Susan Ritchie. Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices. Editor: Thomas Riggs, 2nd Edition, Volume 1, Gale, 2015.
Overview
Founded in the United States, Unitarian Universalism (UU) is a faith that has extended beyond its Christian roots to explore the ethical and spiritual value of teachings from other religions and from secular sources. It was created in 1961, when the American Unitarian Association merged with the Universalist Church of America to form the Unitarian Universalist Association. It has no codified set of beliefs or practices. Congregations are organized along democratic and non-hierarchical principles, and most adherents identify with liberal and progressive social values. UU was the first denomination to ordain women as well as openly gay and lesbian people to the ministry.
Unitarianism and Universalism, the two founding movements of UU, can be traced to 16th-century eastern Europe and 18th-century New England, respectively. As early as 1899 the distinct Unitarian and Universalist traditions discussed consolidating on the basis of their shared commitment to liberal Christianity, but the talks stalled as each denomination remained committed to its specific identity. This had changed by the mid-20th century; the denominations had grown even closer theologically, and Universalism was facing a crisis of declining membership and resources. Since its founding in 1961, UU has been characterized by a theological diversity held within a larger liberal and progressive religious framework.
UU is a small movement; in 2012 the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists reported a membership of 343,373 worldwide. Numerically there are more Unitarian Universalists in the United States (between 162,000 and 211,000, according to various estimates) than in any other country, but they represent only a tiny percentage of the U.S. population. While UU churches are found in every U.S. state, they are most prevalent in New England. The presence of UU in other parts of the world is small but ongoing. Only in Japan is it the result of missionary outreach. The UU communities in South Africa, the Philippines, India, Pakistan, and South America developed their own indigenous Unitarian or Universalist theologies and then later affiliated with the larger movement. A small number of distinct Unitarian and Universalist congregations remain in the world. Romania has the largest percentage of people (0.4) belonging to a Unitarian or Universalist church.
History
In eastern Europe in the 16th century, Unitarianism was a radical development within the Reformation (a religious and political movement throughout Europe to reform certain practices within the Catholic Church and to make the church more accessible to all people). Unitarianism was founded on the belief that God is one and that Jesus is not of the same substance as God (as opposed to the orthodox Trinitarian view that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are one God of three persons). The Minor Reformed Church of Poland, founded in 1565, was the first organized body gathered around an explicitly Unitarian or Universalist theology. The first church to use the name “Unitarian” emerged in Transylvania through the preaching of Ferenc Dávid (1510-1579). The Italian Faustus Socinus (1539-1604), from whom the Polish Socinians took their name, had a profound influence on the emerging Unitarianism in both Poland and Transylvania, working with those communities to help them refine and articulate a common theology.
Many of the founders of Unitarianism were also influenced by the Spaniard Miguel Servetus, who published the non-Trinitarian On the Errors of the Trinity in 1531 and was convicted of heresy by both the Catholic and Reformed churches. When he was burned at the stake in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1553, many reformers began to consider that death was an extreme penalty for heresy, and they posited that theological disagreement might have a legitimate place, even within the church.
In England John Biddle was expressing Unitarian ideas as early as the mid-1600s, though there was no organized body of Unitarians. Many dissenting Presbyterian congregations came to Unitarian ideas in the early 1700s. (At the time, all churches other than the state-established Anglican Church were considered “dissenting.”) Theophilus Lindsay formed an explicitly Unitarian church in England in 1774.
In North America organized Unitarianism began as a schism within the Congregationalist Church (the Protestant churches in New England founded by the Puritans and Pilgrims). The corporate birth of Unitarianism in the United States occurred in 1819, when Rev. William Ellery Channing delivered a sermon that changed the label “Unitarian” from a theological slur to the name of a distinct American religious movement. Unitarians stressed the positive aspects of humanity, which they contrasted with what they viewed as an excessive focus on original sin and human depravity in other Protestant traditions. Interested in the capacity of human beings for growth and development, and confident in the power of reason, Unitarians placed a high value on education and social progress. The American Unitarian Association, formed in Boston in 1825 by a small group of Unitarian clergy and established lay leaders, was an official vessel for these views. Unitarianism in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand is primarily the result of immigration, and it was introduced to northern Europe by natives of the region who were exposed to it while in the United States.
