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Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one entity, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being.^[1] Thus, Unitarians adhere to strict monotheism, and maintain that Jesus was a great man and a prophet of God, but not God himself.^[2]

For most of its history, Unitarianism has been known for the rejection of several orthodox Protestant doctrines besides the Trinity,^[3] including the soteriological doctrines of original sin and predestination,^[4][5] and, in more recent times, biblical inerrancy.^[6] In J. Gordon Melton's Encyclopedia of American Religions it is classified among "the 'liberal' family of churches".^[7]

The Unitarian movement, although not called "Unitarian" initially, began almost simultaneously in Poland-Lithuania and Transylvania in the mid-sixteenth century. Among the adherents were a significant number of Italians.^[8][9] In England the first Unitarian Church was established in 1774 on Essex Street, London, where today's British Unitarian headquarters are still located.^[10] The first official acceptance of the Unitarian faith on the part of a congregation in America was by King's Chapel in Boston, from where James Freeman began teaching Unitarian doctrine in 1784, and was appointed rector and revised the Prayer Book according to Unitarian doctrines in 1786.^[11]

Terminology[link]

"Unitarianism" is a proper noun and follows the same English usage as other theologies that have developed within a religious movement (Calvinism, Anabaptism, Adventism, Wesleyanism, Lutheranism, etc.).^[12] The term existed shortly before it became the name of a religious movement, and thus occasionally it is used as a common noun and would describe any Christology (i.e. understanding of Jesus Christ) that denies the Trinity or believes that God is only one person. In that case it would be a monotheistic belief system not necessarily associated with the Unitarian religious movement.^[13][14][15] For example, the Unitarian movement has never accepted the Godhood of Jesus, and therefore does not include those nontrinitarian belief systems which do — such as Oneness Pentecostalism, United Pentecostal Church International and the True Jesus Church — that maintain that Jesus is God as a single person. Although these groups are unitarians in the common sense, they are not in the proper sense. To avoid confusion, this article is about Unitarianism as a religious movement (proper noun). For the generic form of unitarianism (the Christology), see Nontrinitarianism.

The term Unitarian is sometimes applied to those who belong to a Unitarian church but who do not hold a Unitarian theological belief.^[16] In the past, the vast majority of members of Unitarian churches were Unitarians also in belief. Over time, however, some Unitarians and Unitarian Universalists moved away from the traditional Christian roots of Unitarianism.^[17] For example, in the 1890s the American Unitarian Association began to allow non-Christian and non-theistic churches and individuals to be part of their fellowship.^[18] As a result, people who held no Unitarian belief began to be called "Unitarians" because they were members of churches that belonged to the American Unitarian Association. After several decades, the non-theistic members outnumbered the theological Unitarians.^[19] A similar, though proportionally much smaller, phenomenon has taken place in the Unitarian churches in the United Kingdom, Canada, and other countries, which remain more theistically based. Unitarian theology, therefore, is distinguishable from the belief system of modern Unitarian and Unitarian Universalist churches and fellowships. This article includes information about Unitarianism as a theology and about the development of theologically Unitarian churches. For a more specific discussion of Unitarianism as it evolved into a pluralistic liberal religious movement, see Unitarian Universalism (and its national groups the Unitarian Universalist Association in the United States, the Canadian Unitarian Council in Canada, the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches in the United Kingdom, and the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists).

Recently some religious groups have adopted the 19th Century term "biblical unitarianism" to distinguish their theology from Unitarianism.^[20] Since it has no direct relation to the Unitarian movement, it is not discussed here.

History[link]

Unitarianism, both as a theology and as a denominational family of churches, was defined and developed in four countries: Poland, Transylvania, England and America. Although there were common beliefs among Unitarians in each of these regions, they initially grew independently from each other. Only later did they influence one another and accumulate more similarities.^[21]

The Ecclesia minor or Minor Reformed Church of Poland, better known today as the Polish Brethren, was born as the result of a controversy that started on January 22, 1556, when Piotr of Goniądz (Peter Gonesius), a Polish student spoke out against the doctrine of the Trinity during the general synod of the Reformed (Calvinist) churches of Poland held in the village of Secemin.^[22] After nine years of debate, in 1565, the anti-Trinitarians were excluded from the existing synod of the Polish Reformed Church (henceforth the Ecclesia maior) and they began to hold their own synods as the Ecclesia minor. Though frequently called "Arians" by those on the outside, the views of Fausto Sozzini became the standard in the church, and these doctrines were quite removed from Arianism. So important was Sozzini to the formulation of their beliefs that those outside Poland usually referred to them as Socinians. The Polish Brethren were disbanded in 1658 by the Sejm (Polish Parliament). They were ordered to convert to Roman Catholicism or leave Poland. Most of them went to Transylvania or Holland, where they embraced the name "Unitarian." Sozzini's grandson Andrzej Wiszowaty Sr. in 1665-1668 published Bibliotheca Fratrum Polonorum quos Unitarios vocant (Library of the Polish Brethren who are called Unitarians 4 vols. 1665–69).

The Unitarian Church in Transylvania was first recognized by the Edict of Torda, issued by the Transylvanian Diet under Prince John II Sigismund Zápolya (January 1568),^[23] and was first led by Ferenc Dávid (a former Calvinist bishop, who had begun preaching the new doctrine in 1566). The term "Unitarian" first appeared as unitaria religio in a document of the Diet of Lécfalva, Transylvania on 25 October 1600, though it was not widely used in Transylvania until 1638, when the formal recepta Unitaria Religio was published.

The word Unitarian had been circulating in private letters in England, in reference to imported copies of such publications as the Library of the Polish Brethren who are called Unitarians (1665), Henry Hedworth was the first to use the word "Unitarian" in print in English (1673), and the word first appears in a title in Stephen Nye's A brief history of the Unitarians, called also Socinians (1687). The movement gained popularity in England in the wake of the Enlightenment and began to become a formal denomination in 1774 when Theophilus Lindsey organised meetings with Joseph Priestley, founding the first avowedly Unitarian congregation in the country, at Essex Street Church in London.

