Brief History of Unitarian Universalism
Unitarian Universalism is non-creedal, multi-faith liberal religion that emerged from two, originally separate liberal religions, Unitarianism and Universalism. Both religions go back centuries.
Unitarians
Unitarians trace their roots to the 1500’s, where the movement was founded by Christians who didn’t believe in the Trinity of God (that is, God the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost), but rather in the unity of God. This made them heretics and they were often persecuted. Unitarianism flourished in America, with its greater freedom of religion. The first Unitarian congregation in Canada was founded in Montreal in 1842.
Unitarians have long championed religious tolerance, freedom of thought and social justice. Some well known Unitarians include US Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Charles Dickens, Susan B. Antony, Pete Seeger, Kurt Vonnegut, and many more.
Universalists
Universalism originated in the idea of “universal salvation”, the heretical belief that a loving God would never allow only a chosen few to be saved, condemning all others to eternal damnation. Universalism first became a widespread religious movement when English Universalists emigrated to America in the late 1700’s to escape persecution in their home country. The Universalist denomination in North America was founded in 1793, with the formation of the Universalist Church of America. Famous Universalists include Clara Barton, founder of the Red Cross, Hosea Ballou, Benjamin Rush, Horace Greeley and Olympia Brown.
Universalists have also long been known for supporting education and championing social causes, including separation of church and state, prison reform, abolition of slavery, capital punishment, and women’s rights. When the Universalists ordained Olympia Brown a Universalist minister in 1863, they became the first major denomination in North America to fully ordain a woman.
Merger
With their shared history of religious tolerance, respect for spiritual inquiry and the questioning of dogma, and active championing of social causes, the two religious movements merged in 1961, becoming the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations in North America (UUA). The UUA represents more than a 1,000 member congregations in North America. In the same year, the Canadian Unitarian Council (CUC) was formed, as a national association for Canadian UU congregations. Though the CUC was limited in its scope of services in its early years, it is now the primary denominational organization for Canadian UU congregations at the national level.
For a more detailed history of Unitarian Universalism, see Our History on the UUA website. For a Canadian perpsective on UU history, see In Canada.