Though there were some independent congregations and ministers in England who held to Universalist principles in the early 1700s, Universalism as a denomination is unique to North America. It arose as a grassroots movement in 18th-century New England. Circuit-riding preachers then carried its teachings out of New England and into the Midwest. The charismatic preacher John Murray helped to organize the first Universalist Convention in 1790 in Philadelphia, where the group agreed on a profession of faith and on the independence of the congregations. It was not until well into the 19th century, however, that the Universalists formed a denominational administrative structure.
Universalism’s defining tenet is universal reconciliation: no matter how great a person’s sin, the punishment will not be eternal, and everyone will be eventually restored to God’s presence in heaven. This belief emerged from various ideas taught by English immigrants to the United States, including Rev. John Murray and Dr. George de Benneville. Universalists, who took their name to reflect their belief in universal salvation, historically have stressed the benevolence of God.
Before merging in 1961, Unitarianism and Universalism had a long history of contact and cooperation in North America. As early as the mid-19th century, theological compatibilities between Unitarianism and Universalism were apparent. By the 1830s both traditions were studying and disseminating texts from non-Christian religions, and they shared an emphasis on the compassionate nature of God. By the late 19th century most Universalists had adopted the Unitarian position of thinking of Jesus as exclusively human, and the Unitarians had come to the Universalist position of denying the existence of hell. At the onset of the 20th century thinkers from both traditions suggested that being religious did not absolutely require belief in God. It became clear by the middle of the 20th century that Unitarians and Universalists would have a stronger voice if they worked in collaboration. There was some tension around the consolidation, as Universalists tended to identify more closely as Christians than the Unitarians did. This conflict was resolved, however, by both traditions affirming the importance of their Christian heritage, and the Unitarian Universalist Association was formed in 1961. The consolidation was organic in many ways: some local Unitarian and Universalist congregations had joined together as early as 1932, the youth groups of the two denominations had merged in 1953, and the two faiths had been sharing religious education and public relations materials since 1951.
Affirming “the inherent right and dignity of every person” in a set of “Principles and Purposes” adopted in 1984, the Unitarian Universalist Association advocates for the nondiscrimination of historically marginalized persons. Many Unitarian Universalists were active participants in the U.S. civil rights movement, including James Reeb, a minister who was murdered in Selma, Alabama, after he and many of his fellow ministers answered Martin Luther King Jr.’s call to march for justice. In 1977 a women-and-religion resolution was passed by the Unitarian Universalist Association, and since that time the denomination has worked to eliminate sexist structures and language, particularly in its publication of an inclusive hymnal. The denomination called for an end to discrimination against homosexuals and bisexuals in 1970, and it officially affirmed same-sex marriage in 1996. In recent years the Unitarian Universalist Association has continued to advocate for marriage equality and has also focused on pro-immigration reform.
Central Doctrines
Some Unitarian, Universalist, and UU churches continue to organize around contemporary interpretations of the founding commitments to anti-Trinitarianism and universal salvation. The Unitarian Universalist Association in North America, however, is explicitly non-creedal. Historian Earl Morse Wilbur wrote that the three primary principles of Unitarianism are freedom, reason, and tolerance. Most Unitarians, Universalists, and Unitarian Universalists believe that religious truth is the result of continuous revelation and that no human institution or church can lay claim to ultimate or absolute authority. Consequently, they are interested in religious contrasts and prize the place of the individual conscience in determining spiritual matters.
Of the various strands of Unitarianism, that of Transylvania has maintained the strongest connection to its Christian roots. In the theology of this tradition, the purpose of religion is this-worldly—to improve humanity’s lot here and now rather than focusing on the afterlife. The Bible is a guidebook for living. Jesus is not God; it is his humanity that is celebrated. Jesus is seen as a leader, an ethical role model, and a teacher rather than as a savior. The Lord’s Supper, or the consuming of wine and bread during service, is not a sacrament but is a symbolic expression of the congregation’s commitment to imitating his life.
Modern UU in Western countries has been described as post-Christian. A shift toward a more naturalist and humanist theology began with the Transcendentalists, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, in the mid-1800s and continued through the 1920s and 1930s with the rise of religious humanism, a melding of philosophical reason and religious rituals. Interest in other world traditions became explicit in American Unitarianism by the mid-19th century. Contemporary UU includes both practices and practitioners of non-Christian faiths, including but not limited to Judaism, Buddhism, and Earth-centered traditions.
