In recent decades turnover has been very high, as people use it as a vehicle to leave or enter other Christian denominations. In 2002 the denomination reported 1010 churches with 215,000 full members and 1267 pastors.