Unitarian Universalist History Part 4:
Unitarianism in the Twentieth Century

Over four Tuesdays in April, 2018, we're covering the 20th Century to the 1960's, looking at how Humanists, Theists, and those with other beliefs have been eventually able to coexist in one religion. The text is Dan McKanan, editor: "A Documentary History of Unitarian Universalism"(Boston: Skinner Books, 2017) in two paperback volumes (I to 1899, II from 1900). References below are (volume-page). Here is a longer description of the possibilities.

Week 5 (April 30, 2018) Unitarians and Universalists Merge

We'll discuss these readings from McKanan's "Documentary History", plus a few other sources.

A History of Universalism: Modern Christian Universalists convincingly (to me) trace their faith back to the first centuries of Christianity.

Timeline of Significant Events in the Merger of the Unitarian and Universalist Churches During the 1900s

1915, Clarence Russell Skinner, "Social Implications of Universalism" (II-38)

1917, "Universalist Commission on Social Services, "A Declaration of Social Principles" (II-67)

1942, Trustees of the Universalist Church of America "Proposed and Final Applications for Membership in the Federal Council of Churches" (II-121)

1958, Joint Merger Commission, "Information Manual" (II-175)
(full text)

Albert Q. Perry,
1958: "The Uniqueness of Universalism" (II-180)
1960: "Decisions and Implications" (II-205)

Gordon McKeeman
1959: "The Place of Hosea Ballou in Present-Day Universalism" (II=184)
1960: "Questions About Jesus" (II-202)

1959, Irving R. Murray, "A Case For Merger" (II-187)

Walter Donald Kring,
1959: "A Case Against Merger" (II-190)
1960: "We Ought To Be (II-210)

"Constitution of the Unitarian Universalist Association" (II-195)

1960, Dana McLean Greeley, "Frankly Speaking" (II-208)
Donald S. Harrington, "We Are That Faith" (II-213)

2011, Marilyn Sewell, Why Unitarians and Universalists Belong Together: A Fifty-Year Recollection
Because I couldn't find any commentary by women at the time of the merger...

Week 4 (April 23, 2018) Women in Unitarianism

We'll discuss these readings from McKanan's "Documentary History". There are links to biographies of all of the women who wrote these pieces, and they are worth reading. There are many more articles in "Documentary History" by women after the merger. You can look them up, but we will have enough to cover just getting through the first 75 years of the 20th Century.

1900, Eleanor Elizabeth Gordon, "Our Mission to Save by Culture" (II-1)
(See also Mary Augusta Safford)

1915, May Wright Sewall, "Women, World War, and Permanent Peace" (II-56)

1920, Olympia Brown "The Opening Doors" (II-71)

1923, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, "His Religion and Hers" (II-75)

1940, Aurelia Henry Reinhard, "Education for Service in Democracy" (II-105)
Martha Sharp, "Food for Babies in the Basses Pyrenees: Emergency Project, Summer, 1940" (II-108)
(See also Waitstill Sharp and
"Righteous among the nations" by Michelle Bates Deakin, UUWorld, Summer 2006)

1952, Sophia Lyon Fahs, "Today's Children and Yesterday's Heritage" (II-164)

1961, Dorothy Spoerl, "Is Our Religious Education Religious?" (II-228)

1962, Alliance of Unitarian Women and Association of Universalist Women, "Churchwoman.... or Churchmouse?" (II-230)

1970, ""General Resolution on Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women" (II-306)

Week 3 (April 16, 2018) Unitarianism Between, During, and After the World Wars

We'll discuss these readings from McKanan's "Documentary History":

1917, John Haynes Holmes and the debate over World War I (II-59)
William Howard Taft chairs a debate over World War I at the Unitarian General Conference in Toronto (II-63)

1936, Commission of Appraisal, "Unitarians Face a New Age" (II-91) (full text)

James Luther Adams,
1939, "Why Liberal" (II-101) (More on totalitarianism and America)
1941, "The Changing Reputation of Human Nature" (II-110)
1962, "The Indispensable Discipline of Social Responsibility" (II-231)

Frederick May Eliot
1942, "Bring in the Candles"(II-119)
1947, "The Message and Mission of Liberal Religion" (II-150)

1942, Norbert Capek, "Songs Composed in Dresden Prison", (II-116)

1945, American Unitarian Youth, "Political Resolution" (II-124)

2003, Neil Shister in UUWorld, "Embattled Faith"

Week 2 (April 8, 2018) Humanism

We'll discuss these readings from McKanan's "Documentary History". I've given links biographies of the authors in case you're curious:

1909, