1500 – Unitarians were originally Christians who did not believe in the Holy Trinity of God (Father, Son, and Holy Ghost). Instead, they believed in the unity, or single aspect, of God. Although people have held Unitarian beliefs since the time of Jesus’s death, religious groups did not form around these ideas until the mid-1500s in Transylvania and the 1600s in England. Religious authorities at this time saw early Unitarians as heretics and often persecuted them. Important figures from this period include John Biddle, Francis David, Michael Servetus, King John Sigismund and Faustus Socinus. Unitarianism emerged in America in the early 19th century, stressing importance of rational thinking, each person’s direct relationship with God, and the humanity of Jesus.
1779 – Universalist Church of America is created – inclusive of all faiths.
1800 – Phineas Parkhurst Quimby begins “New Thought” era – we are god – oneness.
1825 – American Unitarian Association is formed to unite different faiths. 1825 – Unitarian ministers had formed a denomination called the American Unitarian Association. Members spoke out on issues such as education reform, prison reform, moderation in temperance, ministry to the poor, and the abolition of slavery. Influential Unitarians from this era include William Ellery Channing, Theodore Parker, Joseph Priestly, and Thomas Starr King, who was also a Universalist. American Unitarianism went through many changes over the next 150 years, from the introduction of transcendentalist thought in the mid-1800s and humanist thought in the early 1930s. These contributed to the evolution of American Unitarianism into a more broad and flexible faith. Unitarians have been very influential throughout American history, especially in politics and literature. Some famous Unitarians include John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Paul Revere, William Howard Taft, and Frank Lloyd Wright.
1848 – Spiritualism begins in NY by two Methodists sisters Margaret & Catherine Fox.
1857 – Allan Kardec starts Spiritism movement in France – connecting with spirits.
1879 – Mary Baker Eddy begins the Church of Christ, Scientist in Mass “love & healing”.
1880 – Helen Blavatsky begins the Theosophical Society – honoring all religions.
1900 – Leo Tolstoy, Russian – writes War & Peace, The kingdom of God is Within You.
1950 – Carl Jung Swiss Psychotherapist sees archetypal patterns/collective conscious.
1950 – New Age movement begins – honoring individual approaches to spiritual practice.
1961 – Unitarian – Universalists merge together to form one religion. After growing increasingly theologically and ethically close, the Unitarian and Universalist denominations consolidated to form the new religion of Unitarian Universalism. Although Unitarian Universalism no longer solely holds traditional Unitarian or Universalist beliefs, it does draw directly on its heritage for much of its inspiration and grounding.
