| American Unitarian Association | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Unitarian |
| Polity | Congregational |
| Region | Canada, United States and Japan |
| Headquarters | Boston, Massachusetts, United States |
| Origin | May 26, 1825 |
| Separated from | Congregational churches |
| Merged into | Unitarian Universalist Association (1961) |
The American Unitarian Association (AUA) was a religious denomination in the United States and Canada, formed by associated Unitarian congregations in 1825. In 1961, it consolidated with the Universalist Church of America to form the Unitarian Universalist Association. [1]
The AUA was formed in 1825 in the aftermath of a split within New England's Congregational churches between those congregations that embraced Unitarian doctrines and those that maintained Calvinist theology. [2]
According to Mortimer Rowe, the Secretary (i.e. chief executive) of the British Unitarians for 20 years, the AUA was founded on the same day as the British and Foreign Unitarian Association: "By a happy coincidence, in those days of slow posts, no transatlantic telegraph, telephone or wireless, our American cousins, in complete ignorance as to the details of what was afoot, though moving towards a similar goal, founded the American Unitarian Association on precisely the same day—May 26, 1825." [3]
The AUA's official journal was The Christian Register (1821–1961).
Beginning in 1825 the AUA published "tracts" for free distribution [4] [5] and in the 20th century "pamphlets" for free distribution. [6] The AUA also published books and several book series including The Devotional Library, [7] The Theological Library, [8] Memorable Sermons [9] and The Beacon Series: A Graded Course of Study for the Sunday School. [10] [11]
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Unitarian Universalism is a liberal religious movement characterized by a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning". Unitarian Universalists assert no creed, but instead are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth. Unitarian Universalists do not have an official, unified corpus of sacred texts but rather draw inspiration and guidance from the six sources: personal experience, prophetic utterances, world religions, Jewish and Christian teachings, humanist teachings, and spiritual teachings. Unitarian Universalist congregations include many atheists, agnostics, deists, and theists; there are churches, fellowships, congregations, and societies around the world.
Unitarianism is a Nontrinitarian branch of Christianity. Unitarian Christians affirm the unitary nature of God as the singular and unique creator of the universe, believe that Jesus Christ was inspired by God in his moral teachings and that he is the savior of humankind, but he is not equal to God himself.
William Ellery Channing was the foremost Unitarian preacher in the United States in the early nineteenth century and, along with Andrews Norton (1786–1853), one of Unitarianism's leading theologians. Channing was known for his articulate and impassioned sermons and public speeches, and as a prominent thinker in the liberal theology of the day. His religion and thought were among the chief influences on the New England Transcendentalists although he never countenanced their views, which he saw as extreme. His espousal of the developing philosophy and theology of Unitarianism was displayed especially in his "Baltimore Sermon" of May 5, 1819, given at the ordination of the theologian and educator Jared Sparks (1789–1866) as the first minister of the newly organized First Independent Church of Baltimore.
Beacon Press is an American left-wing non-profit book publisher. Founded in 1854 by the American Unitarian Association, it is currently a department of the Unitarian Universalist Association. It is known for publishing authors such as James Baldwin, Mary Oliver, Martin Luther King Jr., and Viktor Frankl, as well as The Pentagon Papers.
The Universalist Church of America (UCA) was originally a Christian Universalist religious denomination in the United States. Known from 1866 as the Universalist General Convention, the name was changed to the Universalist Church of America in 1942. In 1961, it consolidated with the American Unitarian Association to form the Unitarian Universalist Association.
The Meadville Lombard Theological School is a Unitarian Universalist seminary in Chicago, Illinois.
Frank Forrester Church IV was a leading Unitarian Universalist minister, author, and theologian. He was Senior Minister of the Unitarian Church of All Souls in New York City, until late 2006 when he was appointed as Minister of Public Theology. He wrote about Christianity, Gnosticism, religious liberty in the US tradition, and his own father, a US Senator.
Samuel Atkins Eliot II was an American Unitarian minister. In 1898 the American Unitarian Association elected him secretary but in 1900 the position was redesignated as president and Eliot served in that office from inception to 1927, significantly expanding the association's activities and consolidating denominational power in its administration.
Jacob Frank Schulman (1927–2006) was a U.S. Unitarian Universalist minister, theologian, and author of several books. He held numerous degrees, including a B.A. from the University of Oklahoma, an S.T.B. from Harvard Divinity School, a D.Phil., M.A., and Minister Emeritus Scholar from Oxford University, and an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Meadville Lombard Theological School.
The "Divinity School Address" is the common name for the speech Ralph Waldo Emerson gave to the graduating class of Harvard Divinity School on July 15, 1838. Its formal title is "Acquaint Thyself First Hand with Deity."
Unitarian Universalism, as practiced by the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), and the Canadian Unitarian Council (CUC), is a non-Creedal and Liberal theological tradition and an LGBTQ affirming denomination.
John A. Buehrens is an American Unitarian Universalist minister and author.
Arthur Powell Davies was the minister of All Souls Church, Unitarian in Washington, D.C. from 1944 until his death in 1957. A prolific author of theological books and sermon collections, he came to national prominence in the U.S. through his liberal activism advocating civil rights for African-Americans and women and ethical stands against post-war nuclear proliferation and the methods employed by the American government during the era of McCarthyism.
Unitarianism, as a Christian denominational family of churches, was first defined in Poland-Lithuania and Transylvania in the late 16th century. It was then further developed in England and America until the early 19th century, although theological ancestors are to be found as far back as the early days of Christianity. It matured and reached its classical form in the middle 19th century. Later historical development has been diverse in different countries.
The Unitarian Universalist Church of Medford and The Osgood House are a historic Unitarian Universalist church building and parsonage house at 141 and 147 High Street in Medford, Massachusetts.
The Crane Theological School was a Universalist seminary at Tufts University founded in 1869 as the Tufts College Divinity School and closed in 1968. It was one of three Universalist seminaries founded in America during the nineteenth century, along with the Theological School of St. Lawrence University and the Ryder Divinity School at Lombard College. During its history, it granted 281 Bachelor of Divinity degrees, 152 Bachelor of Sacred Theology degrees, and two Masters of Religious Education, for a total of 435 degrees.
Earl Morse Wilbur was an American Unitarian minister, educator, and historian of Unitarianism.
The British and Foreign Unitarian Association was the major Unitarian body in Britain from 1825. The BFUA was founded as an amalgamation of three older societies: the Unitarian Book Society for literature (1791), The Unitarian Fund for mission work (1806), and the Unitarian Association for civil rights. Its offices were shared with the Sunday School Association at Essex Street, on the site of England's first Unitarian church. In 1928 the BFUA became part of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches, still the umbrella organisation for British Unitarianism, which has its headquarters, Essex Hall, in the same place in central London.
Church of Our Father was the first Unitarian church established in Atlanta, Georgia. The church was organized on March 27, 1883, by Rev. George Leonard Chaney, a Boston minister. Rev. Chaney initially held Sunday services in the Senate Chamber, Concordia Hall and the United States Courtroom. A church building was constructed at the corner of North Forsyth and Church Street and dedicated on April 23, 1884. The original building was demolished in 1900.
Aubrey Franklin Hess was a progressive American theologian and educator. Born on a mountaintop farm in Virginia, Hess without formal theological training was ordained in the Methodist Protestant church in 1896 and immediately served two small congregations in West Virginia. Later, after completing his formal theological and university education, Hess served as president of the Methodist Protestant institutions of West Lafayette College, Ohio and Adrian College, Michigan.