The first official acceptance of the Unitarian faith on the part of a congregation in America was by King's Chapel in Boston, which settled James Freeman (1759–1835) in 1782, and revised the Prayer Book into a mild Unitarian liturgy in 1785. In 1800, Joseph Stevens Buckminster became minister of the Brattle Street Church in Boston, where his brilliant sermons, literary activities, and academic attention to the German "New Criticism" helped shape the subsequent growth of Unitarianism in New England. Unitarian Henry Ware (1764–1845) was appointed as the Hollis professor of divinity at Harvard College, in 1805. Harvard Divinity school then shifted from its conservative roots to teach Unitarian theology. See: Harvard & Unitarianism. Buckminster's close associate William Ellery Channing (1780–1842) was settled over the Federal Street Church in Boston, 1803; and in a few years he became the leader of the Unitarian movement. A theological battle with the Congregational Churches resulted in the formation of the American Unitarian Association at Boston in 1825.

Beliefs[link]

Christology[link]

Unitarians adhere to strict monotheism, and maintain that Jesus was a great man and a prophet of God, perhaps even a supernatural being, but not God himself.^[24] They believe Jesus did not claim to be God, and that his teachings did not suggest the existence of a triune God. Unitarians believe in the moral authority, but not necessarily the divinity of Jesus. Their theology is thus opposed to the trinitarian theology of other Christian denominations.

Unitarian Christology can be divided according to whether Jesus is believed to have had a pre-human existence. Both forms maintain that God is one being and one "person"—the one Jesus called "Father"—and that Jesus is the (or a) Son of God, but generally not God himself.^[25]

"Socinian" Christology[link]

The Christology commonly called "Socinian" (after Fausto Sozzini, one of the founders of Unitarian theology), refers to the belief that Jesus Christ began his life when he was born as a human. In other words, the teaching that Jesus pre-existed his human body is rejected. There are various views ranging from the belief that Jesus was simply a human (psilanthropism) who, because of his greatness, was adopted by God as his Son (adoptionism) to the belief that Jesus literally became the Son of God when he was conceived by the Holy Spirit (see Virgin birth of Jesus).

This Christology existed in some form or another prior to Sozzini. Theodotus of Byzantium,^[26] Artemon^[27] and Paul of Samosata^[28] denied the pre-existence of Christ but accepted the virgin birth.^[29] This was continued by Marcellus of Ancyra and his pupil Photinus in the 4th century AD.^[30][31] In the Radical Reformation and Anabaptist movements of the 16th century this resurfaced with Sozzini's uncle, Lelio Sozzini. Having influenced the Polish Brethren to a formal declaration of this belief in the Racovian Catechism, Fausto Sozzini involuntarily ended up giving his name to this Christological position,^[32] which continued with English Unitarians such as John Biddle's Twofold Catechism (1654).

In the early days of Unitarianism, the stories of the virgin birth were accepted by most, but there were a number of Unitarians who questioned the historical accuracy of the Bible (such as Symon Budny, Jacob Paleologus, Thomas Belsham, and Richard Wright), and this made them question the virgin birth story.^{[33][34][35][36]} Beginning in England and America in the 1830s, and manifesting itself primarily in Transcendentalist Unitarianism, which emerged from the German liberal theology associated primarily with Friedrich Schleiermacher, the psilanthropist view increased in popularity.^[37] Its proponents took an intellectual and humanistic approach to religion. They embraced evolutionary concepts, asserted the "inherent goodness of man", and abandoned the doctrine of biblical infallibility, rejecting most of the miraculous events in the Bible (including the virgin birth). Notable examples are James Martineau, Theodore Parker, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Frederick Henry Hedge. Famous American Unitarian William Ellery Channing was a believer in the virgin birth until later in his life, after he had begun his association with the Transcendentalists.^[38][39][40]

The denial of the virgin birth is also sometimes ascribed to the Ebionites; however, Origen (Contra Celsum v.61) and Eusebius (HE iii.27) both indicate that some Ebionites did accept the virgin birth.^[41] The Chambers Biographical Dictionary (1897) incorrectly ascribes denial of the virgin birth to Ferenc Dávid, leader of the Transylvanian Unitarians.

"Arian" Christology[link]

The Christology commonly called "Arian" holds that Jesus, before his human life, existed as the Logos, a being created by God, who dwelt with God in heaven. There are many varieties of this form of Unitarianism, ranging from the belief that the Son was a divine spirit of the same nature as God before coming to earth, to the belief that he was an angel or other lesser spirit creature of a wholly different nature from God.^{[citation needed]} Not all of these views necessarily were held by Arius, the namesake of this Christology. It is still Nontrinitarian, because according to this belief system, Jesus has always been beneath God, though higher than humans. Arian Christology was not a majority view among Unitarians in Poland, Transylvania or England. It was only with the advent of American Unitarianism that it gained a foothold in the Unitarian movement.

