Universalist Church of America
Encyclopedia
The Universalist Church of America was a Christian Universalist religious denomination in the United States
(plus affiliated Churches in other parts of the world). Known from 1866 as the Universalist General Convention, the name was changed to the Universalist Church of America in 1942. In 1961, it consolidated with the American Unitarian Association
to form the Unitarian Universalist Association
.
The defining theology of Universalism is universal salvation
; Universalists believe that the God of love would not create a person knowing that that person would be destined for eternal damnation. Thus, they concluded that all people must be destined for salvation. Some early Universalists, known as Restorationists and led by Paul Dean
, believed there was a period of reprobation in Hell following death that preceded salvation. Other Universalists, notably Hosea Ballou
, denied the existence of Hell entirely.
such as Origen
. Richard Bauckham
in Universalism: a historical survey ascribes this to Platonist influence, and notes that the final restoration of all souls seems to have been not uncommon in the East during the fourth and fifth centuries and was apparently taught by Gregory of Nyssa
, though this is disputed by Greek Orthodox scholars. According to the Universalist historian Rev. George T. Knight in the first five or six centuries of Christianity, there were six known theological schools, of which four (Alexandria, Antioch, Caesarea, and Edessa) were universalist.
The first verifiable and undisputed believer in universal salvation is Gerrard Winstanley
, author of The Mysterie of God Concerning the Whole Creation, Mankinde (London, 1648).
movements in Europe, including Quakers, Moravians, Methodists, Lutherans, Schwenkfelders, Schwarzenau Brethren
, and others. Pietists emphasized individual piety and zeal and a "religion of the heart." Early followers were most often German in ancestry. The majority of the early American Universalists lived in the Mid-Atlantic colonies, though Rhode Island
also had a fair amount of followers. Adams Streeter
(1735–1786), the first minister of Universalist congregations in Oxford
and Milford, Massachusetts
, original societies of Universalism in New England, came from a Baptist background, ordained in 1774.
One of the most important early Universalist evangelists was the Dr. George de Benneville
. Born in a Huguenot
family exiled to England, he arrived in America in 1741. A physician and lay preacher, he spread Universalism among the German immigrants of Bucks County, Pennsylvania
, and later around Philadelphia and New Jersey
. Benneville also commonly visited the Ephrata Cloister
, a utopian community with Universalist beliefs. He arranged for the translation of a German book about universalism, The Everlasting Gospel (1753 translation), by Georg Klein-Nicolai of Friessdorf, Germany. Nearly forty years later, Elhanan Winchester
read the book and converted to Universalism. He was influential in the printing of the Sauer Bible of Christoph Sauer
(1695–1758), the first German Bible printed in America, with passages supporting Winchester's belief in the universal availability of salvation.
In the South, Rev. Giles Chapman was a former Quaker and Continental Army Chaplain who married into a Dunker
family. The first Universalist church in South Carolina (and possibly in America) was the Freedonia Meeting Hall situated in Newberry County. Hosea Ballou
has been called the "father of American Universalism," along with John Murray (minister)
, who founded the first Universalist church in America in Gloucester, Massachusetts
, in 1774.
Benjamin Rush
, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a convert to Winchester's teaching of universal salvation, but not a member of a Universalist church, was a vigorous foe of slavery, advocated the abolition of the death penalty, advocated for better education for women, supported free public schools, was a pioneer in the study and treatment of mental illness, and insisted that the insane had a right to be treated with respect. He published a pamphlet on the iniquity of the slave trade. As part of his abolitionism, he helped organize the "Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery and the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage," the first antislavery society in America; he also served as its president. Rush believed, as did Winchester and most Universalists, in a state of punishment after death for the wicked.
The first General Society was held in 1778. Annual conventions started in 1785 with the New England Convention. In 1804, this convention changed its name to "The General Convention of Universalists in the New England States and Others." At its peak in the 1830s, the Universalist Church is reported to have been the 9th largest denomination in the United States.
to form the Unitarian Universalist Association
. Some state Universalist Conventions did not accept the consolidation. These churches and others form minor pockets of Christian theological Universalists which remain, but most are affiliated with other denominations.
(1856–1965), the Ryder Divinity School (c. 1885 - 1913) at Lombard College
, and the Crane Theological School
of Tufts University
(1869–1968).
