“American Universalism: 210 Years”
William Sasso
January 4, 2004

 Text

I’d like to begin with a few quotations, from different sources, that illustrate some of the different perspectives that folks have had on Universalism as a religious tradition. I’ll read them all through once in sequence, and them read them a second time through, identifying who is alleged to have said each of them.

“In 1793 Universalism brought good news to the American public through its life-enhancing theology: affirming the essential worth and dignity of every creature, affirming the illimitable love of God, affirming human redeemability, affirming virtue as its own reward, and affirming the universality of truths discoverable in all lands and eras. These Universalist principles are as relevant today as they were in 1793.” [UU minister and author Tom Owen-Toole, 1993, p. viii.].

“. . . I used to think that it took the smartest person to uphold and defend Universalism, but now I think differently, for I believe it to be the easiest doctrine to defend that I have yet heard.” [Abraham Lincoln, after visiting the Universalist church in Urbana, IL, quoted in Owen-Toole, p, 30].

“Universalism . . . . was despised wherever it was introduced, for it . . . undercut the very basis of religion and morality. To preach that all . . . would be saved cut to the core of Calvinism and its central tenets of election and reprobation. Furthermore, what was to keep people on the straight and narrow path if the fear of hell was to be taken away? It was certain . . . that a person who believed in universal salvation would be guilty of the lowest sort of vileness.” [Attitudes attributed to the father of Hosea Ballou, himself a frontier Baptist preacher, in Cassara, 1958, p.7]

“. . . the Universalists came from the wrong side of the tracks. [Leading Universalist preachers like John] Murray, [Elhanon] Winchester, [Caleb] Rich, and [Hosea] Ballou and others who proclaimed the Universalist gospel were all seen as itinerants rather than as part of the settled religious order. Their ordinations were irregular, to say the least. They had little or no education -- Ballou [had no] more than three years of formal schooling. Their congregations were drawn from disaffected Baptists, Methodists, Quakers, and German sects -- all of them churches serving the lower social classes. And of course, they attacked the doctrine of hell which many Liberal Christians saw as a useful support for the social order, whether or not it was theologically defensible. The Liberal Christians . . . interpreted early Universalism as part of the revivalist phenomenon, another form of the enthusiastic religion which had aroused so much tumult and had so unsettled the standing order of things in New England. They failed to see that the two groups had much, if anything in common . . . . despite the fact that the Universalists were staunch unitarians [in their theology]. [The common perspective on Universalism held at the turn of the 19th century by those Liberal Christians in New England who would later declare themselves “Unitarians” as described by David E. Bumbaugh, 2000, pp. 156-157]

“We Unitarian Universalists have inherited a magnificent theological legacy. In a sweeping answer to creeds that divide the human family, Unitarianism proclaims that we spring from a common source; Universalism, that we share a common destiny. That we are brothers and sisters by nature, our Unitarian and especially our Universalist forebears affirmed as a matter of faith . . .” [Forrest Church, UU minister and author, in UU World, November/December 2001].

“. . . the growth of Universalism is the most threatening moral evil in our part of the country.” [Unitarian minister William Ellery Channing, quoted in Howe, 1993, p. 45]