Proponents attempt to associate this Christology with early church figures such as Justin Martyr, Lucian of Antioch, Eusebius of Caesarea, Arius, Eusebius of Nicomedia, Asterius the Sophist, Eunomius, and Ulfilas, as well as Felix, Bishop of Urgell. Michael Servetus did not deny the pre-existence of Christ.^[42] Isaac Newton had Arian beliefs as well.^[43][44][45] Famous 19th century Arian Unitarians include Andrews Norton^[46] and Dr. William Ellery Channing (in his earlier years).^[47]

Other beliefs[link]

Though there is no specific authority on convictions of Unitarian belief aside from rejection of the Trinity, the following beliefs are generally accepted:^{[48][49][50][51][52][53]}

• One God and the oneness or unity of God.
• The life and teachings of Jesus Christ constitute the exemplar model for living one's own life.
• Reason, rational thought, science, and philosophy coexist with faith in God.
• Humans have the ability to exercise free will in a responsible, constructive and ethical manner with the assistance of religion.
• Human nature in its present condition is neither inherently corrupt nor depraved (see original Sin), but capable of both good and evil, as God intended.
• No religion can claim an absolute monopoly on the Holy Spirit or theological truth.
• Though the authors of the Bible were inspired by God, they were humans and therefore subject to human error.
• Traditional doctrines that (they believe) malign God's character or veil the true nature and mission of Jesus Christ, such as the doctrines of predestination, eternal damnation, and the vicarious sacrifice or satisfaction theory of the Atonement are rejected.^[54]

Unitarians have liberal views of God, Jesus, the world and purpose of life as revealed through reason, scholarship, science, philosophy, scripture and other prophets and religions. They believe that reason and belief are complementary and that religion and science can co-exist and guide them in their understanding of nature and God. They also do not enforce belief in creeds or dogmatic formulas. Although there is flexibility in the nuances of belief or basic truths for the individual Unitarian Christian, general principles of faith have been recognized as a way to bind the group in some commonality. Adherents generally accept religious pluralism and find value in all teachings, but remain committed to their core belief in Christ's teachings.^{[citation needed]} Unitarians generally value a secular society in which government is kept separate from religious affairs. Most contemporary Unitarian Christians believe that one's personal moral convictions guide one's political activities, and that a secular society is the most viable, just and fair.^{[citation needed]}

Unitarian Christians reject the doctrine of some Christian denominations that God chooses to redeem or save only those certain individuals that accept the creeds of, or affiliate with, a specific church or religion, from a common ruin or corruption of the mass of humanity. They believe that righteous acts are necessary for redemption in addition to faith.^{[citation needed]}

In 1938, The Christian leader attributed "the religion of Jesus, not a religion about Jesus" to Unitarians,^[55] though the phrase was first used by Congregationalist Rollin Lynde Hartt in 1924.^[56]

Worship[link]

Worship within the Unitarian tradition accommodates a wide range of understandings of God, while the focus of the service may be simply the celebration of life itself. Each Unitarian congregation is at liberty to devise its own form of worship, though commonly, Unitarian services lack liturgy and ritual, while containing readings from many sources, which may include sermons, prayers, hymns and songs.^[57]

Modern Christian Unitarian organizations[link]

First Unitarian Meeting House in Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, designed by Unitarian Frank Lloyd Wright

This section relates to Unitarian churches and organizations today which are still specifically Christian within or outside Unitarian-Universalism, which embraces non-Christian religions.

Hungarian and Transylvanian Unitarian Churches[link]

The largest Unitarian denomination worldwide today is also the oldest surviving Unitarian denomination (since 1565, first use of the term "Unitarian" 1600^[58]); the Unitarian Church of Transylvania (in Romania, which is union with the Unitarian Church in Hungary). The church in Romania and Hungary still looks to the statement of faith, the Summa Universae Theologiae Christianae secundum Unitarios‎ (1787), though today assent to this is not required. The modern Unitarian Church in Hungary (25,000 members) and the Transylvanian Unitarian Church (75,000 members) are affiliated with the ICUU and claim continuity with the historical Unitarian Christian tradition established by Ferenc Dávid in 1565 in Transylvania under John II Sigismund Zápolya. The Unitarian churches in Hungary and Transylvania are structured and organized along a church hierarchy that includes the election by the synod of a national bishop who serves as superintendent of the Church. Many Hungarian Unitarians embrace the principles of rationalist Unitarianism.^[59] Unitarian high schools exist only in Transylvania (Romania), including the John Sigismund Unitarian Academy in Cluj-Napoca, and the Berde Mózes Unitárius Gimnázium in Cristuru Secuiesc (Székelykeresztúr); both teach Rationalist Unitarianism.^{[citation needed]}

UUCF (USA)[link]

The Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship (UUCF, founded 1945) predates the consolidation of the American Unitarian Association (AUA) and Universalist Church of America (UCA) into the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) in 1961. UUCF continues as a subgroup of UUA serving the Christian members.

ICUU (international)[link]

Other Unitarian Christian groups are affiliated with the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists (ICUU), founded in 1995. The ICUU tends to contain a majority membership who express specifically Unitarian Christian beliefs, rather than the religious pluralism of the UUA, but nevertheless remain liberal, open-minded and inclusive communities.^[60] The ICUU has "full member" groups in the United States, Australia & New Zealand, United Kingdom, Canada, Brazil, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Romania, South Africa, Sri Lanka.

The ICUU includes small "Associate groups", including Congregazione Italiana Cristiano Unitariana, Turin (founded in 2004)^[61] and the Bét Dávid Unitarian Association, Oslo (founded 2005).^[62]

AUC (USA)[link]

The American Unitarian Conference (AUC) was formed in 2000 and stands between UUA and ICUU in attachment to the Christian element of modern Unitarianism. The American Unitarian Conference is open to non-Christian Unitarians—being particularly popular with non-Christian theists and deists.^[63] The AUC has four congregations in the United States.

UMI (USA)[link]

Unitarian Ministries International is a Unitarian ministry incorporated in South Carolina, USA. It is a faith body that is revitalizing classical Unitarian Christianity on a global scale. Partnerships have been formed in Africa, India, Australia, and Europe.Recently UMI and the UK Unitarian & Free Christian Churches have formed an alliance to bring together ideas that will dialogue between both faith groups. ^{[64][citation needed]}

UCA (UK)[link]

The Unitarian Christian Association (UCA, UK) was founded 1991 by Rev. Lancelot Garrard (1904–93)^[65] and others to promote specifically Christian ideas within the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches (GAUFCC). Just as the UUCF and ICUU maintain formal links with UUA in America, so the UCA does with the GAUFCC in the UK.