The Philadelphia Convention was an independent National Convention from 1790 to about 1810.
Notwithstanding its tendency toward independence, Universalist congregations supported the construction of The Universalist National Memorial Church
in Washington, D.C., to serve as the official church of Universalism. In 1921, the Universalist General Convention approved funds for the building of the church and services began in 1925. The present church, located at 1810 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington DC, was established in 1930 and its current congregation continues to follow Universalist principles.
as immoral. They also favored postbellum legislation such as the Fifteenth Amendment
and the Freedman's Act to enfranchise all American citizens.
One example comes from the 1770s. By Massachusetts state law, citizens were taxed to support the Congregational Church of the community where they lived. Sixty-one people in Gloucester
left the church to form the Independent Church of Christ, which stood for Universalism. They then refused to pay their taxes. The church they built was seized and sold to pay; however, the Church sued, and in 1786, they won their case.
became one of the first woman in the United States to receive ordination in a national denomination, Antionette Brown having been the first when she was ordained by the Congregational Churches in 1853. By 1920, there were 88 Universalist women ministers, the largest group in the United States.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(plus affiliated Churches in other parts of the world). Known from 1866 as the Universalist General Convention, the name was changed to the Universalist Church of America in 1942. In 1961, it consolidated with the American Unitarian Association
American Unitarian Association
The American Unitarian Association was a religious denomination in the United States and Canada, formed by associated Unitarian congregations in 1825. In 1961, it merged with the Universalist Church of America to form the Unitarian Universalist Association.According to Mortimer Rowe, the Secretary...
to form the Unitarian Universalist Association
Unitarian Universalist Association
Unitarian Universalist Association , in full the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations in North America, is a liberal religious association of Unitarian Universalist congregations formed by the consolidation in 1961 of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of...
.
The defining theology of Universalism is universal salvation
Universal reconciliation
In Christian theology, universal reconciliation is the doctrine that all sinful and alienated human souls—because of divine love and mercy—will ultimately be reconciled to God.Universal salvation may be related to the perception of a problem of Hell, standing opposed to ideas...
; Universalists believe that the God of love would not create a person knowing that that person would be destined for eternal damnation. Thus, they concluded that all people must be destined for salvation. Some early Universalists, known as Restorationists and led by Paul Dean
Paul Dean (minister)
Paul Dean was a 19th-century universalist minister. He pastored in Boston, Massachusetts, at the First Universalist Church on Hanover Street and the Central Universalist Church on Bulfinch Street .-Further reading:...
, believed there was a period of reprobation in Hell following death that preceded salvation. Other Universalists, notably Hosea Ballou
Hosea Ballou
Hosea Ballou was an American Universalist clergyman and theological writer.-Biography:Hosea Ballou was born in Richmond, New Hampshire, to a family of Huguenot origin...
, denied the existence of Hell entirely.
Spiritual ancestry
Members of the Universalist Church of America claimed universalist beliefs among some early ChristiansEarly Christianity
Early Christianity is generally considered as Christianity before 325. The New Testament's Book of Acts and Epistle to the Galatians records that the first Christian community was centered in Jerusalem and its leaders included James, Peter and John....
such as Origen
Origen
Origen , or Origen Adamantius, 184/5–253/4, was an early Christian Alexandrian scholar and theologian, and one of the most distinguished writers of the early Church. As early as the fourth century, his orthodoxy was suspect, in part because he believed in the pre-existence of souls...
. Richard Bauckham
Richard Bauckham
Richard Bauckham is a widely published scholar in theology, historical theology and New Testament. He is currently working on New Testament Christology and the Gospel of John as a Senior Scholar at Ridley Hall, Cambridge....
in Universalism: a historical survey ascribes this to Platonist influence, and notes that the final restoration of all souls seems to have been not uncommon in the East during the fourth and fifth centuries and was apparently taught by Gregory of Nyssa
Gregory of Nyssa
St. Gregory of Nyssa was a Christian bishop and saint. He was a younger brother of Basil the Great and a good friend of Gregory of Nazianzus. His significance has long been recognized in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Catholic and Roman Catholic branches of Christianity...
