17 Examples of Erasing Universalist History, Ignoring Universalist History, or Burying it under the Label of Unitarian History
. . . A collection of examples of Universalism or Universalist history being left out of the picture, destroyed, ignored, misrepresented, treated with substantially less space than Unitarian history, called Unitarian history, or buried under Unitarian history.
I have seen so many examples of this casual disregard for Universalist history that I just had to start collecting them. Please note: These are not all the examples I have ever found, just examples from people who should know better.
How would it be if, every time someone mentions Channing, Emerson and Parker and implies that they are the whole foundation of UU history, someone snuck in and added Murray, Winchester, Balfour and Ballou? Hmmmm. (Listed in chronological order, more or less.)
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Exhibit #1
1922
The City of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Volume 5
by Clarence Monroe Burton
Page 188, in the biography of Rollin Howard Stevens, states:
"Dr. Stevens served on the board of trustees of the Church of Our Father and has long been identified with the Unitarian faith."
Comment: Church of Our Father was a Universalist church. After this book was published, their name changed (1934) to First Unitarian-Universalist Church when Detroit's Unitarian congregation consolidated with the Universalists. It is incorrect to refer to members of this Universalist church as Unitarians, particularly prior to the 1934 event in which the Unitarians "moved in" with the Universalists.
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Exhibit #2
1933
Of the 34 people who signed Humanist Manifesto I, it is often stated that "about half (15) were Unitarians."
Comment: This fact is mentioned in the Preface of the Manifesto. In fact, the signers included only 12 Unitarians, 1 Universalist, and 2 individuals who were dually fellowshipped.
The sole Universalist is called a Unitarian and the two in dual fellowship are stripped of their Universalism and called solely Unitarian.
(Email me if you would like a list of the Universalists and Unitarians who signed the Manifesto.)
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Exhibit #3
1956
The famous group of murals, 24 Saints of Liberalism, painted at 3rd Unitarian Chicago 1956–69 by church member Andrene Kauffman, includes 9 Unitarians, 15 non-U/Us, and no Universalists.
The Unitarian subjects are: Susan B. Anthony, Edwin T. Buehrer, William Ellery Channing, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Thomas Jefferson, James Martineau, Thomas Paine, Theodore Parker, Joseph Priestley.
The Non-U/U subjects are: Jane Addams, John Peter Altgeld (progressive governor of IL), Albert Camus, Confucius, Mohandas K. Gandhi, Suddhartha Gautama, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Martin Luther King, Jr., Abraham Lincoln, Jesus of Nazareth, Socrates, Harriet Tubman, Walt Whitman, Woodrow Wilson, Roger Williams.
Info from UU World, Summer 2009, pages 36-39
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Exhibit #4
1991
Book title: Thomas Starr King: Eminent Californian, Civil War Statesman, Unitarian Minister, by Robert A. Monzingo. NY: Boxwood Press, 1991
Comment: Thomas Starr King was ordained both Universalist and Unitarian but here he is described only as a Unitarian.
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Exhibit #5
1991
The UU Alphabet
Song lyric by yours truly, listing one famous U/U for each letter of the alphabet.
The song lists 14 Unitarians (61%), 3 Universalists (13%), 2 UUs (9%), 3 borderline or wrong names (13%), and three letters (U, X, Z) that I had to fudge entirely, not included in percentages.
In my own defense, I wrote the lyric before I knew much Universalist history. I collected the names from list of "famous UUs" that I got from various sources. Since most lists of "famous UUs" at the time were — and still are — approximtely 80% Unitarian, 10% Universalist and 10% wrong, my song lyric ended up being about the same.
(Email me if you would like to see the song.)
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Exhibit #6
1996
"[The Rev. James] Stoll was a minister of the Unitarian Universalist Association--known as the Unitarians--and his act [coming out] was the first of many that came to mark the Unitarians as the country's most accepting, welcoming denomination for homosexuals."
-- Mark Oppenheimer, History Department, Yale University
This is the third sentence in his article, "The Inherent Worth and Dignity": Gay Unitarians and the Birth of Sexual Tolerance in Liberal Religion, published in Journal of the History of Sexuality, Vol. 7, 1996
Article excerpt found online at Questia at
http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=L1rMSv1h95SD1n1t0HKQJZp0wqkLYw1TYQ2k7WV0npv33fjFDP1C!-997264469!1888687908?docId=96428120 (viewed online Jan 2, 2010)
Should I be shocked that a professor of history at Yale doesn't know or doesn't care about the difference between a Unitarian and a Unitarian Universalist?
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Exhibit #7
1999
"UUs seem to have two conflicting "myth of origin" stories that influence our sense of roots. One is that we began with Akhenaten, Moses and Jesus, and we're the REAL monotheists. (Though that theory is somewhat out of fashion with the change from "one God at most" to "one God more or less.") Then there's the "creation ex nihilo" out of the heads of Servetus and Channing -- this myth is operationally what many members in UU churches believe. It's interesting what you learn by listening at coffee hours and online UU chats, just to understand what the average congregational member really thinks is the history of our idea and association!"
-- Jone Johnson Lewis, on the UU Historical Society listserv
Comment: She says "UUs" have two origin myths but describes origin myths of Unitarians alone.
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Exhibit #8
date unknown (circa 2000)
I once sat through an entire sermon in a UU church in which the speaker -- a guest and layman -- referred to Walt Whitman three or four times as "a gay Unitarian minister." I don't know who the speaker was thinking of but Walt Whitman was not a minister and was not a Unitarian (he was borderline Universalist at best).