The majority of Unitarian Christian publications are sponsored by an organization and published specifically for their membership. They generally do not serve as a tool for missionary work or encouraging conversions.^{[citation needed]}

Australia[link]

The Sydney Unitarian Church, was founded 1850, under a Reverend Stanley and was a vigorous denomination during the 19th Century. The modern church has properties in Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne, and smaller congregations elsewhere.^[66]

South Africa[link]

The Unitarian movement in South Africa was founded in 1867 by the Reverend Dawid Faure, member of a well-known Cape family. He encountered advanced liberal religious thought while completing his studies at the University of Leiden in Holland for the ministry of the Dutch Reformed Church in Cape Town. On his return to South Africa he preached a probationary sermon in the Groote Kerk, Cape Town. This led to a public appeal to him to found a community based upon what was called the ‘new theology’. The ‘new theology’ as preached by Dawid Faure was grounded in what he described as “the very essence of religion” – Love of God and love of neighbour.

Responding to popular appeal Dawid Faure gathered a congregation of people who felt the need for a church unfettered by traditional dogmas, open to the advances of modern knowledge and receptive to new spiritual insights. From 1867 to 1890 the fledgling church, known as the Free Protestant Church, rented premises in a commercial building in Cape Town, and in 1890 a warehouse in the city was purchased and converted into the present church.

Rev Faure continued as minister until 1897 when he was succeeded by Rev Ramsden Balmforth, from England. He conducted a thriving ministry to 1937 and brought the Free Protestant Church into the international Unitarian Movement in 1921. Ministers who followed Balmforth were William and Wilma Constable (1937 to 1941), Donald Livingstone (1941 to 1949), Magnus Ratter (1949 to 1960 and 1971 to 1976), Victor Carpenter (1962 to 1967), Eugene Widrick (1968 to 1971), Leon Fay (1977 to 1979), Robert Steyn (1979 to 1997).

The Cape Town church isn't exclusively Christian since formal members and friends in the congregation maintain their own personal beliefs. There is no specific dogma or creed that members must follow. They consider Unitarianism as a way of life with spiritual dimensions. The church is in the central city but has congregations in the suburbs as well. The website for the Unitarian Community of Cape Town is at [1] . There are also independent fellowships in Durban and Johannesburg. The national website is at [2] .

Ecclesiology[link]

This section may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding references. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. More details may be available on the talk page. (December 2010)

When Unitarianism developed in the 17th century during the Protestant era of the evolution of Christianity, the strongholds in Transylvania, Poland, and eventually Britain and the northeastern parts of the United States were firmly in the congregational tradition. In the Hungarian-speaking territories it adopted a governance system that combined the Synodal and Episcopal models.^{[citation needed]}

For those churches under the congregational model, each church governed itself independently of a hierarchical authority. These small congregations belonged, however, to more formal associations of churches. The American Unitarian Association, formed in 1825, was one of these. Later, in 1961, the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America merged to form the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), which is the largest organization of Unitarians in the US. The UUA is no longer an explicitly Christian organization and does not focus exclusively on the core teachings of Jesus Christ or Christianity.^{[citation needed]}

Several Unitarian organizations still promote Christianity as their central theme. Among them, Unitarian Ministries International,^[67] the Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship (UUCF, an affiliate of the UUA),^[68] the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches (GAUFCC) of the United Kingdom, and the Unitarian Christian Association (UCA, an affiliate of the GAUFCC).^[69]

In the US, the newest organization promoting a return to the theistic roots of Unitarianism is the American Unitarian Conference (AUC), formed in 2000. The AUC's stated goal is to formulate and promote classical Unitarian-based, unifying religious convictions, which balance the needs of members with a practical approach to inclusion and progressive free thought.^{[citation needed]}

Interfaith dialogue and relations[link]

Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant creeds generally insist on Trinitarian belief as an essential aspect of Christianity and basic to a group's continuity of identity with the historical Christian faith.^{[citation needed]} As a result, Unitarians have often been excluded from fellowship with churches that accept the creeds of the Nicene and pre-Chalcedonian churches.

However, occasionally, especially in Protestant history, traditionally Trinitarian groups have accepted Unitarians. Friendliness toward Unitarianism has sometimes gone hand-in-hand with anti-Catholicism. In some cases non-Trinitarian belief has been adopted by some, and tolerated in Christian churches as a "non-essential."^[70] This was the case in the English Presbyterian Church, and in the Congregational Church in New England late in the 18th century. The Restoration Movement also attempted to forge a compatible relation between Trinitarians and nontrinitarians, as did the Seventh Day Baptists and various Adventists. The Seventh Day Baptists hold nontrinitarian doctrines in their International Conference but became Trinitarians in the US. The nontrinitarian tendency in these latter groups emerged from their original theology and their rejection of Catholic traditions regarding the Trinity.^{[citation needed]}

In some cases, this openness to Unitarianism within traditionally Trinitarian churches has been inspired by a very broad ecumenical motive. Modern liberal Protestant denominations are often accused by Trinitarians within their ranks, and critics outside, of being indifferent to the doctrine, and therefore self-isolated from their respective Trinitarian pasts and heritage. In some cases, it is charged that these Trinitarian denominations are no longer Christian, because of their toleration of unitarian belief among their teachers, and in their seminaries.^{[citation needed]}

At a local level, many Unitarian Christian groups (or members) have links with congregations affiliated with the United Church of Christ, Disciples of Christ, and Unity Church; some argue they feel more at home within these denominations than Unitarian Universalism. A small proportion of Unitarian Christians also have links with Progressive Christianity.^{[citation needed]}

Despite the close friendship and shared heritage that exists between adherents to Unitarian Universalism and Unitarian Christianity, there is an element within Unitarian Universalism that opposes specifically Unitarian Christian groups, believing them to be exclusive and intolerant of non-Christian thought. Likewise, some Unitarian Christians also believe that Unitarian Universalists are intolerant of Christian thought and tend to marginalize Christians.^{[citation needed]}

Notable Unitarians[link]

Notable Unitarians include Béla Bartók the 20th century composer, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Theodore Parker in theology and ministry, Charles Darwin, Joseph Priestley and Linus Pauling in science, George Boole in mathematics, Susan B. Anthony, John Locke in civil government, and Florence Nightingale in humanitarianism and social justice, Charles Dickens, John Bowring and Samuel Taylor Coleridge in literature, Frank Lloyd Wright in arts, Josiah Wedgwood in industry, Thomas Starr King in ministry and politics, and Charles William Eliot in education.

