My Suggestions to Spread Islam,

The Religion With Allah,

as presented by Prophet Muhammad 

and his Ahlulbayt.

                                  We Should Work On Unitarians b/c They believe in the Unity Of God
Unitarianism

Unitarianism is a form of Christianity that asserts that God is one person, the Father, rather than three persons in one, as the doctrine of the Trinity holds. A number of religious groups in Transylvania, Poland, Great Britain, and North America have been designated as Unitarian because of this belief. It has not been their only distinguishing mark, however, and at times not even the most important one. As significant has been their confidence in the reasoning and moral abilities of people--in contrast to traditions that emphasize original sin and human depravity--and an avoidance of dogma.

Modern Unitarianism dates to the period of the Protestant Reformation. A Unitarian movement has existed in Transylvania since the 1560s, when the leader was Francis David (1510-79). In Poland, Unitarianism flourished for a hundred years as the Minor Reformed Church until persecution forced (1660) its adherents into exile. The key figure in the Polish movement was Faustus Socinus (1539-1604; see Socinianism). Isolated individual unitarians lived in England in the 1600s, most notably John Biddle, but Unitarianism developed as a formal movement in the 1700s, partly within the Church of England but mainly in dissenting circles.

In America the religious liberalism that came to be known as Unitarianism appeared within the congregational churches in Massachusetts as a reaction against the revivalism of the Great Awakening (1740-43). The election (1805) of Henry Ware as Hollis Professor of Divinity at Harvard University touched off a controversy, as a result of which the liberals became a separate denomination. The sermon (1819) entitled "Unitarian Christianity" by William Ellery Channing was an influential statement of their beliefs.

In 1838, a divinity school address by Ralph Waldo Emerson declared that religious truth should be based on the authority of inner consciousness, not on external historical proofs. More conservative Unitarians were critical of Emerson and his followers, known as transcendentalists, fearing that such subjectivism would destroy the claim of Christianity to be a divinely revealed religion. Since the controversy over transcendentalism, some within the denomination have always felt it important to maintain continuity with the Christian tradition, whereas others have found Christianity to be intellectually limited and emotionally restrictive.

In 1961 the Unitarians merged with the Universalists in the Unitarian Universalist Association, uniting two denominations with roughly parallel histories and a similar tradition of religious liberalism.

Bibliography: Howe, Daniel, The Unitarian Conscience (1970; repr. 1988); Robinson, David, The Unitarians and the Universalists (1985); Wilbur, Earl Morse, A History of Unitarianism, 2 vols. (1945, 1952); Wright, Conrad, The Beginnings of Unitarianism in America (1955; repr. 1976) and, as ed., American Unitarianism (1989).

(c) 1997 Grolier, Inc.

 

 
Unitarians

Unitarians believe in the unity of God, rather than in the doctrine of the Trinity as found in the historic creeds of the Christian church.  In addition, the term Unitarians extends to religious groups dating from the 1500's to the present who not only rejected the doctrine of the Trinity, but also rejected creeds as the basis for religious authority. 

  History.  Early supporters of Unitarianism on the continent of Europe were Francis David (1510-1579) in Transylvania, then part of Hungary; and Faustus Socinus (1539-1604), leader of the Minor Reformed Church in Poland.  In England, Unitarian views were advanced by John Biddle (1615-1662).  But the main development of English Unitarianism came during the 1700's, when many churches that had previously been Presbyterian became Unitarian.  The British and Foreign Unitarian Association was formed in 1825.

  In America, Unitarianism developed during the 1700's within the Congregational churches in New England.  The movement reacted against Calvinistic doctrines that emphasized human sinfulness, as well as the Trinity.  Unitarians argued that such doctrines were inconsistent with the Bible and contrary to reason. 

  The dispute in the United States between the liberals (Unitarians) and the orthodox Congregationalists became so bitter after 1805 that many churches divided, especially in New England during the first third of the 1800's.  The Unitarians organized as a separate religious body.  The most prominent supporter of the Unitarians during this period was a Boston clergyman named William Ellery Channing.  His sermon "Unitarian Christianity" (1819) was widely accepted as a good statement of their position.  The American Unitarian Association was organized in 1825.

William  Channing believed in Christianity as a divinely inspired religion proved by the miracles of Jesus.  Younger Unitarian ministers soon began to argue that religious truth should be based on universal religious experiences, rather than on the record of historical events.  In addition, these ministers believed that religious truth and inspiration could be found in traditions other than Christianity. 

  Such ideas were expressed by Ralph Waldo Emerson in his "Divinity School Address" (1838), and by Theodore Parker in his sermon "The Transient and Permanent in Christianity" (1841).  These addresses expressed a new point of view in philosophy and religion.  This view was called transcendentalism because it stated that people may have an experience of reality that transcends (goes beyond) the experience of the senses. 

  Transcendentalism had a lasting effect on Unitarianism, especially in making it more receptive to religious ideas drawn from non-Christian sources.  Since that time, two views have emerged in the denomination.  One emphasizes liberal religion strongly attached to the Christian tradition.  The other refuses to accept any such limits, and often argues that the modern mind, under the impact of science, has moved beyond Christianity altogether.  See TRANSCENDENTALISM. 

  Organization.  In 1865, the Unitarian churches in the United States founded a national conference.  In 1925, this organization was absorbed into the American Unitarian Association.  In 1961, the American Unitarian Association merged with the Universalist Church of America to form a new religious body, the Unitarian Universalist Association. 

  The denomination is organized on the basis of congregational church government.  That is, the local church exerts basic authority.  The local church strongly emphasizes individual freedom of belief and democratic participation in church affairs.  Regional and national organizations provide leadership and services for the local churches but do not control the churches. 

  Unitarianism's original area of strength was New England.  Today, Unitarian Universalist churches are found in many other parts of the United States and Canada.  Most of these churches are in urban areas, and many are in university communities. 

Contributor: Henry Warner Bowden, Ph.D., Prof. of Religion, Rutgers The State Univ. of New Jersey.

  See also UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST ASSOCIATION; EMERSON, RALPH WALDO; PARKER, THEODORE. 

  Additional resources

     Robinson, David.  The Unitarians and the Universalists.  Greenwood, 1985.

  Unitarian Universalist Pocket Guide.  Ed. by Harry Scholefield.  Rev. ed. Unitarian Universalist Assn., 1983.

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The above article is compiled by Syed .F Raza Rizvi (Majlis-Ul-Muslimeen Karachi,Pakistan) 

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