Moral Code of Conduct
The application of theological ideals to issues of daily life has always been an important part of the Unitarian and Universalist traditions. The early Unitarians in eastern Europe stressed that individuals should attempt to live by the ethics of Jesus. The English and American Unitarians of the Enlightenment had a similar emphasis.
The so-called Jefferson Bible, a book assembled by Thomas Jefferson containing sections of the New Testament that accentuate the ethics of Jesus, provides a good example of this emphasis on morality. While Jefferson was not a Unitarian by affiliation, he referred to himself as Unitarian in his writings several times, and he “took scissors and paste to the Gospels” only because his friend Joseph Priestley, a Unitarian minister, died before producing a revision of the story of Jesus. Jefferson was concerned primarily with how the morals of Jesus should be put into practice in one’s life. In the 19th century Unitarians became especially interested in the capacity of humans for self-betterment, and they advocated for a number of causes, such as free public education, penal reforms, and social services that would allow all people to develop their innate human capacities.
Unitarian Universalists stress the importance of compassion and ethical behavior over the adherence to particular religious beliefs. The current “Principles and Purposes” of the Unitarian Universalist Association in the United States asks member congregations to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of all persons, the primacy of the individual conscience, the value of a democratic society, peace and justice in a global context, and “respect for the interdependent web of existence.” Belief in the essential equality and value of everyone has led Unitarian Universalists to advocate for equal rights for marginalized groups. Historically Unitarians and Universalists advocated for the vote for women, the right of women to be ordained and to share in equal leadership of the church, and the advancement of civil rights. The church has also promoted equal rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons, including the right to marry.
Beginning in the late 20th century, the vision of humanity as only one part of an interdependent web of environmental connections grew in importance to Unitarian Universalists, who have become active in environmental causes. The Unitarian Universalist Association has provided congregations with educational materials on the dangers of global warming, and many congregations have chosen to make their buildings “green” (environmentally low-impact).
Sacred Books
Because UU is a faith with Christian roots, many Unitarian Universalists consider the Bible to be a sacred, albeit not absolute, text. Reasoned interpretation of the Scriptures was one of the defining characteristics of early Unitarianism. Universalism also originally based its teachings entirely on biblical evidence. In the 19th century the Transcendentalist influence stressed individual conscience rather than a singular sacred text as the arbitrator of religious truth, and Unitarians began to look beyond the Bible alone for inspiration. At this time collections of sacred texts from various religious traditions began to be used occasionally in congregational worship and personal devotion. An early example is Unitarian minister William Algar’s 1853 Poetry of the East, an anthology of Hindu, Buddhist, and Islamic texts that was intended to be part of personal reflection. The advent of humanism in the 20th century led to the inclusion in worship of secular works of literature that were felt to hold special insight into the human condition.
Sacred Symbols
Unitarian Universalists throughout the world attach varying significance to the Christian cross, and many different religious symbols can be found in UU congregations. The closest Unitarian Universalists have to a universal symbol is the flaming chalice, adopted by the Unitarian Service Committee during its World War II relief efforts in Europe. The chalice, which originally was only a logo for the denomination, is roughly cruciform and is a nonspecific reference to the use of drinking vessels as a symbol for holy acts in a variety of traditions. The flame was initially intended to signify helpfulness and sacrifice in service to others, but many contemporary Unitarian Universalists see it as symbolizing truth. In current UU congregations it is common to light a lamp within a physical chalice to signify the beginning of worship.
Early and Modern Leaders
Giorgio Biandrata (c. 1515-1588) was an important figure in the development of 16th-century Unitarianism in eastern Europe. Informed by the theology of Michael Servetus and influential in the lives of theologians Ferenc Dávid and Faustus Socinus, he helped introduce anti-Trintarian arguments into the Reformed church in both Transylvania and Poland.