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Exhibit #9
16 Jun 2000
David M. Robinson, Distinguished Professor of American Literature, Department of English, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, posted the following to the UU Historical Society listserv:
BEGIN QUOTE
Dear Fellow UU History Buffs,
I'll be giving a talk at GA on UU History in a session sponsored by the Fulfilling the Promise Task Force (session 446). The official title is "What Our History Might Teach Us," but it has evolved over the spring into a paper with the working title "The Five Phases of Unitarian Universalist History." I thought I would put my basic thesis out on this list in advance for possible reaction, and will perhaps be able to speak with some of you at GA. The "Five Phases" will probably not surprise you, but they gave me the best broad overview of the denomination's development that I could work out. What I was interested in developing was a broadly comprehensive, and thus necessarily very general, "big picture" encapsulation of our history. The five phases are:
(1) the Unitarian Controversy (Great Awakening to the 1830s)
(2) Transcendentalism (1830s to 1860s)
(3) Free Religion (1860s to 1890s)
(4) Humanism (1920s to 1940s)
(5) Social Justice Movements (1960s [or late 1950s?] to the present). . . .
END QUOTE
Comment: This is not an outline of UU history, it is an outline of Unitarian history. It ignores Universalist history and has almost no direct relevance to Universalism. There's nothing wrong with that except that Professor Robinson refers to it as "UU History" and as a "broad overview of the denomination's development."
To Robinson's credit, when it was gently pointed out to him by several others on the list that his outline did not apply to Universalist history, he responded, saying:
"I also agree with you that it falsifies Universalist history to try to read it through categories derived from Unitarian history, such as Transcendentalism and Free Religion. This need to keep things separate historically of course presents some problems. In one sense, all UUs after the merger must own the histories of each denomination. And the history of the denomination after the merger is of course "Unitarian Universalist." But to own those histories does not mean to merge them or erase their uniqueness."
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Exhibit #10
27 Dec 2003
"Still we, in our dictionary of Unitarian and Universalist biography and elsewhere state that Ralph Waldo Emerson, Clara Barton, Horace Mann, John Adams and John Quincy Adams, and others, were 19th century Unitarians. How many Unitarians were there in the 19th century?" [emphasis added]
John Keohane, UUHS listserv
Comment: Clara Barton was a Universalist but here she is lumped in with Unitarians and called a Unitarian.
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Exhibit #11
2004
This Day in Unitarian Universalist History: A Treasury of Anniversaries and Milestones from 600 Years of Religious Tradition, by Frank Schulman, published by Skinner House Books, an imprint of the Unitarian Universalist Association.
Comment: This is, overall, a well written book, with clear, concise entries. It is well laid out and easy to read. It lists, for each day of the calendar year, around two to four milestones in UU history.
The problem is that it is almost all Unitarian history and only a little bit Universalist history. And I hazard to say that the Universalist history seems to be based on Unitarian sources.
I made a count of how many entries are Unitarian, how many Universalist, and how many are Borderline (regarding someone who was a small-u unitarian, for example) or Both.
I was going to count the whole book but stopped after three months (January 1 to March 31) since the trend was obvious.
Out of a total of 293 entries for the first three months, I found:
85% (248) Unitarian entries
10% (28) Universalist entries
3% (9) Borderline
3% (8) Both (Unitarian Universalist combined) (total is 101% due to rounding)
I also checked the bibliography and found a preponderance of Unitarian sources. There were 26 Unitarian, 11 Universalist, and 5 UU history books listed, as well as one general biographical dictionary and one history of the Humanist Manifesto (see Exhibit #2).
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Exhibit #12
2008 (approx)
On the poster entitled 100 Unitarians and Universalists there are 79 Unitarians, 9 Universalists, 5 UUs, 1 labeled "you" (with a little mirror instead of a portrait), and 6 who don't even belong on the poster.
The nine Univeralists are: Hosea Ballou, P.T. Barnum, Clara Barton, Olympia Brown, Augusta Jane Chapin, Mary Livermore, John Murray, Benjamin Rush, Clarence Skinner.
The five UUs are: Tim Berners-Lee, Laurel Salton Clark, Robert Fulghum, Thomas Starr King, Christopher Reeve.
The six who shouldn't be on the poster are: Isaac Asimov, Thomas Carlyle, Theodore Giesel, Thomas Huxley, Robert LaFollette, Daniel Webster.
I do not know who published this poster. There is a framed copy of it hanging in the First UU Church of Detroit, but no publication data visible.
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Exhibit #13
7 Apr 2008
Clint Richmond, on the UU Historical Society listserv, said:
BEGIN QUOTE
The historic First Church in Boston has invited me to speak as part of their adult RE Learning Community. The illustrated presentation is based on my guidebook 'Political Places of Boston' . . .
I will be surveying neighborhood landmarks/events and their UU connections (Boston Pride parade, Boston Common and Faneuil Hall) as well as UU sites (such as UUA headquarters, Beacon Press, Arlington Street Church, and Community Church).
UU people to be mentioned will include Emily Greene Balch, Elliot Richardson, Thomas Wentworth Higginson and Theodore Parker.
The UUA bookstore has kindly carried the book since it was released in 2004. Their copies also have a special insert that makes some of these same connections, which allow you to take a similar such "UU Freedom Trail" if you visit Boston.
END QUOTE
Comment: He calls his book and his talk and his freedom trail all "UU" but with the exception of the UUA headquarters, everything mentioned is 100% Unitarian; there seems to be nothing Universalist included.