, though this is disputed by Greek Orthodox scholars. According to the Universalist historian Rev. George T. Knight in the first five or six centuries of Christianity, there were six known theological schools, of which four (Alexandria, Antioch, Caesarea, and Edessa) were universalist.
The first verifiable and undisputed believer in universal salvation is Gerrard Winstanley
Gerrard Winstanley
Gerrard Winstanley was an English Protestant religious reformer and political activist during the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell...
, author of The Mysterie of God Concerning the Whole Creation, Mankinde (London, 1648).
Early America
American Universalism developed from the influence of various Pietist and AnabaptistAnabaptist
Anabaptists are Protestant Christians of the Radical Reformation of 16th-century Europe, and their direct descendants, particularly the Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites....
movements in Europe, including Quakers, Moravians, Methodists, Lutherans, Schwenkfelders, Schwarzenau Brethren
Schwarzenau Brethren
The Schwarzenau Brethren, originated in Germany, the outcome of the Radical Pietist ferment of the late 17th and early 18th century. Hopeful of the imminent return of Christ, the founding Brethren abandoned the established Reformed and Lutheran churches, forming a new church in 1708 when their...
, and others. Pietists emphasized individual piety and zeal and a "religion of the heart." Early followers were most often German in ancestry. The majority of the early American Universalists lived in the Mid-Atlantic colonies, though Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
also had a fair amount of followers. Adams Streeter
Adams Streeter
Adams Streeter was the first minister of the Universalist congregations in Oxford and Milford, Massachusetts. He is claimed to have coined the phrase "Christian Universalism"....
(1735–1786), the first minister of Universalist congregations in Oxford
Oxford, Massachusetts
Oxford is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 13,709 at the 2010 census.For geographic and demographic information on the census-designated place Oxford, please see the article Oxford , Massachusetts.-History:...
and Milford, Massachusetts
Milford, Massachusetts
Milford is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It had a population of 27,999 at the 2010 census.For geographic and demographic information on the census-designated place Milford, constituting the center of the town, please see the article Milford ,...
, original societies of Universalism in New England, came from a Baptist background, ordained in 1774.
One of the most important early Universalist evangelists was the Dr. George de Benneville
George de Benneville
George de Benneville was born in London in 1703 to aristocratic Huguenot French parents in the court of Queen Anne. While serving as a sailor during his adolescent years, de Benneville traveled around the world and began to question his religion and compare it to other world religions...
. Born in a Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
family exiled to England, he arrived in America in 1741. A physician and lay preacher, he spread Universalism among the German immigrants of Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Bucks County, Pennsylvania
- Industry and commerce :The boroughs of Bristol and Morrisville were prominent industrial centers along the Northeast Corridor during World War II. Suburban development accelerated in Lower Bucks in the 1950s with the opening of Levittown, Pennsylvania, the second such "Levittown" designed by...
, and later around Philadelphia and New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. Benneville also commonly visited the Ephrata Cloister
Ephrata Cloister
The Ephrata Cloister or Ephrata Community was a religious community, established in 1732 by Johann Conrad Beissel at Ephrata, in what is now Lancaster County, Pennsylvania...
, a utopian community with Universalist beliefs. He arranged for the translation of a German book about universalism, The Everlasting Gospel (1753 translation), by Georg Klein-Nicolai of Friessdorf, Germany. Nearly forty years later, Elhanan Winchester
Elhanan Winchester
Elhanan Winchester was one of the founders of the United States General Convention of Universalists, later the Universalist Church of America.-External links:* -References:...
read the book and converted to Universalism. He was influential in the printing of the Sauer Bible of Christoph Sauer
Christoph Sauer
Christoph Sauer was the first German-language printer and publisher in North America.Johann Christoph Sauer was born in 1695 in Ladenburg , the son of a Reformed pastor. He came to the County of Wittgenstein in central Germany as a child with his widowed mother some time between 1700-1710...
(1695–1758), the first German Bible printed in America, with passages supporting Winchester's belief in the universal availability of salvation.
