- published: 14 Mar 2009
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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. Thus, Unitarians adhere to strict monotheism, and maintain that Jesus was a great man and a prophet of God, but not God himself.
For most of its history, Unitarianism has been known for the rejection of several orthodox Protestant doctrines besides the Trinity, including the soteriological doctrines of original sin and predestination, and, in more recent times, biblical inerrancy. In J. Gordon Melton's Encyclopedia of American Religions it is classified among "the 'liberal' family of churches".
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. In England the first Unitarian Church was established in 1774 on Essex Street, London, where today's British Unitarian headquarters are still located. 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.