Difference between revisions of "Unitarian Universalist Association"

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The '''Unitarian Universalist Association''' was formed in 1961 by a merger between the main body of American Unitarians and the Universalist Association of America.  It is a [[liberal]], nondoctrinal denomination, whose members' beliefs can be summarized as follows:
+
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 [[Congregationalism|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.
 +
 
 +
It is a liberal, nondoctrinal denomination, whose members' beliefs can be summarized as follows:
  
 
[[God]]--There is a God or there is not a God, depending on what you believe, or there may be a God, or several Gods, or anything.
 
[[God]]--There is a God or there is not a God, depending on what you believe, or there may be a God, or several Gods, or anything.
Line 14: Line 16:
  
 
[[Political]] views--The Unitarian Universalism Association’s stance is that there should be free [[abortions]]. Also they say there should be equality for [[homosexuals]], [[gender]] equality, a secular [[marriage]] and [[divorce]] and remarriage, working to end [[poverty]], promoting [[peace]] and nonviolence, and [[environmental protection]].
 
[[Political]] views--The Unitarian Universalism Association’s stance is that there should be free [[abortions]]. Also they say there should be equality for [[homosexuals]], [[gender]] equality, a secular [[marriage]] and [[divorce]] and remarriage, working to end [[poverty]], promoting [[peace]] and nonviolence, and [[environmental protection]].
 +
 +
Unitarian Universalists lack a single creed or dogma, but is organized around the following seven principles:
 +
 +
# The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
 +
# Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
 +
# Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
 +
# A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
 +
# The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
 +
# The goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all;
 +
# Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part
 +
==History==
 +
===Unitarians===
 +
Unitarians attracted well-educated Congregationalists, and many churches switched to the new denomination. By 1820 the Unitarians controlled Harvard College, while Yale remained in Congregational hands. Leading intellectuals included [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]], [[Theodore Parker]], and [[William Ellery Channing]].  Unitarians moved throughout the [[Yankee]] diaspora, and became leading citizens in the upper Midwest.  Many were active against slavery.
 +
====Channing====
 +
Channing's  reacted against Calvinism, and at first tried to bridge the gulf between Unitarians and Trinitarians. Although he resisted the idea, there was a transcendental element in Channing's religious outlook. It stemmed from the Puritan tradition and 18th-century rationalism, and produced a belief of human perfectibility expressed in rational vocabulary.
 +
====Emerson====
 +
A copy of [[David Friedrich Strauss]]'s ''Leben Jesu'' (1835), which argued that Jesus was not the sole prophet but that all human beings are the incarnation of the Word, reached Boston in 1836-37. It disturbed most Unitarians but inspired Ralph Waldo Emerson, who was struggling to see the authority of Christianity in the message and not the messenger, to deliver his 1838 "Divinity School Address," in which he followed Unitarian assumptions in transcending Christianity itself.  Although Unitarianism began as an insurgency against what it considered stale Congregationalist orthodoxy, when Emerson asserted that [[Transcendentalism]] implied that Unitarianism should reject the veracity of Christian miracles, moderate Unitarians asserted the existence of a new Unitarian orthodoxy that excluded Emerson's radical ideas.
 +
====Modernity====
 +
The Unitarian-Trinitarian controversy reflected the tensions created by modernization and urbanization in New England. Some Congregationalist ministers rejected the modernity of the Unitarians and fought back in the name of traditional rural values. The Connecticut Congregationalist minister Elizur Wright, Jr. protested against the loss of traditional values and issued a bitter cultural and theological indictment of Unitarianism. Wright castigated Unitarians for their personal corruption, bigotry, fanaticism and alcoholism. Adamant over the bitter verdict rendered in the Dedham pulpit case (1820), which favored the Unitarians, Wright attacked the Unitarians as a wealthy social elite, composed of lawyers and centered in evil Boston, who intended to destroy Christ's true church.<ref> Lawrence B. Goodheart and Richard O. Curry, "The Trinitarian Indictment of Unitarianism: The Letters of Elizur Wright, Jr., 1826-1827." ''Journal of the Early Republic'' 1983 3(3): 281-296. 0275-1275 </ref>