In the South, Rev. Giles Chapman was a former Quaker and Continental Army Chaplain who married into a Dunker
Old German Baptist Brethren
Old German Baptist Brethren descend from a pietist movement in Schwarzenau, Germany, in 1708, when Alexander Mack founded a fellowship with seven other believers. They are one of several Brethren groups that trace themselves to that original founding body...
family. The first Universalist church in South Carolina (and possibly in America) was the Freedonia Meeting Hall situated in Newberry County. Hosea Ballou
Hosea Ballou
Hosea Ballou was an American Universalist clergyman and theological writer.-Biography:Hosea Ballou was born in Richmond, New Hampshire, to a family of Huguenot origin...
has been called the "father of American Universalism," along with John Murray (minister)
John Murray (minister)
John Murray though sometimes recalled as founder of the Universalist denomination in the United States, might more fairly be described as a pioneer minister and an inspirational figure, as his theological legacy to the later Universalist denomination was minimal.-Early life:He was born in Alton,...
, who founded the first Universalist church in America in Gloucester, Massachusetts
Gloucester, Massachusetts
Gloucester is a city on Cape Ann in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is part of Massachusetts' North Shore. The population was 28,789 at the 2010 U.S. Census...
, in 1774.
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Rush was a Founding Father of the United States. Rush lived in the state of Pennsylvania and was a physician, writer, educator, humanitarian and a Christian Universalist, as well as the founder of Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania....
, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a convert to Winchester's teaching of universal salvation, but not a member of a Universalist church, was a vigorous foe of slavery, advocated the abolition of the death penalty, advocated for better education for women, supported free public schools, was a pioneer in the study and treatment of mental illness, and insisted that the insane had a right to be treated with respect. He published a pamphlet on the iniquity of the slave trade. As part of his abolitionism, he helped organize the "Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery and the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage," the first antislavery society in America; he also served as its president. Rush believed, as did Winchester and most Universalists, in a state of punishment after death for the wicked.
The first General Society was held in 1778. Annual conventions started in 1785 with the New England Convention. In 1804, this convention changed its name to "The General Convention of Universalists in the New England States and Others." At its peak in the 1830s, the Universalist Church is reported to have been the 9th largest denomination in the United States.
Consolidation
The Church consolidated with the American Unitarian AssociationAmerican Unitarian Association
The American Unitarian Association was a religious denomination in the United States and Canada, formed by associated Unitarian congregations in 1825. In 1961, it merged with the Universalist Church of America to form the Unitarian Universalist Association.According to Mortimer Rowe, the Secretary...
to form the Unitarian Universalist Association
Unitarian Universalist Association
Unitarian Universalist Association , in full the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations in North America, is a liberal religious association of Unitarian Universalist congregations formed by the consolidation in 1961 of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of...
. Some state Universalist Conventions did not accept the consolidation. These churches and others form minor pockets of Christian theological Universalists which remain, but most are affiliated with other denominations.
Church organization
Universalist congregations tended towards independence and were not easily prone to centralization. They generally met in State Conventions, which usually had more authority than was vested in national Conventions. The church had three divinity schools: Theological School of St. Lawrence UniversityTheological School of St. Lawrence University
The Theological School of St. Lawrence University was founded in 1856 at St. Lawrence University and closed in 1965, one of the three Universalist seminaries .-Closure:...
(1856–1965), the Ryder Divinity School (c. 1885 - 1913) at Lombard College
Lombard College
-History:Lombard College was founded in 1853 by the Universalist Church as the Illinois Liberal Institute. In 1855, however, a major fire damaged much of the college, placing its future at risk, but a large gift from Benjamin Lombard, an Illinois farmer and businessman, rescued the institution,...
, and the Crane Theological School
Crane Theological School
The Crane Theological School was a Universalist seminary at Tufts University founded in 1869 as the Tufts College Divinity School and closed in 1968. It was one of three Universalist seminaries founded in America during the nineteenth century. The Crane Theological School was a Universalist...
of Tufts University
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
(1869–1968).
The Philadelphia Convention was an independent National Convention from 1790 to about 1810.
Notwithstanding its tendency toward independence, Universalist congregations supported the construction of The Universalist National Memorial Church
Universalist National Memorial Church
Universalist National Memorial Church is a Unitarian Universalist church located at 1810 16th Street, Northwest in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C.. Theologically, the church describes itself as "both liberal Christian and Universalist"...
in Washington, D.C., to serve as the official church of Universalism. In 1921, the Universalist General Convention approved funds for the building of the church and services began in 1925. The present church, located at 1810 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington DC, was established in 1930 and its current congregation continues to follow Universalist principles.