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Exhibit #14
Apr 2009
Dictionary of UU Biography
Comment: I counted the Unitarians and the Universalists in the Dictionary of UU Biography because it seemed as if most of the entries were on Unitarians. I made the count in Apr 2009.
Of the 932 Individuals listed:
68% (633) are Unitarian
18% (172) are Universalist
3% (32) are Both
11% (98) are Unknown (to me at this time)
Comment: The editor in chief of this project specializes in Universalist history, so I am hopeful that as the project goes forward, the difference between the number of Unitarian and Universalist articles will be lessened.
(Email me if you would like to see a list the actual names and how I counted them.)
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Exhibit #15
May 2009
This website gives a brief history of "UUism" based solely on Ralph Waldo Emerson who was a Unitarian minister for about 4 years (1829-1833) then withdrew from the denomination.
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Exhibit #16
Jun 2009
Philosopedia
Warren Allen Smith's website has a summary page listing the names of 325 notable Unitarians who are profiled on his site (there are a few doubles and other anomalies so the correct number is about 323), and another summary page listing all the Universalists, of which there are 45.
But wait, four of the individuals listed as Universalists were actually Unitarians, so the actual number of Universalists listed is only 41. (The four are Dan McKanan, Winifred Latimer Norman, Arpad Szabo; plus Hosea Ballou I is listed twice, the second time as Josea Ballou.)
I also checked the Unitarian list to see if any names belong on the Universalist list and found four (Johannes Auer, Adin Ballou, Angus MacLean, Clinton Lee Scott).
Comment: The site is about 85% Unitarian and 15% Universalist.
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Exhibit #17
4 Nov 2009
UU historian John Keohane's proposed four-session "Course in Adult Religious Education on UU History," as posted on the UU Historical Society listserv.
BEGIN QUOTE
1) Ballou and Channing Both were 19th century Protestant Christian ministers in Boston. Each read the Bible more seriously than their "orthodox" brethren. They were from different strata of society, and they didn't like each other. Hosea Ballou (1771-1852) was a Universalist. He found in the Bible evidence for Universal Salvation. William Ellery Channing (1780-1842) was a Unitarian. He found lack of Biblical evidence lacking for the Trinity. He thought the Bible must be read with the use of reason.
2) The Humanists of the mid-20th century Evidence that Unitarians had gone clearly beyond our Christian roots. We'll discuss the Humanist Manifesto (1933), and some of those who signed it, including ministers John Dietrich and Edwin H. Wilson. We'll then go to another Humanist, the distinguished scientist and physiologist Maurice Visscher, learning of some of the early medical missionary work of the Unitarian (now UU) Service Committee. We'll also learn of Visscher's social action, of the science, and his actions to end atmospheric nuclear tests.
3) Unitarians and Universalists for Civil Rights We'll discuss UU martyrs at Selma, James Reeb, a minister from Boston, and Viola Liuzzo, a housewife and mother from Michigan, whose Oldsmobile with the Michigan plates stood out in the red clay of Alabama. We'll then move our discussion to a giant of the United States Senate, the Quaker-Unitarian Paul H. Douglas, of Illinois, who led the way for civil rights in his 18 years in the US Senate (1949-67), and each year reported his net worth and income to the penny, while rejecting any gift over $5, and refusing his disability pension from the United States Marines.
4) Unitarians and Universalists in the last 50 years Pre-merger cooperation on Religious Education, a hymnal, etc. leading to merger in 1961, to become the Unitarian Universalist Association.
END QUOTE
Comment: His course includes about 85% Unitarian and 15% Universalist material. The number of Universalist people mentioned here is exactly one: Hosea Ballou, although one could also count Viola Liuzzo who belonged to a joint Unitarian Universalist congregation.
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Visit my online used bookstore and check out my little booklet, A Who's Who of UUs
Thanks and Happy New Year y'all.
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Showing posts with label liberal religion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label liberal religion. Show all posts
02 January 2010
13 December 2009
Top Ten Reasons U/Us aren't identified as U/Us by historians, when Quakers are almost always identified as Quakers.
. . . (With apologies to David Letterman because this is his shtick.)
10. General cultural prejudice against U/Us.
9. The term "Universalist" carries almost no recognition.
8. The term "Unitarian" started out as an insult, and probably still is to some.
7. Some of our churches bear nondenominational names. (Examples: King's Chapel, All Souls, First Parish, Church of Our Father.)
6. Some of our churches carry the names of other denominations. (Examples: Unity, Congregational, Non-Subscribing Presbyterian, Polish Brethren.)
5. Our well-known forebears are confused with Congregationalists, Puritans, or some other religious movement.
4. Our well-known forebears are identified with nonreligious movements. (Examples: Priestley is often labeled a scientist, not a Unitarian minister; Emerson is often labeled a Transcendentalist.)
3. Biographers may lack specialized knowledge of religious history and may therefore avoid mentioning the subject's religious affiliation.
2. Being Universalist or Unitarian is simply not considered relevant. (One prominent biographer, David McCullough, whose massive best-selling biography John Adams makes no mention of Adams' Unitarianism, stated that being a Mennonite or Quaker is "historically significant" but being a Unitarian isn't.)
And, the number one reason historians often identify Quakers by their religion but seldom identify U/Us:
1. The Quakers have a line of breakfast cereal and we don't.
. . . (With apologies to David Letterman because this is his shtick.)