Eleven Nobel prizes have been awarded to Unitarians: Robert Millikan and John Bardeen (twice) in Physics; Emily Green Balch, Albert Schweitzer, Linus Pauling, and Geoff Levermore for Peace; George Wald and David H. Hubel in Medicine; Linus Pauling in Chemistry, and Herbert A. Simon in Economics.

Five presidents of the United States were Unitarians: John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Millard Fillmore, Thomas Jefferson, and William Howard Taft. Other Unitarians include Sir Tim Berners-Lee,^[71] Lancelot Ware, founder of Mensa, Sir Adrian Boult, the conductor, and C. Killick Millard, founder of the Euthanasia Society.

See also[link]

Religion portal

• Arianism
• Unitarian (disambiguation)
  • Unitarian church (disambiguation)
• Anomoeanism—radical Arians of the 4th century.
• Binitarianism
• Christadelphians
• Divine simplicity
• Free Christianity
• Jesus in Islam
• Messianic Judaism
• Monarchianism
• Nontrinitarianism
• Non-Trinitarian churches
• Oneness Pentecostalism
• Polish Brethren
• Sabellianism
• Non-subscribing Presbyterian Church of Ireland, a denomination that maintains close links with Unitarianism whilst maintaining its own identity.

References[link]

Sources[link]

• Tuggy, Dale, "Supplement to 'Trinity'", Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/trinity/unitarianism.html .
• Wilbur, Earl Morse (1925) (PDF), Our Unitarian Heritage, Berkeley, CA: Starr King School for the Ministry, http://www.sksm.edu/research/publications/ouh.pdf .
• Joseph Henry Allen, Our Liberal Movement in Theology (Boston, 1882)
• Joseph Henry Allen, Sequel to our Liberal Movement (Boston, 1897)
• Anthony F. Buzzard and Charles F. Hunting, The Doctrine of the Trinity: Christianity's Self-Inflicted Wound (Lanham, Maryland, 1998) ISBN 1-57309-309-2.
• John White Chadwick, Old and New Unitarian Belief (Boston, 1894).
• George Willis Cooke, Unitarianism in America: a History of its Origin and Development (Boston, 1902).
• Patrick Navas, Divine Truth or Human Tradition: A Reconsideration of the Roman Catholic-Protestant Doctrine of the Trinity in Light of the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures (Bloomington, Indiana 2007). ISBN 1-4259-4832-4.
• Earl Morse Wilbur, A History of Unitarianism: Socinianism and Its Antecedents, Harvard University Press, 1945.
• Andrew M. Hill, 'The Unitarian Path', Lindsey Press (London 1994) ISBN 0-85319-046-1
• Charles A. Howe, 'For Faith and Freedom: A Short History of Unitarianism in Europe', Skinner House Books (Boston, 1997) ISBN 1-55896-359-6
• Smith, Matthew F (2005), "Unitarians", Christianity: The Complete Guide, London: Continuum, ISBN 0-8264-5937-4 .
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

Bibliography[link]

• Buzzard, A. and Hunting, C. (1998). The Doctrine of the Trinity: Christianity's Self-Inflicted Wound. International Scholars Publications. ISBN 1-57309-309-2
• Rowe, Mortimer, B.A., D.D. The History of Essex Hall. London:Lindsey Press, 1959. Full text reproduced here.

Further reading[link]

• Emerton, Ephraim (1911). Unitarian Thought. New York: Macmillan Co.. OCLC 1403642. http://books.google.com/books?id=Kb1ZAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Unitarian+Thought#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 2011-04-22. 

External links[link]

• Unitarian Ministries International
• Unitarianism at BBC Religions
• American Unitarian Conference
• Project for a Free Christianity
• American Unitarian Reform
• General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches (UK)
• Biblical Unitarians
• Unitarian Christianity: A Very Short Introduction

See also History of Unitarianism

A number of notable people have considered themselves Unitarians, Universalists, and following the merger of these denominations in the United States and Canada in 1961, Unitarian Universalists. Additionally, there are persons who, because of their writings or reputation, are considered to have held Unitarian or Universalist beliefs. Individuals who held unitarian (nontrinitarian) beliefs but were not affiliated with Unitarian organizations are often referred to as "small 'u'" unitarians. The same principle can be applied to those who believed in universal salvation but were not members of Universalist organizations. This article, therefore, makes the distinction between capitalized "Unitarians" and "Universalists" and lowercase "unitarians" and "universalists".

The Unitarians and Universalists are groups that existed long before the creation of Unitarian Universalism.

Early Unitarians did not hold Universalist beliefs, and early Universalists did not hold Unitarian beliefs. But beginning in the nineteenth century the theologies of the two groups started becoming more similar.

Additionally, their eventual merger as the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) did not eliminate divergent Unitarian and Universalist congregations, especially outside the US. Even within the US, some congregations still keep only one of the two names, "Unitarian" or "Universalist." However, with only a few exceptions, all belong to the UUA—even those that maintain dual affiliation (e.g., Unitarian and Quaker). Transcendentalism was a movement that diverged from contemporary American Unitarianism but has been embraced by later Unitarians and Unitarian Universalists.

In Ireland and Northern Ireland, Unitarian churches are officially called "Non-Subscribing Presbyterian", but are informally known as "Unitarian" and are affiliated with the Unitarian churches of the rest of the world.

A[link]

• Francis Ellingwood Abbot (1836–1903) Unitarian minister who led a group that attempted to liberalize the Unitarian constitution and preamble. He later helped found the Free Religious Association.^[1]
• Abigail Adams (1744–1818) women's rights advocate and first Second Lady and the second First Lady of the United States^[2]
• James Luther Adams (1901–1994) Unitarian theologian.^[3]
• John Adams (1735–1826)^[4] Second President of the United States.
• John Quincy Adams (1767–1848)^[4] Sixth President of the United States. Co-founder, All Souls Church, Unitarian (Washington, D.C.)
• Conrad Aiken (1889–1973) Poet.^[3]
• Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888)^[4] Author of Little Women.
• Ethan Allen (1738–1789) Author of Reason the Only Oracle of Man, and the chief source of Hosea Ballou's universalist ideas.^[5]
• Arthur J. Altmeyer (1891–1972) Father of Social Security.^[3]
• Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906) Quaker^[6]

B[link]

• E. Burdette Backus (1888–1955) Unitarian Humanist minister (originally a Universalist)^[3]
• Dr. Sara Josephine Baker (1873–1945) Physician and public health worker.^[3]
• Emily Greene Balch (1867–1961) Nobel Peace Laureate^[3]
• Roger Nash Baldwin (1884–1981), founder of American Civil Liberties Union^[3]
• Adin Ballou (1803–1890) Abolitionist and former Baptist who became a Universalist minister, then a Unitarian minister.^[5]
• Hosea Ballou (1771–1852) American Universalist leader. (Universalist minister and a unitarian in theology)^[5][7][8]
• John Bardeen (1908–1991) Physicist, Nobel Laureate 1956 (inventing the transistor) and in 1972 (superconductivity)^[3]
• Phineas Taylor Barnum (1810–1891) American showman and Circus Owner^[9]
• Ysaye Maria Barnwell (1946-) - member of Sweet Honey in the Rock, founded the Jubilee Singers, a choir at All Souls Church in Washington, D.C.^[10]
• Béla Bartók (1881–1945) Composer.^[3]
• Clara Barton (1821–1912) organizer of American Red Cross, Universalist^[8][11]
• Tim Berners-Lee (1955-) inventor of the World Wide Web.^[12][13]
• Paul Blanshard (1892–1980) Activist.^[3]
• Chester Bliss Bowles (1901–1986) Connecticut Governor and diplomat.^[3]
• Ray Bradbury (1920-) Author.^[3]
• T._Berry_Brazelton (1918-) Pediatrician, author, TV show host.^[14]
• Olympia Brown (1835–1926) suffragist, Universalist minister^[8]
• Percival Brundage (1892–1979) technocrat^[15]
• Rev. John A. Buehrens - president of the Unitarian Universalist Association from 1993-2001^[16]
• Charles Bulfinch (1763–1844). Most notable for being Architect of the Capitol. Co-founder, All Souls Church, Unitarian (Washington, D.C.)
• Ralph Wendell Burhoe (1911–1997) scholar^[3]
• Harold Hitz Burton (1888–1964) U.S. Supreme Court Justice 1945-1958^[3]
• Edmund Butcher (1757–1822) English minister

C[link]

• John C. Calhoun (1782–1850) U.S Senator^[17] Co-founder, All Souls Church, Unitarian (Washington, D.C.)
• Neville Chamberlain (1869–1940) British Prime Minister^[18]
• Walter Bradford Cannon (1871–1945) Experimental physiologist^[3]
• William Ellery Channing (1780–1842) Unitarian who later identified himself as an "independent Christian"^[4][19]
• Charles Chauncy (1592–1672) Unitarian Congregationalist minister.^[20]
• Brock Chisholm (1896–1971) Director, World Health Organization^[3]
• Parley P. Christensen, Utah and California politician, Esperantist
• Andrew Inglis Clark (1848–1907) Tasmanian politician. Responsible for the adoption of the Hare-Clark system of proportional representation by the Parliament of Tasmania^[21]
• Grenville Clark(1882–1931) Author^[3]
• Joseph S. Clark (1901–1990) US Senator and mayor of Philadelphia^[3]
• Laurel Clark (1961–2003) US Navy officer and NASA Astronaut who died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster^[22]
• Stanley Cobb (1887–1968) Neurologist and psychiatrist^[3]
• William Cohen (b. 1940) U.S. Secretary of Defense (1997–2001), U.S. Senator from Maine (1979–1997)
• Henry Steele Commager (1902–1998) American historian and biographer of Theodore Parker^[3]
• Kent Conrad (b. 1948) U.S. Senator from North Dakota (1992- )^[23]
• William David Coolidge (1873–1975) Inventor, physician, research director^[3]
• Norman Cousins (1915–1990) Editor and writer, Unitarian friend^[3]
• E. E. Cummings (1894–1962) Poet and painter^[3]

D[link]

• Cyrus Dallin (1861–1944) American sculptor^[3]
• Ferenc Dávid (often rendered Francis David) (1510–1579) Hungarian-Transylvanian priest, minister and bishop, first to use the word "Unitarian" to describe his faith^[4]
• George de Benneville (1703–1793) Universalist^[5]
• Morris Dees (b. 1936) Attorney, cofounder, chief legal counsel of Southern Poverty Law Center^[24]
• Karl W. Deutsch (1912–1992) International political scientist^[3]
• John Dewey (1859–1952) Author of A Common Faith, Unitarian friend^[3]
• Charles Dickens (1812–1870) English novelist.^[25]
• John H. Dietrich (1878–1957)^[3]
• James Drummond Dole (1877–1958) Entrepreneur^[3]
• Emily Taft Douglas (1899–1994) US Representative, Illinois^[3]
• Paul Douglas (1892–1976) US Senator, also a Quaker^[3][26]
• Madelyn Dunham (1922–2008) Grandmother of U.S. President Barack Obama^[27]
• Stanley Armour Dunham (1918–1992) Grandfather of Barack Obama^[27]
• Stanley Ann Dunham (1942–1995) Mother of Barack Obama^[28]

E[link]

• Richard Eddy (1828–1906) Minister and author of 1886 book Universalism in America.^[5]
• Charles William Eliot (1834–1926) Landscape architect^[3]
• Samuel Atkins Eliot (1862–1950) First president of the Unitarians^[3]
• Thomas H. Eliot (1907–1991) Legislator and educator^[3]
• Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) Unitarian minister and Transcendentalist^[4]
• William Emerson MIT dean of architecture^[3]
• Ephraim Emerton (1851–1935) Historian and educator^[29]
• Marc Estrin, American novelist and political activist

F[link]

• Sophia Lyon Fahs (1876–1978) Liberal religious educator^[3]
• Joseph L. Fisher (1914–1992)^[3]
• Robert Fulghum (1937-) UU minister and writer^[30]
• Buckminster Fuller (1895–1983) inventor, engineer^[3]
• Margaret Fuller (1810–1850) Journalist^[31]

G[link]

• Elizabeth Gaskell (1810–1865) British novelist and social reformer^[32]
• Frank Gannett (1876–1957) Newspaper publisher^[3]
• Eleanor Gordon (1852–1942) Minister and member of the Iowa Sisterhood.^[33]
• Mike Gravel (1930-) U.S. Senator; 2008 Democratic and Libertarian Presidential candidate^[34]
• Dana Greeley (1908–1986) The first president of the Unitarian Universalist Association^[3]
• Horace Greeley (1811–1872) Newspaper editor, Presidential candidate, Universalist^[8]
• Chester Greenwood (1858–1937) inventor^[35]
• Gary Gygax (1938–2008) game designer and creator of Dungeons and Dragons, called himself a Christian, "albeit one that is of the Arian (Unitarian) persuasion."^[36]

H[link]

• Ellen L. Hamilton (1921–1996). Artist, author, advocate for homeless teens, and member of UUA Board of Trustees (1973–1977).^[37]
• Donald S. Harrington (1914–2005)^[3]
• Charles Hartshorne (1897–2000) theologian^[3][38]
• John Hayward philosopher of religion and the arts^[3]
• William Hazlitt (18 April 1737 – 16 July 1820) – influential Unitarian minister and father of the writer of the same name^[39]
• Lotta Hitschmanova (1909–1990) founder, Unitarian Service Committee of Canada^[3]
• Jessica Holmes cast member of "Air Farce".
• John Holmes (1904–1962) poet^[3]
• Julia Ward Howe (1819–1910) author of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic".^[11]
• Roman Hruska (1904–1999) conservative Republican Senator from Nebraska^[40]
• David Hubel (1926- ) Nobel Prize Laureate in Medicine 1981.
• Blake Hutchison (1980- ) filmmaker, Finding a Dream

J[link]

• Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) Third President of the USA,Unitarian^[41]
• Joseph Johnson (publisher)
• Jenkin Lloyd Jones (1843–1918), Unitarian missionary and minister in the United States^[42]

K[link]

• György Kepes (1906–2001) visual artist^[3]
• Thomas Starr King (1824–1864) minister who during his career served both in Universalist and in Unitarian churches^[4][8]
• James R. Killian president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology^[3]
• W.M. Kiplinger (1891–1967) publisher of the Kiplinger Letters^[3]
• Abner Kneeland (1774–1844) Universalist minister and denominational leader who, after leaving the denomination to become a leader in the freethought movement, was convicted and jailed for blasphemy.^[5]
• Richard Knight(1768–1844) friend, colleague and follower of Joseph Priestley, developed the first method to make platinum malleable. Stored Priestley's library during his escape to America.^[43]

L[link]

• William L. Langer (1896–1977) historian of diplomacy^[3]
• Margaret Laurence (1926–1987) Author^[3]
• Alfred McClung Lee sociologist^[3]
• Geoff Levermore Nobel Peace Laureate 2007
• Viola Liuzzo (1925–1965)^[12]
• Arthur Lismer (1885–1969) Canadian painter, educator^[3]
• Mary Livermore (1820–1905) Universalist^[8]
• John Locke (1632-1704) Enlightenment Philosopher
• Arthur Lovejoy founder of the History of Ideas movement^[3]

M[link]

• John P. Marquand (1893–1960) author^[3]
• Bernard Maybeck (1862–1957) architect, Unitarian^[3]
• Scotty McLennan, Dean for Religious Life at Stanford University, Minister of Stanford Memorial Church, and inspiration for the Reverend Scot Sloan character in the comic strip Doonesbury^[3]
• Adrian Melott, (1947- ) physicist and cosmologist
• Robert Millikan Nobel Laureate in Physics 1923 for determining the charge of the electron, taught at CalTech in Pasadena CA^[3]
• Walt Minnick (1942-) Politician and representative for Idaho's 1st congressional district, United States House of Representatives^[44]
• Ashley Montagu anthropologist and social biologist^[3]
• Christopher Moore founder of the Chicago Children's Choir^[3]
• Mary Carr Moore composer, teacher, Far Western activist for American Music^[3]
• Arthur E. Morgan human engineer and college president^[3]
• John Murray (1741–1815) Universalist minister and leader^[5][8]

N[link]

• Maurine Neuberger (1907–2000) US Senator^[3]
• Paul Newman (1925–2008) Actor, film director^[12]

