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| Universalismm |
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| About 1750 an organization calling itself Universalist was created in London. Before that time the believers in universal salvation were affiliated with sects bearing various names, among them, Origenists and Merciful Doctors. In the U.S. the most important early leader was a British opponent of Calvinism, John Murray, who began preaching in New Jersey in 1770. He formed the first organized Universalist church in America, the Independent Christian Church of Gloucester, Massachusetts, in 1779. Another influential leader was Hosea Ballou, a New England schoolteacher and clergyman. In Europe very few churches took the Universalist name, but the doctrine of Universalism found some favor and in some instances open advocacy in churches of various names. Today, many Unitarians in Europe are avowed Universalists, just as the Universalists of America are generally Unitarians. The sect has at various times become subdivided, chiefly by the breaking away of the Restorationists in 1831. This group was dissolved a decade later. They maintained that the wicked would pass through a temporary state of punishment after death, whereas the original Universalists maintained that for sin there is no punishment, except the consequences in this life. Statements of Universalist principles have been formulated at various times, at Philadelphia in 1790, in the Winchester Profession of 1805, at Boston in 1899, and at Washington, D.C., in 1935. In general, these statements agreed on a refusal to adopt any specific creed. A final statement was made in the 1942 charter of the Universalist Church of America, in which the group adopted the principle of promoting "harmony among adherents of all religious faiths." Their work, largely humanitarian, is among underprivileged groups in the U.S. and elsewhere. They joined with the American Unitarian Association in 1961 to form the Unitarian Universalist Association. In that year, they reported 68,949 members in 334 churches. Unitarianism, in general, the form of Christianity that denies the doctrines of the Trinity, maintaining that God exists in one person only. From the middle of the 2nd century to the end of the 3rd century a succession of eminent Christian teachers, Monarchians, maintained the undivided unity of God (see Monarchianism). Modern Unitarianism, however, particularly in the U.S., traces its history to more recent sources. History At the time of the Reformation, theologians all over Europe began questioning the doctrine of the Trinity. Unitarian belief, however, was tolerated only in Poland and the principality of Transylvania. Unitarian refugees, primarily from Italy, found a welcome in Poland and from 1548 to 1574 were strong enough to form a separate church, which flourished until the mid-17th century. In Transylvania, the Unitarians persisted separately from the Reformation. In England, in 1548, a priest named John Ashton was accused of Arianism-in effect, of denying the equal divinity of the three persons of the Trinity. Ashton escaped only by recantation; during the next half century a few suffered martyrdom on similar charges. During the reign of King James I of England, Socinianism, named for the Italian-Polish Unitarian leader, Faustus Socinus, exercised considerable influence. Thereafter, the Unitarians (with the exception of a society formed in London by John Biddle, which did not survive its founder) had no organized existence. After the passing of the Toleration Act in 1689, however, people were allowed to adopt Unitarian opinions. In 1813 the Unitarians were legally classed with other dissenters. After 1740, Arian views, in reaction to the Calvinism of American Protestantism, were widely diffused among the New England clergy. In 1796 King's Chapel in Boston officially adopted Unitarianism and left the Episcopal church. By imperceptible degrees many of the New England churches became Unitarian, but not until 1815 did the name begin to be much used. Thereafter, 120 Congregational churches in New England adopted Unitarian principles. Most important in shaping American Unitarianism during the 19th century was the Transcendentalist Movement. See Transcendentalism. Courtesy of Microsoft® Encarta® 97 Encyclopedia. © 1993-1996 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. To Conclusion |
| Universalism, religious faith incorporating many Christian tenets, but not exclusively Christian. Its adherents believe in universal salvation, or, as it is now generally stated, in the eternal progress of all souls. Modern Universalists claim that this doctrine is contained in the New Testament in the teachings of Jesus, and conforms to the laws of nature as taught by science and sanctioned by reason and philosophy. |
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