10. General cultural prejudice against U/Us.
9. The term "Universalist" carries almost no recognition.
8. The term "Unitarian" started out as an insult, and probably still is to some.
7. Some of our churches bear nondenominational names. (Examples: King's Chapel, All Souls, First Parish, Church of Our Father.)
6. Some of our churches carry the names of other denominations. (Examples: Unity, Congregational, Non-Subscribing Presbyterian, Polish Brethren.)
5. Our well-known forebears are confused with Congregationalists, Puritans, or some other religious movement.
4. Our well-known forebears are identified with nonreligious movements. (Examples: Priestley is often labeled a scientist, not a Unitarian minister; Emerson is often labeled a Transcendentalist.)
3. Biographers may lack specialized knowledge of religious history and may therefore avoid mentioning the subject's religious affiliation.
2. Being Universalist or Unitarian is simply not considered relevant. (One prominent biographer, David McCullough, whose massive best-selling biography John Adams makes no mention of Adams' Unitarianism, stated that being a Mennonite or Quaker is "historically significant" but being a Unitarian isn't.)
And, the number one reason historians often identify Quakers by their religion but seldom identify U/Us:
1. The Quakers have a line of breakfast cereal and we don't.
18 November 2009
9 Differences between Universalists and Unitarians, and 4 Things They Have in Common
. . . In my experience, the average Unitarian Universalist knows very little about UU history, and what they do know is usually superficial and often downright incorrect. Even more alarming is that often, when I chat about Universalism, I find that the average UU knows even less about Universalist history. Inevitable they will ask me, what's the difference between Unitarians and Universalists anyway? Hence this little list.
Please note: These lists are historical in content. By the 1920s-1940s, most of these differences ceased to matter. American Universalists and American Unitarians consolidated in 1961, although among UUs today there are still some that identify more with one side than the other.
(Much of this material is from the massive book by Russell E. Miller, The Larger Hope, Volume 2: The Second Century of the Universalist Church in America, 1870–1970.)
9 Differences between Universalists and Unitarians
1. In the early days, Universalism appealed mainly to the common people while Unitarianism appealed to a much smaller and wealthier class.
2. In the early days, there were few college graduates among the ministers of Universalism but nearly every Unitarian preacher was a graduate of Harvard.
3. In the early days, Universalist preachers, typified by Hosea Ballou I (1771–1852), were philosophers, poets, reformers, philanthropists. Unitarian preachers, typified by William Ellery Channing (1780–1842), were thinkers, logicians, theologians, controversialists.
4. Unitarians appealed to the aristocratic, cultural, trained mind. Universalists appealed to the democratic, spiritual, "warmth and fervor" side.
5. Universalists hung on to the Bible longer than the Unitarians. Universalists emphasized the goodness of God and the moral leadership of Jesus. Unitarians emphasized biblical criticism and the ethical elements in political and social problems.
6. Unitarianism never took hold among the common people. Unitarians saw their mission being with the scholarly and elite.
7. Universalists were ahead of Unitarians in racial equality. African Americans were members of the first Universalist congregation in America. Universalists started schools and social service agencies to help poverty-stricken blacks after the Civil War. Universalists had interracial congregations in Northern cities and black congregations in the rural South. On the other hand, the American Unitarian Association (AUA) systematically ignored the few black preachers and congregations their faith attracted. In slavery days there were even some Unitarians who owned slaves and defended human slavery, and in the early 20th century the AUA actually published books by Unitarian authors on white racial superiority.
8. Universalists led the way in women's equality. They accepted a woman preacher as early as 1811 (Maria Cook, 1779–1835), ordained the first woman in 1860 (Lydia Ann Jenkins, 1824–1874), and in 1869 had a national organization of Universalist women that stood on par with the church. Unitarians did ordained a few women in the late 1800s, but in the early 20th century they actually pushed women who wanted to be ministers into "parish assistant" roles.
9. There is no record of a Universalist ever excluding a Unitarian from their circle. There are several examples on record of Unitarians excluding Universalists.
4 Things Unitarians and Universalists had in Common
1. Both were radical Protestant denominations with their roots in Europe; both started in North America in the late 1700s. The first Universalist congregation here was formed in Massachusetts in 1779. The first Unitarian congregation, also in Massachusetts, came into being in 1785.
2. Both denominations preached absolute freedom of religion, asserting that each person had the right to question, to learn, and to make up his or her own mind on matters of religious doctrine.
3. Both denominations practiced democracy in church governance.
4. Unitarian and Universalist views of the nature of Jesus have been essentially identical since the late 1700s.
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Find more Universalist and Unitarian history in my little booklet, A Who's Who of UUs
Visit my online bookstore
Shop for used, rare, and out of print books and collectible ephemera from reputable independent dealers at TomFolio.com
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. . . In my experience, the average Unitarian Universalist knows very little about UU history, and what they do know is usually superficial and often downright incorrect. Even more alarming is that often, when I chat about Universalism, I find that the average UU knows even less about Universalist history. Inevitable they will ask me, what's the difference between Unitarians and Universalists anyway? Hence this little list.
Please note: These lists are historical in content. By the 1920s-1940s, most of these differences ceased to matter. American Universalists and American Unitarians consolidated in 1961, although among UUs today there are still some that identify more with one side than the other.
(Much of this material is from the massive book by Russell E. Miller, The Larger Hope, Volume 2: The Second Century of the Universalist Church in America, 1870–1970.)
9 Differences between Universalists and Unitarians
1. In the early days, Universalism appealed mainly to the common people while Unitarianism appealed to a much smaller and wealthier class.