O[link]

• Keith Olbermann (1959- ) News anchor, political commentator, and sports journalist.
• Mary White Ovington (1865–1951) NAACP founder^[3]

P[link]

• Bob Packwood (b. 1932) U.S. Senator from Oregon (1969–1995)
• David Park West coast painter.^[3]
• Theodore Parker (1810–1860) Unitarian minister and transcendentalist^[4][5][45]
• Linus Pauling (1901–1994) Nobel Laureate for Peace and for Chemistry^[3]
• Randy Pausch (1960–2008) Computer Science Professor at Carnegie Mellon University, Author of "The Last Lecture"^[46]
• Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin astronomer and astrophysicist.^[3]
• William James Perry, (born October 11, 1927) former United States Secretary of Defense
• William T. Pheiffer, American lawyer/politician^[47]
• William Pickering space explorer^[3]
• Daniel Pinkham Composer^[3]
• Van Rensselaer Potter global bioethicist^[3]
• Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) discoverer of oxygen and Unitarian minister^[4]
• George Pullman (1831–1897) Universalist^[8]

R[link]

• Mary Jane Rathbun Marine zoologist^[3]
• James Reeb (1927–1965) civil-rights martyr^[12]
• Curtis W. Reese Religious Humanist^[3]
• Christopher Reeve (1952–2004) Actor and Unitarian Universalist^[12][48]
• James Relly (c.1722–1778) Universalist^[5][8]
• Paul Revere (1735–1818)^[4]
• David Ricardo (1772–1823) British classical economist noted for creating the concept of comparative advantage
• Malvina Reynolds (1900–1978) Songwriter / singer / activist^[3]
• Elliot Richardson (1920–1999) often listed as "Anglican" but was a member of a UU church near Washington, D.C. for many years Lawyer and public servant^[3]
• Mark Ritchie (b. 1951) Minnesota Secretary of State (2007-)^[49]
• Benjamin Rush (1745–1813) Very active in the Universalist movement, although never technically joined a Universalist congregation^[8]

S[link]

• Mary Safford (1851–1927) Unitarian Minister and leader of the Iowa Sisterhood.^[50]
• Leverett Saltonstall (1892–1979) U.S. Senator from Massachusetts^[3]
• May Sarton Poet^[3][12]
• Ellery Schempp (1940-), Physicist who is also famous for being the primary student involved in the landmark 1963 United States Supreme Court case of Abington School District v. Schempp, which declared that public school-sanctioned Bible readings were unconstitutional.^[51]
• Arthur Schlesinger (1917–2007) American historian^[3]
• Richard Schultes Explorer of the Amazon jungle^[3]
• William F. Schulz - former Executive Director of Amnesty International USA, former president of the Unitarian Universalist Association^[52]
• Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965) Nobel Peace Laureate 1953, late in life unitarian; honorary member of the Church of the Larger Fellowship (Unitarian Friend)^[3]
• Pete Seeger (b. 1919) Folk singer and song writer^[3][12]
• Roy Wood Sellars Philosopher of religious humanism^[3]
• Rod Serling (1924–1975) Writer; Creator of The Twilight Zone television series.^[3][53]
• Lemuel Shaw A Unitarian and Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Under his leadership, the court convicted Abner Kneeland, a former Universalist, of blasphemy.^[5]
• Herbert A. Simon Nobel Laureate in Economics 1978, Artificial intelligence pioneer^[3]
• Rev. William G. Sinkford (b. 1946) - seventh president of the Unitarian Universalist Association^[54]
• Catherine Helen Spence - Australian suffragette and political reformer^[55]
• Pete Stark, D.-California (1931—): U.S. Representative.^[56]
• Vilhjalmur Stefansson (1879–1962) Arctic explorer and champion of Native American rights^[3]
• Adlai Stevenson (1900–1965) Illinois governor, and Democratic Presidential candidate in 1952 and 1956^[3]
• Dirk Jan Struik (1894–2000) mathematician^[57]

T[link]

• William Howard Taft (1857–1930), President of the United States (1909–1913)^[4][17]

V[link]

• Kurt Vonnegut (1922–2007), writer^[12][58]

W[link]

• George Wald (1906–1997) Nobel Laureate in Medicine 1967
• Caroline Farrar Ware Historian and social activist^[3]
• Daniel Webster (1782–1852)^[17]
• Dawud Wharnsby (b. 1972) Poet, singer and songwriter (Unitarian Universalist and Muslim)^[59]
• Alfred T. White (1846–1921) Housing reformer and philanthropist^[60]
• Alfred North Whitehead Philosopher (Unitarian Friend)^[3]
• Willis Rodney Whitney The "Father of Basic Research in Industry"^[3]
• David Rhys Williams^[3]
• Edward Williams (bardic name Iolo Morganwg)
• William Carlos Williams (1883–1963) Physician and author^[3]
• Samuel Williston Dean of America's legal profession.^[3]
• Edwin H. Wilson Unitarian Humanist leader^[3]
• Ross Winans Inventor and railroad pioneer
• Theodore Paul Wright Aeronautical engineer^[3]
• Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959) Among Wright's architectural works were Unity Temple in Oak Park, Illinois, and First Unitarian Society in Madison, Wisconsin.^[3][4][61]
• Quincy Wright Author of A Study of War^[3]
• Sewall Wright Evolutionary theorist.^[3]
• N.C. Wyeth (1882–1945) Illustrator and painter^[3]

Y[link]

• Whitney M. Young (1921–1971) Social work administrator^[3]

Z[link]

• John II Sigismund Zápolya1540–1570 King of Hungary, then Prince of Transylvania.^[4]

See also[link]

Religion portal

• List of Christian Universalists
• Unitarian Universalist Association
• International Council of Unitarians and Universalists
• List of people by belief
• General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches

Footnotes, citations and references[link]