 +
 +
Unitarianism spread rapidly in Boston and other upscale urban areas of eastern Massachusetts during 1803-35, but it did not prosper in rural western Massachusetts, despite the efforts of missionaries funded by the newly formed American Unitarian Association. This occurred in part due to a lack of money, entrenched orthodox theologies in the region, the competition of the Universalists, and a greater ease of communication with ministers from orthodox theological schools.<ref> Conrad Wright,  "Unitarian Beginnings in Western Massachusetts." ''Proceedings Of The Unitarian Universalist Historical Society'' 1989 21(2): 27-40. </ref>
 +
====European positivism====
 +
European positivism had a major impact on Unitarian intellectuals.  Positivism in its English and French versions was eagerly received by many, and, for some, it helped undermine the Old Unitarianism and suggested forms for the New. Unitarians never adopted European positivism totally; rather, they selected those segments which fit their needs and often modified their original composition in the process. One from whom they borrowed heavily was French philosopher [[Auguste Comte]], who with F. C. Baur, James Martineau and [[Charles Darwin]] were important in the transformation from Old to New Unitarianism.<ref> Charles D. Cashdollar, "European Positivism and the American Unitarians." ''Church History'' 1976 45(4): 490-506. [http://www.jstor.org/stable/3164350  in JSTOR]</ref> 
 +
====Seminary====
 +
Harvard Divinity School was the main seminary in the east. The Meadville Theological School was established in Meadville, pennsylvania, 1844 in order to train Unitarian ministers to work in the West. The chief founder was Harm Jan Huidekoper, a local businessman and land agent, who believed that the West was ripe for conversion to religious liberalism. His son Frederic, a graduate of Harvard Divinity School, taught at the new institution during 1844-77. Rufus Phineas Stebbins, president from the school's establishment to 1856, initiated a program of studies modelled on Harvard's. Stebbins devoted much energy to developing ties with the [[Christian Connection]], a nearby church which was a major source of theology students. The entente with the Christian Connection began to deteriorate in 1848, but Stebbins continued to seek an accommodation with that body, and became a member of its Western Reserve Conference. However, the alliance was short-lived, and the Unitarians did not have great success in winning western adherents.<ref> Bruce M. Stephens, "Liberals in the Wilderness: The Meadville Theological School, 1844-1856." ''Pennsylvania History'' 1975 42(4): 291-302. 0031-4528 </ref>
 +
===Universalists===
 +
While the Unitarians of the 19th century were upscale well-educated city people, the Universalists were farmers in the backwoods of New England. 
 +
 +
A major controversy set New England Universalist ministers, led by [[Hosea Ballou]], against the and Restorationists, led by Edward Turner, Paul Dean, and Jacob Wood. It began in 1801 and reached crisis proportions during 1817-24. The Universalists believed there was no punishment after death and the Restorationists held as an article of faith that a purifying punishment followed death.<ref> Peter Hughes, "The Restorationist Controversy: Its Origins and First Phase, 1801-1824." ''Journal of Unitarian Universalist History'' 2000 27: 1-57. </ref>
 +
 +
Social status differentials kept the two groups apart until the 1950s, when they formed  a Council of Liberal Churches as a preliminary step to merger. They merged in 1961.
 +
 +
==External Links==
 +
*[http://www.uua.org/ Official Website]
 +
* [http://www.questia.com/library/religion/unitarianism.jsp full text of scholarly books at Questia]
 +
==Further reading==
 +
* Albanese, Catherine L. ''Transcendental Religion and the New America'' (1977)
 +
* Hewett, Phillip. ''Unitarians in Canada: How the Unitarians Have
 +
Exerted a Powerful Influence on Canadian Life for over 150 Years.'' (1978). 390 pp.
 +
* Robinson, David. ''The Unitarians and Universalists.'' (1985). 368 pp.
 +
* Stange, Douglas C. ''Patterns of Antislavery among American Unitarians, 1831-1860.'' (1977). 308 pp.
 +
* Williams, George H. "American Universalism, a Bicentennial Historical Essay" ''Journal of the Universalist Historical Society'' v.9#1 pp 1-94, the best history
 +
 +
 +
====references====
 +
<references/>
  
 
[[category:religion]]
 
[[category:religion]]
 +
[[category:Christian Denominations]]

Revision as of 23:49, March 28, 2009

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.

It is a liberal, nondoctrinal denomination, whose members' beliefs can be summarized as follows:

God--There is a God or there is not a God, depending on what you believe, or there may be a God, or several Gods, or anything.

Jesus--There are no incarnations of God, or that all incarnations are the embodiment of God, or Jesus is God's Son, or Jesus is not Son but prophet, much as Muslims believe.

Creation--Most say the Bible is fake or symbolic and Creation is a myth, and that evolution is real.

Heaven--Heaven and hell are symbolic and are not actual places, or are states of consciousness either in life or continuing after death, or there is reincarnation like Hindus say, or that there is no afterlife, or that it doesn't matter because only life matters.

Sin--Most do not believe in sin and say that Satan does not actually exist. People are good but immoral behavior comes from free will. Some believe in "karma," like Hindus and Buddhists do, that what goes around comes around.

Salvation--Salvation is either through faith in God and Jesus Christ for the few who are truly Christians, or by doing good works and doing no harm to others, or others say everyone will be saved, or that there will reincarnation and we have to be like Buddha to achieve enlightenment or salvation, or that there is no such thing as salvation or enlightenment and this concept is irrelevant.

Political views--The Unitarian Universalism Association’s stance is that there should be free abortions. Also they say there should be equality for homosexuals, gender equality, a secular marriage and divorce and remarriage, working to end poverty, promoting peace and nonviolence, and environmental protection.

Unitarian Universalists lack a single creed or dogma, but is organized around the following seven principles:

  1. The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
  2. Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
  3. Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
  4. A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
  5. The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
  6. The goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all;
  7. Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part

History

Unitarians

Unitarians attracted well-educated Congregationalists, and many churches switched to the new denomination. By 1820 the Unitarians controlled Harvard College, while Yale remained in Congregational hands. Leading intellectuals included Ralph Waldo Emerson, Theodore Parker, and William Ellery Channing. Unitarians moved throughout the Yankee diaspora, and became leading citizens in the upper Midwest. Many were active against slavery.

Channing

Channing's reacted against Calvinism, and at first tried to bridge the gulf between Unitarians and Trinitarians. Although he resisted the idea, there was a transcendental element in Channing's religious outlook. It stemmed from the Puritan tradition and 18th-century rationalism, and produced a belief of human perfectibility expressed in rational vocabulary.

Emerson

A copy of David Friedrich Strauss's Leben Jesu (1835), which argued that Jesus was not the sole prophet but that all human beings are the incarnation of the Word, reached Boston in 1836-37. It disturbed most Unitarians but inspired Ralph Waldo Emerson, who was struggling to see the authority of Christianity in the message and not the messenger, to deliver his 1838 "Divinity School Address," in which he followed Unitarian assumptions in transcending Christianity itself. Although Unitarianism began as an insurgency against what it considered stale Congregationalist orthodoxy, when Emerson asserted that Transcendentalism implied that Unitarianism should reject the veracity of Christian miracles, moderate Unitarians asserted the existence of a new Unitarian orthodoxy that excluded Emerson's radical ideas.

Modernity

The Unitarian-Trinitarian controversy reflected the tensions created by modernization and urbanization in New England. Some Congregationalist ministers rejected the modernity of the Unitarians and fought back in the name of traditional rural values. The Connecticut Congregationalist minister Elizur Wright, Jr. protested against the loss of traditional values and issued a bitter cultural and theological indictment of Unitarianism. Wright castigated Unitarians for their personal corruption, bigotry, fanaticism and alcoholism. Adamant over the bitter verdict rendered in the Dedham pulpit case (1820), which favored the Unitarians, Wright attacked the Unitarians as a wealthy social elite, composed of lawyers and centered in evil Boston, who intended to destroy Christ's true church.[1]

Unitarianism spread rapidly in Boston and other upscale urban areas of eastern Massachusetts during 1803-35, but it did not prosper in rural western Massachusetts, despite the efforts of missionaries funded by the newly formed American Unitarian Association. This occurred in part due to a lack of money, entrenched orthodox theologies in the region, the competition of the Universalists, and a greater ease of communication with ministers from orthodox theological schools.[2]

European positivism

European positivism had a major impact on Unitarian intellectuals. Positivism in its English and French versions was eagerly received by many, and, for some, it helped undermine the Old Unitarianism and suggested forms for the New. Unitarians never adopted European positivism totally; rather, they selected those segments which fit their needs and often modified their original composition in the process. One from whom they borrowed heavily was French philosopher Auguste Comte, who with F. C. Baur, James Martineau and Charles Darwin were important in the transformation from Old to New Unitarianism.[3]

Seminary

Harvard Divinity School was the main seminary in the east. The Meadville Theological School was established in Meadville, pennsylvania, 1844 in order to train Unitarian ministers to work in the West. The chief founder was Harm Jan Huidekoper, a local businessman and land agent, who believed that the West was ripe for conversion to religious liberalism. His son Frederic, a graduate of Harvard Divinity School, taught at the new institution during 1844-77. Rufus Phineas Stebbins, president from the school's establishment to 1856, initiated a program of studies modelled on Harvard's. Stebbins devoted much energy to developing ties with the Christian Connection, a nearby church which was a major source of theology students. The entente with the Christian Connection began to deteriorate in 1848, but Stebbins continued to seek an accommodation with that body, and became a member of its Western Reserve Conference. However, the alliance was short-lived, and the Unitarians did not have great success in winning western adherents.[4]

Universalists

While the Unitarians of the 19th century were upscale well-educated city people, the Universalists were farmers in the backwoods of New England.

A major controversy set New England Universalist ministers, led by Hosea Ballou, against the and Restorationists, led by Edward Turner, Paul Dean, and Jacob Wood. It began in 1801 and reached crisis proportions during 1817-24. The Universalists believed there was no punishment after death and the Restorationists held as an article of faith that a purifying punishment followed death.[5]

Social status differentials kept the two groups apart until the 1950s, when they formed a Council of Liberal Churches as a preliminary step to merger. They merged in 1961.

External Links

Further reading

  • Albanese, Catherine L. Transcendental Religion and the New America (1977)
  • Hewett, Phillip. Unitarians in Canada: How the Unitarians Have

Exerted a Powerful Influence on Canadian Life for over 150 Years. (1978). 390 pp.

  • Robinson, David. The Unitarians and Universalists. (1985). 368 pp.
  • Stange, Douglas C. Patterns of Antislavery among American Unitarians, 1831-1860. (1977). 308 pp.
  • Williams, George H. "American Universalism, a Bicentennial Historical Essay" Journal of the Universalist Historical Society v.9#1 pp 1-94, the best history


references

  1. ↑ Lawrence B. Goodheart and Richard O. Curry, "The Trinitarian Indictment of Unitarianism: The Letters of Elizur Wright, Jr., 1826-1827." Journal of the Early Republic 1983 3(3): 281-296. 0275-1275
  2. ↑ Conrad Wright, "Unitarian Beginnings in Western Massachusetts." Proceedings Of The Unitarian Universalist Historical Society 1989 21(2): 27-40.
  3. ↑ Charles D. Cashdollar, "European Positivism and the American Unitarians." Church History 1976 45(4): 490-506. in JSTOR
  4. ↑ Bruce M. Stephens, "Liberals in the Wilderness: The Meadville Theological School, 1844-1856." Pennsylvania History 1975 42(4): 291-302. 0031-4528
  5. ↑ Peter Hughes, "The Restorationist Controversy: Its Origins and First Phase, 1801-1824." Journal of Unitarian Universalist History 2000 27: 1-57.
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