2. In the early days, there were few college graduates among the ministers of Universalism but nearly every Unitarian preacher was a graduate of Harvard.
3. In the early days, Universalist preachers, typified by Hosea Ballou I (1771–1852), were philosophers, poets, reformers, philanthropists. Unitarian preachers, typified by William Ellery Channing (1780–1842), were thinkers, logicians, theologians, controversialists.
4. Unitarians appealed to the aristocratic, cultural, trained mind. Universalists appealed to the democratic, spiritual, "warmth and fervor" side.
5. Universalists hung on to the Bible longer than the Unitarians. Universalists emphasized the goodness of God and the moral leadership of Jesus. Unitarians emphasized biblical criticism and the ethical elements in political and social problems.
6. Unitarianism never took hold among the common people. Unitarians saw their mission being with the scholarly and elite.
7. Universalists were ahead of Unitarians in racial equality. African Americans were members of the first Universalist congregation in America. Universalists started schools and social service agencies to help poverty-stricken blacks after the Civil War. Universalists had interracial congregations in Northern cities and black congregations in the rural South. On the other hand, the American Unitarian Association (AUA) systematically ignored the few black preachers and congregations their faith attracted. In slavery days there were even some Unitarians who owned slaves and defended human slavery, and in the early 20th century the AUA actually published books by Unitarian authors on white racial superiority.
8. Universalists led the way in women's equality. They accepted a woman preacher as early as 1811 (Maria Cook, 1779–1835), ordained the first woman in 1860 (Lydia Ann Jenkins, 1824–1874), and in 1869 had a national organization of Universalist women that stood on par with the church. Unitarians did ordained a few women in the late 1800s, but in the early 20th century they actually pushed women who wanted to be ministers into "parish assistant" roles.
9. There is no record of a Universalist ever excluding a Unitarian from their circle. There are several examples on record of Unitarians excluding Universalists.
4 Things Unitarians and Universalists had in Common
1. Both were radical Protestant denominations with their roots in Europe; both started in North America in the late 1700s. The first Universalist congregation here was formed in Massachusetts in 1779. The first Unitarian congregation, also in Massachusetts, came into being in 1785.
2. Both denominations preached absolute freedom of religion, asserting that each person had the right to question, to learn, and to make up his or her own mind on matters of religious doctrine.
3. Both denominations practiced democracy in church governance.
4. Unitarian and Universalist views of the nature of Jesus have been essentially identical since the late 1700s.
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Find more Universalist and Unitarian history in my little booklet, A Who's Who of UUs
Visit my online bookstore
Shop for used, rare, and out of print books and collectible ephemera from reputable independent dealers at TomFolio.com
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09 November 2009
6 Universalist Unitarian Congregations Formed Prior to 1934, and 11 Other Examples of Unitarian Universalist Cooperation Prior to 1934
. . . Why 1934, you ask? That is the date in which the Unitarian congregation in Detroit joined up with the Universalist congregation in Detroit to form the "First Unitarian-Universalist Church." (*)
Members of this congregation are often heard to say that theirs was the first congregation in which Universalists and Unitarians joined. Well, being a stickler for accurate history, I feel compelled to dispell this local myth, so I put together these two little lists. (Please email me if I have missed anything that should be on these lists, thanks.)
6 Universalist Unitarian Congregations Formed Prior to 1934
1. 1827, in Louisville, Kentucky, a religious society was organized and a joint meeting house was built by Unitarians and Universalists. Soon, however, the Unitarians excluded the Universalists and the society fell apart. Universalists reorganized in 1840 and again merged with the Unitarians in 1870.
2. 1834, the first Universalist meeting house in Alabama was erected at Montgomery. It was a joint venture, named the "First Unitarian Universalist Society of Montgomery." The congregation was dormant by 1839.
3. 1858, Unitarians and Universalists joined in Dubuque, Iowa. There was much debate at the time over whether to use "Unitarian," "Universalist," or "Liberal Christian" as the name.
4. 1871, in Oak Park, Illinois, "Unity Temple" was founded jointly by Unitarians and Universalists. Their famous edifice was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
5. 1878, the local Unitarian and Universalist churches in Englewood Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, combined and named themselves the "Christian Union Society."
6. 1909, "All Souls Universalist-Unitarian Church," in Waterbury, Connecticut, was dedicated.
11 Other Examples of Unitarian Universalist Cooperation Prior to 1934
1. 1848, the Rev. Thomas Starr King, already ordained Universalist, became dually fellowshipped as a Unitarian and Universalist.
2. 1868, a combined Universalist Unitarian organization called the "Conference of Liberal Christians" was formed in the Missouri Valley.
3. 1899, Unitarians and Universalists formed the "Committee of Conference," a national organization for closer cooperation. It lasted until 1907.
4. 1916, Unitarian and Universalist clergy of the Boston area held their first joint meeting. Both Lee S. McCollester, president of the Universalist Church of American and dean of Crane Theological School, and Samuel Atkins Eliot, president of the American Unitarian Association, spoke.
5. 1928, the Illinois Universalist Convention and the Illinois Unitarian Conference held their first joint meeting.
6. 1931, the "Free Church Fellowship" was founded to join Unitarians and Universalists. It lasted until 1937.
7. 1932, "Uni-Uni" was in use as a nickname among the national youth organizations of both denominations.
8. 1932, a joint hymnal commission was established, made up of Universalists and Unitarians. They published Hymns of the Spirit ("the red hymnal") in 1937.
