Unitarian Church Basic Facts

In North America during the 20th Century and under the leadership of James Luther Adams, the country witnessed a movement and a response to the general crisis of faith in liberal thought. Mr. Adams writings and teachings provided the cornerstone to Unitarian theology. These thoughts continue to form the basis of Unitarianism today throughout the United States.

The Unitarian Church in the U.S. was formed from the original New England Puritan churches. In the beginning, Unitarian leaders wanted a reformation that was completely in accordance with the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament. An interpretation of scripture that separated the Unitarian Church from other Christian Churches is they found no warrant for the doctrine of the Trinity. A reference to the Trinity in the Bible can be found in Matthew 28:19.

In the American colonies, Congregationalist ministers influenced by Arian Christology. Over time conflicts with supporters of Jonathan Edwards's theological understandings resulted in the election at Harvard College of a liberal, Henry Ware, as Hollis Professor of Divinity in 1805 See (Hollis Professorship of Divinity, the oldest endowed professorship in North America.) The American Unitarian Association (AUA), was created as an association of individuals.

In the United States, Unitarianism and Universalism, have merged. In previous centuries the liberal religious organizations appealed for their views to Scripture interpreted by reason, but in the modern era Unitarians and Universalists base their religious beliefs on reason and experience.

The Unitarian Universalist Women's Heritage Society ( UUWHS )

According to the Unitarian Universalist History and Heritage Society:

The Unitarian Universalist Women's Heritage Society (UUWHS) had first organized in 1988 and in June, 2012 the Unitarian Universalist Historical Society (UUHS) and the Unitarian Universalist Women's Heritage Society (UUWHS) consolidated to form the Unitarian Universalist History and Heritage Society. The UUHS had been formed in 1978 by the merger of the existing Unitarian and Universalist historical societies.

For further educational and historical research, the following institutions hold the following records:

Yale: Archives for Unitarian Universalist Women's Heritage Society Records

Harvard: The library of the Harvard Divinity School, 45 Francis Ave., Cambridge, MA 02138 continues as a repository for historical documents relating to both Universalist and Unitarian history

Fun Fact— The 27th President of the United States of America William Howard Taft, was raised as a Unitarian and attended a Unitarian Church all his life.

As James Luther Adams often recieved inspiration from the Bible, you can also, and without going into too deep with this Random Bible Verse tool.

Click the map to see 1104 Congregations

Examples of 5 Modern Era Unitarian Churches in United States as of January 1, 2022