Social and political stances
The Universalist Church of America involved itself in several social causes, generally with a politically liberal bent.Abolitionism
As noted above, Benjamin Rush was a major political activist for anti-slavery causes in early America. The issue resurfaced in the 1850s with the Fugitive Slave Act and other compromises; the Universalists, along with various other denominations, vigorously opposed slaverySlavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
as immoral. They also favored postbellum legislation such as the Fifteenth Amendment
Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits each government in the United States from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's "race, color, or previous condition of servitude"...
and the Freedman's Act to enfranchise all American citizens.
Separation of church and state
Like many American religions, Universalism has generally been amenable to church-state separation. In New England, Baptists, Universalists, and Quakers provided some of the loudest voices calling for disestablishment of the government sponsored churches of the standing order.One example comes from the 1770s. By Massachusetts state law, citizens were taxed to support the Congregational Church of the community where they lived. Sixty-one people in Gloucester
Gloucester, Massachusetts
Gloucester is a city on Cape Ann in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is part of Massachusetts' North Shore. The population was 28,789 at the 2010 U.S. Census...
left the church to form the Independent Church of Christ, which stood for Universalism. They then refused to pay their taxes. The church they built was seized and sold to pay; however, the Church sued, and in 1786, they won their case.
Spiritualism
Although the Universalist Church as a denomination never fully embraced Spiritualism, many Universalists were sympathetic to this nineteenth-century movement. Spiritualism was preached with some regularity from Universalist pulpits in the middle decades of the 19th century and some ministers left the denomination when their Spiritualist leanings became too pronounced for their peers and congregations.Ordination of women
On June 25, 1863, Olympia BrownOlympia Brown
Olympia Brown was an American suffragist. She is regarded as the first woman to graduate from a theological school, as well as becoming the first full time ordained minister...
became one of the first woman in the United States to receive ordination in a national denomination, Antionette Brown having been the first when she was ordained by the Congregational Churches in 1853. By 1920, there were 88 Universalist women ministers, the largest group in the United States.
Universalists
- P. T. BarnumP. T. BarnumPhineas Taylor Barnum was an American showman, businessman, scam artist and entertainer, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and for founding the circus that became the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus....
, entertainer - George de BennevilleGeorge de BennevilleGeorge de Benneville was born in London in 1703 to aristocratic Huguenot French parents in the court of Queen Anne. While serving as a sailor during his adolescent years, de Benneville traveled around the world and began to question his religion and compare it to other world religions...
, influential early evangelist - Giles Chapman, early evangelist
- Thomas Potter
- John MurrayJohn Murray (minister)John Murray though sometimes recalled as founder of the Universalist denomination in the United States, might more fairly be described as a pioneer minister and an inspirational figure, as his theological legacy to the later Universalist denomination was minimal.-Early life:He was born in Alton,...
, evangelist - Caleb RichCaleb RichCaleb Rich was an American minister who was influential in the formation of the Universalist Church.Rich was the son of Rev. Elisha Rich and Mary Davis. His father being a Baptist and his mother an adherent of the "standing order," he probably became accustomed to hearing discussions of religious...
, evangelist - Benjamin RushBenjamin RushBenjamin Rush was a Founding Father of the United States. Rush lived in the state of Pennsylvania and was a physician, writer, educator, humanitarian and a Christian Universalist, as well as the founder of Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania....
, statesman, Founding Father, and abolitionist. - Hosea BallouHosea BallouHosea Ballou was an American Universalist clergyman and theological writer.-Biography:Hosea Ballou was born in Richmond, New Hampshire, to a family of Huguenot origin...
, theologian and evangelist - Abner KneelandAbner KneelandAbner Kneeland was an American evangelist and theologian who advocated many views, religious and social, which were considered extremely radical for his day. Due to his very public stance on these issues, Kneeland became the last man jailed in the United States for blasphemy.-Early life and...