Sermon

You have probably figured this out already, but the Universalist religious tradition received its name from its central theological doctrine: that salvation was universal, that a loving God could not possibly condemn those he had created to eternal damnation. As an organized institutional movement, Universalism is truly an American faith, originating at a convention in Oxford, Massachusetts, in September, 1793, and merging with the Unitarians to form the Unitarian Universalist Association in 1961. The Universalists deserve our respect and attention for what they were able to create, starting from scratch. They further deserve our recognition for their courage, and their commitment to social change as a religious act, as exemplified in so many of their lives. And finally, they deserve our acknowledgment of their ability to see the very meaning of their central belief evolve over time. Universalism was, and remains, a living religious tradition.
      There are many Universalists whose lives deserve at least a full sermon’s worth of description, but the limitations of our time together preclude that here. John Murray, an Englishman who is considered the Father of American Universalism, began by arguing against Universalism but was converted by his opponent’s arguments. Later, as he was preaching in Boston, a rock sailed through the window and landed not far from him. Undaunted, he interrupted his sermon to comment “This argument is solid and weighty, but it is neither rational nor convincing. . . .  Not all the stones in Boston, except they shall stop my breath, shall shut my mouth.” [Howe, p. 5].Such was the level of commitment that Murray and other Universalists felt to their religion!
      Judith Sargent Murray, an early and outspoken proponent of women’s rights (and wife of John Murray, incidentally) was a prolific writer of poetry, drama, and essays. She did not live to see the women’s rights movement of the later 19th century espouse arguments she had made for the equality of the sexes, but she certainly would have been an avid participant in the movement had she lived that long! [Howe, p. 8].
      Benjamin Rush, a medical doctor, social activist, and a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was an early Universalist who argued for reform of the criminal justice system, including the abolition of the death penalty. Here is a short quotation from Rush: “A belief in God’s universal love to all his creatures, and that he will finally restore all those of them that are miserable to happiness is a polar truth. It leads to truths upon all subjects . . . . it abolishes the punishment of death for any crime -- and converts jails into houses of repentance and reformation.” [Howe, pp. 58-59].
      Hosea Ballou, a remarkable self-educated theologian, was an indefatigable champion of universal salvation through the first half of the nineteenth century. His distant relative, Adin Ballou, was a committed pacifist. Like his Unitarian contemporary Henry David Thoreau, Adin Ballou’s writings on non-resistance influenced Tolstoy, and through Tolstoy, Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. Unlike Thoreau, who withdrew from the larger community, Adin Ballou was a committed social activist, who worked to bring his society closer to the ideals of peace and social equality.
      Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, was a Universalist. So was Mary Livermore, who held a significant position of leadership in the Sanitary Commission during the Civil War, and who later became a leader in the women’s rights movement. Mary Livermore is said to have delivered her trademark address “What Shall We Do With Our Daughters?” over 800 times, in addition to her work promoting the abolition of slavery and the cause of temperance.
      Universalism was the first organized religious movement to ordain women as  ministers. There is some disagreement among historians about who the first woman actually ordained was. Some claim that honor for Lydia Jenkins, who was apparently co-ordained with her husband in 1860, and later became a medical doctor after serving as minister for several years. Others believe that honor goes to Olympia Brown, whose ordination in 1862 has been clearly documented, and who later resigned her ministry to work travel full-time as a women’s rights speaker and advocate. Ordained only a few months after Olympia Brown, Augusta Chapin later worked to organize the 1893 Parliament of World Religions, held in Chicago in conjunction with the Columbian Exposition, where she was one of the few women religious leaders who spoke. [Robinson, especially the biographical sketches presented at the end of the book].
      The  Universalists were not perfect, of course. They were human beings, just like Unitarians (although perhaps more ready to admit it), and there are chapters in the history of Universalism that I am not proud of. Without dwelling on them at length I do feel that we ought to acknowledge some of the more serious blemishes briefly.
      At the time of the civil war, although most northern Universalists were opposed to slavery, many of those living in the South favored the status quo. One notable exception, however, was the pastor of the Universalist church in Richmond, Virginia, who was “. . . the only clergyman in the city to support the Union.” He was arrested, imprisoned, and finally exiled to the North [Howe, p. 56]
      Another sad episode concerns the stance that the movement took during the infamous Pullman strike. Industrialist George Pullman was a Universalist, and two of his brothers were Universalist ministers. While there were Universalists on both sides of the issue, the most visible were those who supported Pullman. For instance, The Christian Leader, a Universalist magazine, took an editorial stance aggressively supporting Pullman’s position against the labor unions in [Williams, pp. 53-55].
      And, in the final sad episode of Universalism that I will relate here, in 1870 Herman Bisbee, a Universalist minister, delivered a sermon entitled “Natural Religion,” which included statements like these:

I believe that Jesus taught Natural Religion, and claimed to teach nothing more. . . . There is no creed from his lips, no ceremony imposed. . . .[H]e would not persecute; he would not ask us all to believe alike; he would say “Be true to conscience; seek, trust the Father and fear not. . . .” In Natural Religion there is no gift. Salvation does not come by grace. All the priests in the world cannot pray a soul out of its natural purgatory. . . . Jesus taught goodness, and this is Natural Religion. It is my opinion that a man can believe one thing or another, and still be a Christian, but when a man becomes mean, he can no longer be a Christian. [Cassara, pp. 31-32].

 This, and Bisbee’s rather transcendental personal theology, caused him to be accused of “heresy” and his fellowship as a Universalist minister was revoked by the Minnesota Universalist Convention. Bisbee later applied for, and received, Fellowship as a Unitarian minister.
      And yet, in spite of these blemishes on Universalism, its fundamental message has continued to evolve. Beginning as a reasoned interpretation of the New Testament and a courageous response to the commonly accepted theologies of eternal hellfire and damnation, it has evolved into a theology of inclusion and social activism, and some claim that it is now on the verge of a new evolution. To illustrate what I mean, let’s consider and compare three “snapshots” of Universalism . . .
      1803, the Universalist Convention adopted the Winchester Profession of Belief, consisting of three short paragraphs:

Article the First: We believe that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments contain a revelation of the character of God, and of the duty, interest, and final destination of [humanity].

