Visitors - History of Unitarian Universalism
Our Unitarian Universalist faith has roots in colonial America, England and Europe. The first Unitarian congregations emerged in Poland and Romania in the 16th century and the first Universalist congregations appeared in the United States in the late 18th century.
In North America, Unitarianism's history stretches back to the earliest Puritan congregations in colonial New England. Those congregations were founded by strict Calvinists who believed in original sin, inherent wickedness of humanity and predestination. Over the course of several generations the theology of some of the first Puritan communities mellowed and a conflict broke out between the liberals who believed that humans had free will and that God was benevolent and the conservatives who upheld the traditional Calvinist teachings. In 1819, William Ellery Channing preached a sermon called "Unitarian Christianity" which defined the liberal position and a few years later, in 1825, the American Unitarian Association was formed.
Today many of the first Puritan congregations, such as the First Church of Boston (formed 1632), the First Church in Salem (formed 1629) and the First Parish Church of Plymouth (formed 1620), are members of the American Unitarian Association's successor organization, the Unitarian Universalist Association. These congregations are the oldest Protestant congregations in North America.
The first Universalist congregations were gathered in Philadelphia and Gloucester, Massachusetts at the close of the 18th century. These early Universalists preached the gospel of universal salvation and believed that God did not condemn anyone to an eternity of torment for their sins.
The Universalist Church of America was organized in 1793 and in 1863 became the first denomination to ordain women when Olympia Brown was ordained into the ministry.
Throughout much of the nineteenth century the Universalists actively spread their faith throughout the United States and Canada. They were particularly successful in spreading their message in rural areas and on the frontier. Ohio was at one time a hotbed of Universalism and the oldest Universalist congregation in Ohio, All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church of Bellville, dates to 1822.
In 1961 the Universalist Church of America and the American Unitarian Association merged to form the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations.
Famous Unitarians, Universalists and Unitarian Universalists include John Adams, Abigail Adams, John Quincy Adams, Paul Revere, Louisa May Alcott, Joseph Priestley, Frank Lloyd Wright, Julia Ward Howe, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Linus Pauling, Clara Barton, Bela Bartok, e e cummings, Roger Baldwin Nash, Slyvia Plath, John Hayne Holmes, Susan B. Anthony, Herman Melville, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Benjamin Rush, Florence Nightingale, William Howard Tafta and Christopher Reeve.
Today Unitarian Universalist congregations are found primarily in North America, Romania, England, India and the Philippines.