9. 1933, the Minnesota Universalist Convention and the Minnesota Unitarian Conference held their first joint meeting.
10. 1933, the "Wayside Pulpit," a Unitarian program, joined with its Universalist equivalent, the "Community Pulpit."
11. 1933, the Universalist Publishing House began printing the "Unitarian Register," a national Unitarian periodical.
(Most of these facts are found in Russell E. Miller, The Larger Hope, published in 2 volumes, 1979, 1985)
(*) The Unitarians' building was partly demolished when Woodward Avenue, the main thoroughfare in Detroit, was widened in 1934. They sold what was left of their building and moved in with the Universalists, about six blocks away, whose small but handsome 1916 edifice is still serving as the congregation's home.
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Find more Universalist and Unitarian history in my little booklet, A Who's Who of UUs
Visit my online bookstore
Shop for used, rare, and out of print books and collectible ephemera from reputable independent dealers at TomFolio.com
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. . . Why 1934, you ask? That is the date in which the Unitarian congregation in Detroit joined up with the Universalist congregation in Detroit to form the "First Unitarian-Universalist Church." (*)
Members of this congregation are often heard to say that theirs was the first congregation in which Universalists and Unitarians joined. Well, being a stickler for accurate history, I feel compelled to dispell this local myth, so I put together these two little lists. (Please email me if I have missed anything that should be on these lists, thanks.)
6 Universalist Unitarian Congregations Formed Prior to 1934
1. 1827, in Louisville, Kentucky, a religious society was organized and a joint meeting house was built by Unitarians and Universalists. Soon, however, the Unitarians excluded the Universalists and the society fell apart. Universalists reorganized in 1840 and again merged with the Unitarians in 1870.
2. 1834, the first Universalist meeting house in Alabama was erected at Montgomery. It was a joint venture, named the "First Unitarian Universalist Society of Montgomery." The congregation was dormant by 1839.
3. 1858, Unitarians and Universalists joined in Dubuque, Iowa. There was much debate at the time over whether to use "Unitarian," "Universalist," or "Liberal Christian" as the name.
4. 1871, in Oak Park, Illinois, "Unity Temple" was founded jointly by Unitarians and Universalists. Their famous edifice was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
5. 1878, the local Unitarian and Universalist churches in Englewood Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, combined and named themselves the "Christian Union Society."
6. 1909, "All Souls Universalist-Unitarian Church," in Waterbury, Connecticut, was dedicated.
11 Other Examples of Unitarian Universalist Cooperation Prior to 1934
1. 1848, the Rev. Thomas Starr King, already ordained Universalist, became dually fellowshipped as a Unitarian and Universalist.
2. 1868, a combined Universalist Unitarian organization called the "Conference of Liberal Christians" was formed in the Missouri Valley.
3. 1899, Unitarians and Universalists formed the "Committee of Conference," a national organization for closer cooperation. It lasted until 1907.
4. 1916, Unitarian and Universalist clergy of the Boston area held their first joint meeting. Both Lee S. McCollester, president of the Universalist Church of American and dean of Crane Theological School, and Samuel Atkins Eliot, president of the American Unitarian Association, spoke.
5. 1928, the Illinois Universalist Convention and the Illinois Unitarian Conference held their first joint meeting.
6. 1931, the "Free Church Fellowship" was founded to join Unitarians and Universalists. It lasted until 1937.
7. 1932, "Uni-Uni" was in use as a nickname among the national youth organizations of both denominations.
8. 1932, a joint hymnal commission was established, made up of Universalists and Unitarians. They published Hymns of the Spirit ("the red hymnal") in 1937.
9. 1933, the Minnesota Universalist Convention and the Minnesota Unitarian Conference held their first joint meeting.
10. 1933, the "Wayside Pulpit," a Unitarian program, joined with its Universalist equivalent, the "Community Pulpit."
11. 1933, the Universalist Publishing House began printing the "Unitarian Register," a national Unitarian periodical.
(Most of these facts are found in Russell E. Miller, The Larger Hope, published in 2 volumes, 1979, 1985)
(*) The Unitarians' building was partly demolished when Woodward Avenue, the main thoroughfare in Detroit, was widened in 1934. They sold what was left of their building and moved in with the Universalists, about six blocks away, whose small but handsome 1916 edifice is still serving as the congregation's home.
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05 November 2009
10 Welsh Unitarian Leaders and 1 Notable Welsh Universalist
. . . Culled from my not-so-little booklet, A Who's Who of UUs.