Article the Second: We believe that there is one God, whose nature is Love, revealed in one Lord Jesus Christ, by one Holy Spirit of Grace, who will finally restore the whole family of [humanity] to holiness and happiness.

Article the Third: We believe that holiness and true happiness are inseparably connected, and that believers ought to be careful to maintain order, and practice good works; for these things are good and profitable to [humans].

Now, let’s jump ahead one hundred and fourteen years to 1917, when the Universalist General Convention adopted a not a creed, but a set of Social Principles for “completing humanity” proposed by Dr. Clarence Skinner, a Professor at the Universalist Theological School located at Tufts University, and considered by some the leading Universalist of the 20th century:

First: An Economic Order which shall give to every human being an equal share in the common gifts of God, and in addition all that [one] shall earn by [one’s] own labor.

Second: A Social Order in which there shall be equal rights for all, special privileges for none, the help of the strong for the weak until the weak become strong.

Third: A Moral Order in which all human law and action shall be an expression of the moral order of the universe.

Fourth: A Spiritual Order which shall build out of the growing lives of living [humans] the temple of the living God.  [Howe, pp. 93-94]

Now jump ahead another eighty-plus years to our own time. Writing in 2001, UU Forrest Church’s compares religion to the experience of being in a cathedral, and seeing the light shine in from outside, appearing differently as it shines through different forms of stained glass windows. He suggests that 21st century Universalism might embrace these five principles:

1. There is one Power, one Truth, one God, one Light.

2. This Light shines through every window in the cathedral.

3. No one can perceive it directly, the mystery being forever veiled.

4. Yet, on the cathedral floor, and in the eyes of every beholder, refracted and reflected through differing windows in differing ways, it plays in patterns that suggest meanings, challenging us to interpret and live by these meanings as best we can.

5. Each window illuminates truth in a unique way, leading to various truths, and these in differing measure according to the insight, receptivity, and behavior of the beholder. [Forrest Church, “Universalism: A Theology for the 21st Century.” UU World, November/December 2001]

Conclusion

There are those who have spoken of Unitarianism as a religion of the head, and Universalism as a religion of the heart. Though it may contain at least a germ of truth, I think that’s an oversimplification, for it is clear to me that Unitarians had hearts and feelings and that Universalists had heads and used them. But, speaking personally, I know that I could not be part of a religious movement that did not  understand that both the head and the heart are essential parts of the human religious experience.
      When considering the question “What did Universalism bring to the formation of the Unitarian Universalist Association, UU ministers and historian Charles Howe answered in these words. There were 

“. . . seven values that the Universalists brought with them to the merger [with the Unitarians]: a theology founded on the affirmation of love; a thoroughly democratic church government; a social conscience motivated by their belief in the supreme worth of every human person; a conviction that liberal religion can and should speak to all sorts and conditions of people; an insistence on the equality of women and men in both church and society; a recognition that liberal religion requires emotional warmth as well as intellectual rigor; and, finally, the great vision of inclusiveness implied by the Universalist name.” [Howe, p. 137]

When I am asked that question, I return to my own statement -- familiar to many of you -- that Unitarian Universalism is a religious tradition based in freedom, reason, tolerance, and love. While Universalism can lay some claim to freedom, reason, and tolerance, its claim is probably not as strong as the Unitarian one. But love remains, and I would claim that love -- and the deep sense of respect for all life that It engenders -- is the unique contribution of the  Universalist tradition.
      So I close with one final example of universalism’s respect and love. In 1959, in the midst of the process of consolidation with the Unitarians, the Universalist General Assembly passed this rather remarkable motion: “Be it resolved that . . . the Universalist Church of America counsels the highest level of humane respect for such forms of life as may be encountered in the universe” [Owen-Toole, p. 61]. Now that’s universalism!

Sources

Bumbaugh, David E. Unitarian Universalism: A Narrative History. Meadville Lombard Theological Press, Chicago: 2000.
Cassara, Ernest. Hosea Ballou and the Rise of American Religious Liberalism. Universalist Historical Society, Boston: 1958.
Church, Forrest. “Universalism: A Theology for the 21st Century.” UU World, November/December 2001
Howe, Charles A. The Larger Faith: A Short History of American Universalism. Skinner House Books, Boston: 1993.
Owen-Toole, Tom. The Gospel of Universalism: Hope, Courage, and the Love of God. Skinner House Books, Boston: 1993.
Robinson, David. The Unitarians and the Universalists. Greenwood Press, Westport, CT: 1985.
Williams, George Hunston. American Universalism (second edition). Skinner House Books, Boston: 1976.