, theologian and the last man in the United States jailed for blasphemyBlasphemyBlasphemy is irreverence towards religious or holy persons or things. Some countries have laws to punish blasphemy, while others have laws to give recourse to those who are offended by blasphemy... - Judith Sargent MurrayJudith Sargent MurrayJudith Sargent Murray was an early American advocate for women's rights, an essayist, playwright, poet, and letter writer. She was one of the first American proponents of the idea of the equality of the sexes—that women, like men, had the capability of intellectual accomplishment and should be...
, essayist and poet, advocated woman's rights - Olympia BrownOlympia BrownOlympia Brown was an American suffragist. She is regarded as the first woman to graduate from a theological school, as well as becoming the first full time ordained minister...
, the first woman in the United States to be ordained by a major denomination - Clara BartonClara BartonClarissa Harlowe "Clara" Barton was a pioneer American teacher, patent clerk, nurse, and humanitarian. She is best remembered for organizing the American Red Cross.-Youth, education, and family nursing:...
, founder of the American Red Cross - Clarence SkinnerClarence Skinner (minister)Clarence Russell Skinner was a Universalist Minister, Teacher, and Dean of the Crane School of Theology at Tufts University. Born in Lexington, Massachusetts. He wrote several books that had a substantial influence on Universalism in America in the twentieth century: The Social Implication of...
, theologian and dean of Crane School of Theology - John Albert CousensJohn Albert CousensJohn Albert Cousens was an American Universalist businessman and educator who was the sixth president of Tufts College from 1919 to 1937.-Life:...
, sixth president of Tufts College - Alonzo Ames MinerAlonzo Ames MinerAlonzo Ames Miner was the second president of Tufts University from 1862 to 1875.Born in Lempster, New Hampshire, he was the second of five children and only son of Benajah Ames and Amanda Miner. His father was a descendant of the colonist Thomas Miner...
, second president of Tufts College - Phebe Coffin Hanaford, minister, essayist, abolitionist, suffragist, social reformer
- Ted SorensenTed SorensenTheodore Chaikin "Ted" Sorensen was an American presidential advisor, lawyer and writer, best known as President John F. Kennedy’s special counsel, adviser and legendary speechwriter. President Kennedy once called him his “intellectual blood bank.”-Early life:Sorensen was born in Nebraska, the son...
, President John F. Kennedy’s special counsel and adviser, legendary speechwriter
See also
- Christian UniversalismChristian UniversalismChristian Universalism is a school of Christian theology which includes the belief in the doctrine of universal reconciliation, the view that all human beings or all fallen creatures will ultimately be restored to right relationship with God....
- Unitarian UniversalismUnitarian UniversalismUnitarian Universalism is a religion characterized by support for a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning". Unitarian Universalists do not share a creed; rather, they are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth and by the understanding that an individual's theology is a...
- Unitarian Universalist AssociationUnitarian Universalist AssociationUnitarian Universalist Association , in full the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations in North America, is a liberal religious association of Unitarian Universalist congregations formed by the consolidation in 1961 of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of...
- UniversalismUniversalismUniversalism in its primary meaning refers to religious, theological, and philosophical concepts with universal application or applicability...
- Universal reconciliationUniversal reconciliationIn Christian theology, universal reconciliation is the doctrine that all sinful and alienated human souls—because of divine love and mercy—will ultimately be reconciled to God.Universal salvation may be related to the perception of a problem of Hell, standing opposed to ideas...
- Universalist HeraldUniversalist Herald"Universalist Heritage and Spirit Today" and "The Oldest Continuously Published Liberal Religious Periodical in North America" are the subtitles of the modern Universalist Herald....
Further reading
- Buescher, John B. 2003. The Other Side of Salvation: Spiritualism and the Nineteenth-Century Religious Experience. Boston: Skinner House Books. ISBN 1-55896-448-7.
- J.W. Hanson (1899)Universalism, The Prevailing Doctrine of the Christian Church During Its First Five Hundred Years. San Diego: St. Alban Press, 2002 Second Edition. ISBN 0-935461-82-5
External links
- Murray Grove Retreat & Conference Center - Thomas Potter farm
- The Sargent House Museum - Judith Sargent Murray house
- Universalists from the Catholic EncyclopediaCatholic EncyclopediaThe Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia and the Original Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published in the United States. The first volume appeared in March 1907 and the last three volumes appeared in 1912, followed by a master index...
- http://www.universalistheritage.org/