1. The Rev. D. Jacob Davies (1916–74), poet; television personality; champion of Welsh language, literature and culture; wrote Plwm Pwdin, a Rhagor o Storïau Digrif 1950 and other works in Welsh; Unitarian
2. The Rev. John Gwenogvryn Evans (1852–1903), scholar and paleographer of Welsh history and literature; printer-publisher of facsimile editions of ancient Welsh manuscripts; honorary D.Litt from Oxford 1901; ordained Unitarian 1877
3. The Rev. Thomas Evans (a.k.a. Tomos Glyn Cothi) (1764–1833), poet; hymnwriter; radical; translated into Welsh and published works of radical Unitarian preachers Joseph Priestley and Theophilus Lindsey; editor-publisher of highly controversial paper 'Miscellaneous Repository' 1795–96; imprisoned for sedition 1801–03; author-publisher of the English-Welsh Dictionary 1809 and hymnal Cyfansoddiad O Hymnau 1811; minister at Hen-Dy-Cwrdd Unitarian Chapel for 22 years, 1811–33 (first Unitarian church in Wales, founded 1751)
4. Thomas Griffiths (a.k.a. Tau Gimel, Thomas Jeremy) (c.1797–1871), hymnwriter; while minister at Cribin and Ciliau Aeron 1822–41 founded several schools; author-editor of the hymnal Casgliad o Hymnau 1830; Unitarian
5. Baron Sir Benjamin Hall (1802–67), Member of Parliament for 28 years, 1831–59; known there for his height and corpulence as 'Big Ben'; legend has it that as the first minister of public works 1855–58 his name was cast into the great bell installed into the Houses of Parliament in London, whence came the bell's nickname, 'Big Ben'; Unitarian
6. The Rev. Jenkin Lloyd Jones (1843–1918), Welsh–American social activist; uncle of famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright; organizer of Unitarian fellowships (lay-led congregations); founding secretary of the Western Unitarian Sunday School Society 1874–80; president of the Western Unitarian Conference 1875–84; founding editor 'Unity' 1878–97 (weekly of same); founding pastor of Chicago's first multi-racial congregation, All Souls Church, 1882–1918; organized the first World Parliament of Religions 1893 (gathering of all world faiths, model for interfaith cooperation, part of the Columbian Exposition, a.k.a. Chicago World's Fair); founding president of the Congress of Religions 1893–1906; founding general secretary of the American Congress of Liberal Religion 1894–1906; founding trustee and head resident of the Abraham Lincoln Centre, an enormous non-sectarian social service origination in Chicago, 1900–18; ordained Unitarian 1870
7. John Jones (c.1766–1827), author; classical scholar; expert on ancient languages; frequent contributor to periodicals; assistant tutor at the Presbyterian (Unitarian) Academy in Swansea 1792–95; founding principal of a school at Halifax, Yorkshire 1798; wrote Events Calculated to Restore Christian Religion to Purity 1800, Grammar of the Greek Tongue 1808, Grammar of the Latin Tongue 1810, Greek and English Lexicon 1823, Principles of Lexicography 1824 and many other books; honorary LL.D. from the University of Aberdeen 1818; Unitarian
8. The Rev. Richard Price (1723–1791), D.D.; Welsh–English; philosopher; author; among the principal leaders of English Nonconformism (Unitarianism); elected member of the Royal Society 1765; wrote Principle Questions in Morals 1757, An Appeal to the Public on the Subject of the National Debt 1772, Observations on Civil Liberty 1776 (supporting American independence) and other books on finances, politics, theology; longtime pastor at Unitarian Church of Newington Green (now part of London)
9. The Rev. James Relly (1722–78), theologian; wrote Union: or Treatise on Consanguinity and Affinity between Christ and His Church 1759 (the first important modern work on universal salvation, published in London); credited with converting pioneer American preacher the Rev. John Murray from Methodism to Universalism; ordained Methodist, defrocked, became Universalist
10. The Rev. William Thomas (bardic name Gwilym Marles) (1834–79), great-uncle of poet Dylan Thomas; poet; hymnwriter; social reformer; founding principal of a grammar school at Llwynrhydown; Unitarian
11. Edward Williams (bardic name Iolo Morganwg) (1747–1826), poet; 'the Welsh Shakespeare;' founded Gorsedd Beirdd Ynys Prydain (Community of Bards of the Island of Britain); forged large assortment of 'ancient' manuscripts including 'unknown' poems by famous bards, Druid antiquities and lore, bardic alphabet, etc; compiled hymnal Salmau yr Eglwys yn yr Anialwch 1812; founded the South Wales Unitarian Society
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Click here to purchase a copy of A Who's Who of UUs, just reduced in price. (Be sure to inquire about quantity discounts)
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. . . Culled from my not-so-little booklet, A Who's Who of UUs.
1. The Rev. D. Jacob Davies (1916–74), poet; television personality; champion of Welsh language, literature and culture; wrote Plwm Pwdin, a Rhagor o Storïau Digrif 1950 and other works in Welsh; Unitarian
2. The Rev. John Gwenogvryn Evans (1852–1903), scholar and paleographer of Welsh history and literature; printer-publisher of facsimile editions of ancient Welsh manuscripts; honorary D.Litt from Oxford 1901; ordained Unitarian 1877
3. The Rev. Thomas Evans (a.k.a. Tomos Glyn Cothi) (1764–1833), poet; hymnwriter; radical; translated into Welsh and published works of radical Unitarian preachers Joseph Priestley and Theophilus Lindsey; editor-publisher of highly controversial paper 'Miscellaneous Repository' 1795–96; imprisoned for sedition 1801–03; author-publisher of the English-Welsh Dictionary 1809 and hymnal Cyfansoddiad O Hymnau 1811; minister at Hen-Dy-Cwrdd Unitarian Chapel for 22 years, 1811–33 (first Unitarian church in Wales, founded 1751)
4. Thomas Griffiths (a.k.a. Tau Gimel, Thomas Jeremy) (c.1797–1871), hymnwriter; while minister at Cribin and Ciliau Aeron 1822–41 founded several schools; author-editor of the hymnal Casgliad o Hymnau 1830; Unitarian
5. Baron Sir Benjamin Hall (1802–67), Member of Parliament for 28 years, 1831–59; known there for his height and corpulence as 'Big Ben'; legend has it that as the first minister of public works 1855–58 his name was cast into the great bell installed into the Houses of Parliament in London, whence came the bell's nickname, 'Big Ben'; Unitarian