The Rev. John Murray (1741-1815) is often called the founder of Universalism in America, but while he did much to organize the church, such a designation fails to reflect the diverse origins of the movement. The Rev. William Ellery Channing (1780-1842) was the most influential preacher of the young Unitarian movement in the United States in the early 19th century, as he articulated the basis on which Unitarians separated from the Congregationalist Church. The Rev. Henry Bellows (1814-1882) is remembered for vastly improving the organization of the American Unitarian Association in the period after the Civil War (1861-65). He was well known for his wartime work organizing the United States Sanitary Commission, the precursor to the Red Cross. Rev. Samuel Eliot (1862-1950) led the American Unitarian Association from 1900 to 1927, and he is credited with developing a strong denominational structure, although this work was controversial among some who felt that a strong executive hand diminished the power of independent congregations.
The Rev. James Reeb (1927-1965) was an important 20th-century Unitarian figure, as he was the first white person to die in the struggle for civil rights. He was killed while participating in Martin Luther King Jr.’s civil rights march in Selma, Alabama. The Rev. William Sinkford (1946- ) was the first African American president of the Unitarian Universalist Association, serving from 2001 to 2009.
Major Theologians and Authors
In addition to the early European founders, notably Dávid and Socinus, American influences on Unitarian theology include William Ellery Channing (1780-1842), Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), and Theodore Parker (1810-1860). Channing was the most influential theologian and preacher when Unitarianism emerged out of the Congregational Church in the United States in the early 19th century. In his sermon “Unitarian Christianity” (1819), he preached that Unitarianism is an anti-Trinitarianism theology based on a careful and respectful yet critical and historical reading of the Bible, as well as an admiration for the capacity for human goodness and for reason. In a later sermon, “Likeness to God” (1828), he argued that as humanity was made in the image of God, so it is that the human soul contains the ability to assess religious truth and apprehend God. In some ways this was a step toward the Transcendentalism of later Unitarian theologians such as Emerson and Parker, who would come to see the human conscience as the arbiter of all truth, but Channing believed in a more biblically based Unitarianism. Parker was a Unitarian minister known for his bold abolitionism. His 1838 sermon “The Transient and Permanent in Christianity” argued that the essence of Christianity is love. Parker believed that the power of Jesus’s message derives from the truth of its content (the power of love), not from any unique attribute of Jesus’s person. Emerson, who eventually left the Unitarian ministry to establish an influential career in literature, argued that nature, not only the Bible, might serve as a source of revelation. The convictions of Parker and Emerson represented a first step outside what most people regarded as Christianity.
On the Universalist side, Hosea Ballou (1771-1852) and Clarence Skinner (1881-1949) were influential theologians. Ballou radicalized Universalism in 1805, writing in The Treatise on Atonement that there would be no punishment at all for sinners after death (most Universalists of the time held to some idea of limited punishment even though all would be eventually reconciled to God). Skinner articulated a Universalist Social Gospel in the early 20th century, arguing that the purpose of religion is the establishment of a kingdom of God on Earth marked by complete and universal social equalities.
Important Unitarian theologians of the 20th century include James Luther Adams (1901-1994), Charles Hartshorne (1897-2000), and Henry Nelson Wieman (1884-1975). Adams is best remembered for naming the “prophethood of all believers” (the obligation of all to work against injustice) as an important tenet of Unitarianism. Hartshorne and Wieman each developed a Unitarian bent on the larger movement of process theology, which asserts that God changes throughout history.
Later voices of significance include Thandeka, Forrest Church (1948-2009), William R. Jones (1933-2012), and Rebecca Parker (1955- ). Thandeka attempted to connect theology and contemporary neurology by arguing that there is a physical origin of religious sentiment in the feeling centers of the brain; thus, a rational mind is behind religious expressions. Through his simple metaphor of UU as one light (Unitarianism) coming in through many windows of different colors (Universalism), Church was celebrated for his ability to articulate the UU identity for a contemporary generation not always sure about the varying influences of Unitarianism and Universalism on UU. Jones was a pioneer in articulating a specifically African American humanism. And Parker, who earned credentials as both a UU and a United Methodist, articulated a feminist, Christian theology that rejects the idea that suffering (especially when connected to oppressive violence) is redemptive.
