Unitarians believe in the unity of God, rather than in the doctrine of the Trinity as found in the historic creeds of the Christian church. The term Unitarians extends to religious groups dating from the 1500’s to the present that have rejected not only the doctrine of the Trinity but also creeds as the basis for religious authority.
History.
Unitarian leaders in Europe in the 1500’s were Francis David in Transylvania, then part of Hungary; and Faustus Socinus, leader of the Minor Reformed Church in Poland. In England, John Biddle and other Anglicans advanced Unitarian views in the 1600’s. But the main development of English Unitarianism came during the 1700’s, when many churches that had been Presbyterian became Unitarian. The British and Foreign Unitarian Association was formed in 1825.
In America, Unitarianism developed during the 1700’s within the Congregational churches in New England. The movement reacted against Calvinistic doctrines that emphasized human sinfulness and powerlessness, as well as the Trinity. Unitarians argued that such doctrines were inconsistent with the Bible and contrary to reason.
The dispute in the United States between the liberal (Unitarian) and orthodox Congregationalists became so bitter after 1805 that many churches divided, especially in New England during the first third of the 1800’s. The Unitarians organized as a separate religious body. The most prominent Unitarian leader in this period was a Boston minister named William Ellery Channing. His sermon “Unitarian Christianity” (1819) was widely accepted as a good statement of the Unitarians’ position. The American Unitarian Association was organized in 1825.
Channing believed Christianity was a divinely inspired religion proved by the miracles of Jesus and recorded in Scripture. A few younger Unitarian ministers soon began to argue that religious truth should be based on universal and intuitive (nonrational) religious experiences and not only on the Bible. These ministers’ ideas led some Unitarians to look for religious truth and inspiration in traditions and experiences beyond Christianity.
Such ideas were expressed by the American writer and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson in his “Divinity School Address” (1838), and by the American clergyman and social reformer Theodore Parker in his sermon “The Transient and Permanent in Christianity” (1841). These addresses expressed a new point of view in philosophy and religion. This view was called transcendentalism because it stated that people may have religious experiences that transcend (go beyond) both traditional church teachings and what can be proven through science and logic. Transcendentalists believed that personal intuition was a valid way to arrive at religious truth.
Transcendentalism did not become the mainstream in Unitarianism, but it had a lasting effect on the denomination, especially in making it more receptive to religious ideas drawn from non-Christian sources. Since the 1800’s, several views have emerged in Unitarianism. One emphasizes liberal religion strongly attached to Christian tradition. Another, related to transcendentalism, seeks inspiration in other religions and in common human experiences such as the appreciation of nature and art. Yet another stresses a scientific view of the world.
Organization.
In 1865, the Unitarian churches in the United States founded a national conference. In 1925, this organization was absorbed into the American Unitarian Association. In 1961, the American Unitarian Association merged with the Universalist Church of America to form the Unitarian Universalist Association.
The Unitarian Universalist denomination is organized on the basis of congregational church government. That is, local churches exert basic authority. Local churches emphasize individual freedom of belief and democratic participation in church affairs. Regional and national organizations provide leadership and services for local churches but do not control them. Unitarianism’s original area of strength was based in New England. Today, Unitarian Universalist churches are found in many other parts of the United States and Canada. Many of these churches are in urban areas, and a number are in university communities.