6. The Rev. Jenkin Lloyd Jones (1843–1918), Welsh–American social activist; uncle of famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright; organizer of Unitarian fellowships (lay-led congregations); founding secretary of the Western Unitarian Sunday School Society 1874–80; president of the Western Unitarian Conference 1875–84; founding editor 'Unity' 1878–97 (weekly of same); founding pastor of Chicago's first multi-racial congregation, All Souls Church, 1882–1918; organized the first World Parliament of Religions 1893 (gathering of all world faiths, model for interfaith cooperation, part of the Columbian Exposition, a.k.a. Chicago World's Fair); founding president of the Congress of Religions 1893–1906; founding general secretary of the American Congress of Liberal Religion 1894–1906; founding trustee and head resident of the Abraham Lincoln Centre, an enormous non-sectarian social service origination in Chicago, 1900–18; ordained Unitarian 1870
7. John Jones (c.1766–1827), author; classical scholar; expert on ancient languages; frequent contributor to periodicals; assistant tutor at the Presbyterian (Unitarian) Academy in Swansea 1792–95; founding principal of a school at Halifax, Yorkshire 1798; wrote Events Calculated to Restore Christian Religion to Purity 1800, Grammar of the Greek Tongue 1808, Grammar of the Latin Tongue 1810, Greek and English Lexicon 1823, Principles of Lexicography 1824 and many other books; honorary LL.D. from the University of Aberdeen 1818; Unitarian
8. The Rev. Richard Price (1723–1791), D.D.; Welsh–English; philosopher; author; among the principal leaders of English Nonconformism (Unitarianism); elected member of the Royal Society 1765; wrote Principle Questions in Morals 1757, An Appeal to the Public on the Subject of the National Debt 1772, Observations on Civil Liberty 1776 (supporting American independence) and other books on finances, politics, theology; longtime pastor at Unitarian Church of Newington Green (now part of London)
9. The Rev. James Relly (1722–78), theologian; wrote Union: or Treatise on Consanguinity and Affinity between Christ and His Church 1759 (the first important modern work on universal salvation, published in London); credited with converting pioneer American preacher the Rev. John Murray from Methodism to Universalism; ordained Methodist, defrocked, became Universalist
10. The Rev. William Thomas (bardic name Gwilym Marles) (1834–79), great-uncle of poet Dylan Thomas; poet; hymnwriter; social reformer; founding principal of a grammar school at Llwynrhydown; Unitarian
11. Edward Williams (bardic name Iolo Morganwg) (1747–1826), poet; 'the Welsh Shakespeare;' founded Gorsedd Beirdd Ynys Prydain (Community of Bards of the Island of Britain); forged large assortment of 'ancient' manuscripts including 'unknown' poems by famous bards, Druid antiquities and lore, bardic alphabet, etc; compiled hymnal Salmau yr Eglwys yn yr Anialwch 1812; founded the South Wales Unitarian Society
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Click here to purchase a copy of A Who's Who of UUs, just reduced in price. (Be sure to inquire about quantity discounts)
Browse more books and ephemera on UUism at my bookstore
Browse items on religious history or any other topic from my reputable used-book colleagues
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28 September 2009
What is The Church Where People Laugh?
. . . It's the world's best collection of jokes for and about Universalists, Unitarians, and Unitarian Universalists!
We Unitarian Universalists, or UUs for short, tend to have great senses of humor and we love to laugh at ourselves. It was not difficult to put together this great collection, though it did take a few years. There are over three hundred individual jokes, quotes, and anecdotes in this little book.
I started compiling this collection some time in the 1970s while I was in the youth group at the Universalist Unitarian Church of Farmington, Michigan. After many years it was just too big to keep in a looseleaf so I had to publish it.
For those of you who have never heard of Unitarian Universalism, it is a liberal, post-Christian religion which grew out of Universalism -- "God is love" -- and Unitarianism -- "God is one" -- two radical beliefs that have been around since the early days of Christianity. Each of these beliefs was declared a heresy after having been accepted for hundreds of years.
Today, UUs celebrate diversity of belief and the right to think for yourself. We have no concept of heresy except as an accusation against those who exercise free thought and freedom of conscience.
While you're here, please visit my bookstore, Alan's Used Books (http://www.gwenfoss.com/), where you can order The Church Where People Laugh and many other great books.
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. . . It's the world's best collection of jokes for and about Universalists, Unitarians, and Unitarian Universalists!
We Unitarian Universalists, or UUs for short, tend to have great senses of humor and we love to laugh at ourselves. It was not difficult to put together this great collection, though it did take a few years. There are over three hundred individual jokes, quotes, and anecdotes in this little book.
I started compiling this collection some time in the 1970s while I was in the youth group at the Universalist Unitarian Church of Farmington, Michigan. After many years it was just too big to keep in a looseleaf so I had to publish it.
For those of you who have never heard of Unitarian Universalism, it is a liberal, post-Christian religion which grew out of Universalism -- "God is love" -- and Unitarianism -- "God is one" -- two radical beliefs that have been around since the early days of Christianity. Each of these beliefs was declared a heresy after having been accepted for hundreds of years.
Today, UUs celebrate diversity of belief and the right to think for yourself. We have no concept of heresy except as an accusation against those who exercise free thought and freedom of conscience.
While you're here, please visit my bookstore, Alan's Used Books (http://www.gwenfoss.com/), where you can order The Church Where People Laugh and many other great books.
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