Organizational Structure
National and regional UU bodies vary tremendously in structure. Eastern European Unitarian groups, such as the Transylvanian church in Romania with its elected bishop, tend toward a more ecclesiastical structure. Unitarian Universalists in the United States, on the other hand, trace their lineage in part to the Pilgrim and Puritan churches of early New England and thus have a strong tradition of congregational polity. (Congregational polity holds that the highest authority lies with independent congregations. While denominational structures can serve the needs of congregations, they hold no power over them.) The smaller national movements are in general rather loosely organized. Church organizations in the different countries have remained autonomous, although in 1994 the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists formed in order to facilitate communication between the different national associations.
Houses of Worship and Holy Places
UU houses of worship vary tremendously. The first Unitarian and Universalist churches in the United States, in keeping with their Puritan heritage, were often of the traditional white clapboard style of the New England meetinghouse. The oldest church in continuous use in the United States is the UU house of worship in Hingham, Massachusetts, which was constructed in 1681 and is the only remaining example of an original 17th-century Puritan meetinghouse in the United States. UU churches often reflect the architecture of the eras when they were constructed, and many are bold attempts to reinvent traditional church design. Frank Lloyd Wright, a Unitarian, developed groundbreaking modern buildings for the churches in Madison, Wisconsin, and Oak Park, Illinois, both of which are still active UU congregations. Some smaller groups may meet in a rented space or even a private home. While “holy” may not be an appropriate word, important places typically are associated with significant historical events and people, such as the prison in Romania where Ferenc Dávid was held because of his religious beliefs and where he died.
What is Sacred
For most Unitarian Universalists all of existence is sacred. The natural world is holy, and the preservation of it is considered by many to be a religious duty. Specific objects are not sacred in the sense that they are especially sanctified or possess special or magical qualities. In congregations that have maintained the strongest ties to their Christian heritage (typically those in Romania and parts of New England), Communion is celebrated, although the bread and wine are valued for only their symbolic expression of the unity of the worshipping community.
Holidays and Festivals
UU congregations historically celebrate the Christian holidays of Christmas and Easter. In recent times the number of people who identify as Unitarian Universalists but not as Christians has increased, and so it has become more common to commemorate holidays and festivals of other religious traditions. In the past two decades, some congregations have started marking the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Passover.
There are no uniquely Unitarian or Universalist holidays. The closest would be the Flower Ceremony, created by Czech Unitarian minister Norbert Capek for his Prague congregation during the 1930s. Each attendee is asked to bring a flower to the ceremony, which usually takes place in the spring and sometimes on Easter. These flowers are combined into large bouquets and blessed, after which attendees leave the ceremony with different flowers than they contributed. The flowers celebrate the community of the congregation and the contribution of each person.
Mode of Dress
Unitarian Universalists generally are embedded in their local culture, and congregational expectations concerning dress vary greatly. In more formal churches and those that have a greater connection to their Christian heritage, ministers might wear robes and stoles during worship; in less formal congregations and those in which the parishioners have more humanistic attitudes, specific clerical attire is less common.
Dietary Practices
Most Unitarian Universalists tend to follow the dietary customs of their culture. There is a greater proportion of vegetarians and vegans among North American and European Unitarian Universalists than in the general population. Some Unitarian Universalists feel that the respect for the interdependence of all existence called for by the current Unitarian Universalist Association’s principles implies an obligation to protect animal life.
Rituals
Regular worship services are most commonly held on Sunday mornings and typically follow the Protestant format of readings, hymns, and prayers surrounding a sermon. The readings and hymns vary greatly, especially in terms of the degree of Christian content. In some congregations the Bible may be the referent for the entire service; in others biblical references may only be heard around Christian holidays. Recently, as a result of the influence of UU youth groups that have developed a contemporary view of faith, some congregations are starting to experiment with a freer-flowing type of worship that focuses more on expressiveness and participation and less on the sermon or textual exposition.
In North America and western Europe, where humanism and theological diversity mix, prayer is highly individualistic and is typically couched in sufficiently general terms as to cover a range of forms. Some congregations have more specific prayer practices, but this is not the norm. Among eastern European churches, where a liberal Christian theology prevails, prayer is more theistically centered, and the Lord’s Prayer is always part of congregational worship.
