UNITARIANISM

religious movement that stresses the free use of reason in religion, holds generally that God exists only in one person, and denies the divinity of Christ and the doctrine of the Trinity. Theological foundations for the view of God as a unity and for the humanity of Jesus are found in 2nd- and 3rd-century monarchianism and in the teachings of Arius (c. 250c. 336) and his followers (Arians)both early groups of Christians whose doctrines were later declared heretical by the church. The modern roots of Unitarianism are traced to the 16th-century Protestant Reformation, when certain liberal, radical, and rationalist reformers revived the Platonic emphasis on reason and the unity of God. Many such thinkers fled Italy during the Inquisition. Michael Servetus, a leading Neoplatonic Unitarian, fled eventually to Geneva, where he was burned at the stake by Calvinists. Some Italians found refuge in Poland. Chief among these was Faustus Socinus, who arrived at Krakw in 1579. Socinus' theology stressed the complete humanity of Jesus, a view still held by most Unitarians and Universalists. In Transylvania, an important early figure was Ferenc Dvid, who was convicted as a heretic for teaching that prayers could not be addressed to Jesus (since Jesus was merely human). He died in prison in 1579. The church that Dvid founded in Transylvania is the world's oldest extant Unitarian body. Although some unorthodox thinkers in England drew upon Socinus and others, the mainstream of British Unitarianism, like that of American Unitarianism, grew out of Calvinist Puritanism. Calvin's doctrine of providence, coupled with an increasingly scientific view of the universe, led to a decline in religious orthodoxy and an increased emphasis on reason and morals among the more liberal Calvinist clergy. Joseph Priestley, an English scientist and dissenting minister, was among those who began preaching Unitarian Christianity, emphasizing Jesus' humanity, God's omnipotence, and the rational faculty of man. The English Unitarians became strong in Parliament, the professions, and social reform. The name Free Christian was adopted by some groups who opposed the name Unitarian as sectarian and divisive. The movement fared somewhat less well in Scotland and Ireland. American Unitarianism developed more slowly out of New England Congregationalist churches that rejected the 18th-century revival movement. Congregational autonomy protected from controversy those ministers who stressed moderation, reason, and morals over spiritual revivalism. The Transcendentalist movement of the 19th century injected Unitarianism with a new interest in the intuitive and emotional aspects of religion. When Unitarianism spread into the frontier of the Middle West, its religious fundamentals changed to human aspiration and scientific truth, rather than Christianity and the Bible. Both British and American Unitarian groups formed national associations in 1825. In 1961 American Unitarians merged with the national organization of Universalist churches, with whom they shared a history of liberal idealism. In polity, most Unitarians and Universalists are congregational. Forms of worship, based on Protestant tradition, vary widely from group to group. See also Universalism.