Universalism as a specific religious approach did not disappear when the Universalist Church of America and the American Unitarian Association combined in 1961. It is not only a broad influence in Unitarian-Universalism, but it also lives on as a specific practice in many historic Universalist churches (now UU), as well as in the hearts [...]
“Then as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to acquittal and life for all men. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man’s obedience many will be made righteous.”
–Romans 5:18-19.
“Millions on millions of the human family have never heard even the name of Christ. They bow down before dumb idols and worship the works of their own hands. They pay their devotions in temples whose inmates never yet dreamed that such a being as Jesus of Nazareth, even had an existence. Besides all this, [...]
Still digesting the figures from the Pew study that show many more UUs in America than in UU churches. A number of reasons for this disparity have already been advanced. In the comments, Dave Pollard mentions the gap between what type of church a UU wants and what type of congregation is locally available to [...]
“The wisdom and goodness of God, according to scripture and reason, are universal. The ignorance of mortals concerning them, on the one hand, makes them no less, and their knowledge, on the other makes them no greater. We must duly regard, however, the evident fact, that the enjoyment of reasonable beings, is extended by the [...]
“In 1799 [Hosea Ballou] came to Reading, Vermont, to preach and was confronted before the service by a deacon from the Baptist Church, who wanted to ask him a question.
‘Are you, said he, ‘the Mr. Ballou who is to preach here this afternoon?’
‘I am,’ replied Mr. Ballou.
‘Well, Mr. Ballou, I understand you are in a [...]
The new Pew study shows that 76% of Unitarian-Universalists are not affiliated with the Unitarian-Universalist Association. In recent years, the UUA has taken an increasingly narrow definition of its purpose and constituency: it serves UU congregations, not individual UUs, not para-church UU organizations, not UU theological sub-groups, etc. In fact, the full name of the [...]
The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life today released the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey. According to the survey, .3% of the American population is Unitarian-Universalist. That means the number of adult Unitarian-Universalists in America is approximately 683,000 (rounded). If demographics hold true for UUs as for other religious groups, we would expect there to [...]
“The Universalist Church is the only one that believes in success.”
–Phineas T. Barnum, Why I Am a Universalist, 1890: 7
For the past five weeks, a new quote from the Universalist tradition has been posted here each weekday. The sources range considerably, being male and female, ordained and lay, Christian and non-Christian, pacificist and just war supporting, and 18th, 19th, 20th century so far. All come from primary sources published by participants in the Universalist [...]