Wedding and funeral rituals follow a similar pattern. In countries where liberal Christianity has been maintained, these ceremonies are more traditional, adhering to the Protestant mold. In other regions, such as North America, weddings are highly individualized, reflecting the wishes and preferences of the couple. As a part of their advocacy for equal rights, Unitarian Universalists began performing religious commitment ceremonies for same-sex couples as early as the 1970s. The first legal same sex-marriage in Massachusetts occurred in 2004; it was between two UU women and was officiated by a UU minister.
Unitarian Universalists have historically stressed the importance of placing death into a natural rather than supernatural context. 19th-century Unitarians were foremost in the “garden cemetery” movement, constructing burial grounds that were intended to be places of natural beauty and quiet contemplation for visitors. In the 20th century Unitarian Universalists worked to make cremation an accessible choice for Americans; today cremation is common among Unitarian Universalists. There is a growing interest in “green” burials, which often are done without coffins or embalming. Memorial services that focus on the deceased person’s life rather than theological expressions are common. In contrast to traditional funerals, these services usually do not include the presence of a body and, consequently, can occur at any point after death when it is convenient for family and friends to gather. However, UU clergy typically honor family customs and preferences, and traditional funerals and burials are also made available.
Rites of Passage
The rites of passage celebrated by Unitarian Universalists are similar to those of other traditions emerging from Protestantism. Naming or child dedication ceremonies are held for infants or small children, and a confirmation or coming-of-age rite is common for young teens. These are made available by the church but are not imposed; thus, many Unitarian Universalists might never personally participate in one. “Bridging,” a ceremony developed from within the church’s youth associations in recent years to mark the passage from youth to adulthood, has grown in popularity, and is often celebrated in the context of camps, conferences, and associational gatherings rather than only in the congregations.
Membership
UU is generally a faith of converts; several surveys in North America in the 1980s and 1990s found that only about 10 percent of members were raised in the religion. This is largely because Unitarian Universalists do not impose a religious identity on their children but rather encourage them to follow their own consciences and inclinations in matters of spiritual formation. The religious education programs, for example, teach about faiths besides only UU. Evangelism and outreach activities such as advertisements and Internet-based ministries are focused on attracting followers who already hold UU views as opposed to changing people’s beliefs. In eastern Europe, Unitarianism is more associated with particular ethnic identities (such as with Hungarians in the area that was once Transylvania), leading to a membership that is consistent across generations.
Religious Tolerance
The tradition’s support for religious tolerance dates to 1568, when John Sigismund, a Unitarian who was king of Transylvania, signed the Edict of Torda, giving equal freedom to the Catholic, Reformed, Lutheran, and Unitarian faiths in his kingdom. Religious tolerance is a core UU value, and many early Unitarians rejected the Trinity in order to preserve a sense of kinship with Jews, Muslims, and other monotheists who worshipped one God but did not accept Jesus as divine. Advocating for religious tolerance also had a practical source: in Europe, Unitarianism was often the object of persecution by various state and church authorities who deemed the belief to be heretical and at points (such as in the late 17th century in Poland and the 16th and 17th centuries in England) even illegal.
In the mid-19th century Unitarians even discussed a possible merger with Reform Jews, finding their liberal religious focus compatible, but cultural differences between the two groups made this impractical. Unitarians were among the organizers of the World’s Parliament of Religions (1893) and the International Association for Religious Freedom (1900).
In North America, UU congregations and ministers commonly are involved in interfaith efforts and organizations to the extent to which they are welcomed by the dominant Christian faiths. Some Unitarian Universalists identify with multiple faiths, and groups that relate to Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, humanism, and pagan traditions have been organized and have chapters in many local congregations, including UUs for Jewish Awareness and the Coven of Unitarian Universalist Pagans. There is increasing interest within parts of the denomination toward forming alliances with liberal Muslims and speaking out against “Islamaphobia,” or an intolerance of Islam.
Social Justice
Historically both Unitarians and Universalists have been active in seeking social justice. Universalists, believing that all people share a common salvation and that the inequality of human social systems is not a divine intention, concluded that they should work to realize paradise in the here and now. In 1790 the Universalist Church was one of the first religious groups to formally oppose slavery, and in the 19th century it was the first church to empower women as ministerial and lay leaders.
With their hopeful reading of human nature, Unitarians believed that it is within the human capacity to strive for the betterment of individuals and the world as a whole. Twentieth-century Unitarian theologian James Luther Adams wrote in The Prophethood of All Believers that Unitarians “share the common responsibility to foresee the consequences of human behavior (both individual and institutional), with the intention of making history in place of being merely pushed around by it.” Unitarians were typically interested in a wide variety of reform work. For example, Horace Mann (1796-1859) was an educator and a statesman who greatly advanced the cause of universal, free, non-sectarian public schools. He also advocated for temperance, abolition, hospitals for the mentally ill, and women’s rights, but he viewed education as his most important undertaking. On the issue of women’s rights, Unitarians were active in North America, Great Britain, Australia, and the Scandinavian countries, advocating in particular for suffrage and reproductive rights.
This tradition has had a lasting impact on contemporary UU. Social justice work is incorporated into the Unitarian Universalist Association principles, which all member congregations affirm and promote. A public advocacy campaign called “Standing on the Side of Love” was established in 2008 as the result of a hate-based shooting at a UU congregation in Knoxville, Tennessee, where Jim David Adkisson, who said he was motivated by his hatred of liberals, walked into a Sunday morning service and began to shoot, killing two people and wounding seven. The “Standing on the Side of Love” campaign is intended to counter identity-based oppression and exclusion and has included advocacy for marriage equality as well as pro-immigration reform. In 2012 the Unitarian Universalist Association held its General Assembly (the annual national gathering of delegates from the congregations) in Phoenix, Arizona, in order to provide witness against that state’s controversial immigrant legislation.
Social Life
The social attitudes of Unitarian Universalists tend to be liberal or progressive. Stressing the importance of equality and freedom of individual expression over tradition, Unitarian Universalists are not bound strictly by convention. An advocacy for gender equality was an early hallmark of both the Unitarian and Universalist churches, with women being ordained in each tradition as early as the mid-19th century. UU churches today often advertise themselves as “welcoming congregations,” indicating that they are hospitable to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons.
Controversial Issues
Unitarian Universalists support reproductive rights, drug policy and prison reform, death with dignity, elimination of the death penalty, and civil rights for sexual minorities. Universalist Olympia Brown was the first woman ordained by an American religious organization (1864), and Unitarian Martha Turner was the first woman minister in Australia (1874). In 2001 there were more women than men in the UU ministry in North America for the first time. The Unitarian Universalist Association actively supports same-sex marriage, and gay, lesbian, and transgendered persons serve openly in the ministry. Increasingly Unitarian Universalists have stood up against intolerance toward Islam; some parishioners identify themselves as being Muslim in addition to Unitarian Universalist. Controversies within the denomination have included disagreements about the value of its Christian heritage and conflicts between theists and non-theists over whether, for example, explicitly religious language such as “God” should be used in services.
The demographic within UU is predominately white and middle class, which is another source of tension for a faith that places a premium on diversity. There have been arguments about whether the church should try to take steps to diversify in terms of race. Antiracism workshops and religious education programs for adults are increasingly common across the denomination, as are educational programs on the issue of white privilege. Scholarship assistance and other programs have also been put in place to support seminarians and ministers who identify themselves as persons of color, but the larger racial demographic remains largely unchanged.
Cultural Impact
Despite their relatively small numbers, Unitarians and Universalists have had a powerful impact on culture and society. For example, during the literary period known as the “American Renaissance” in the mid-19th century, many masterpieces were produced by people associated with Unitarianism, including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau. The values reflected in many of these works—specifically, the importance of American democracy, independence, and moving away from blind religious adherence and toward humanism—are characteristic of Unitarianism. Transcendentalism, a movement stressing the inherent goodness of the world that was closely associated with these authors and had a great impact on American culture, developed within Unitarianism.
Unitarians, who called for a compatibility of religion and reason, often influenced movements representing an integration of science with religion. Unitarians were among the early religious voices to advocate for the acceptance of evolutionary theories; in fact, Charles Darwin (1809-1882), who wrote the seminal evolutionary text On the Origin of Species (1859), was a Unitarian. Two major figures from the philosophical school of American Pragmatism, which applied scientific methodology to philosophical problems and emphasized the connection between practice and theory (as opposed to knowledge for its own sake), were the Unitarians William James (1842-1910) and John Dewey (1859-1952).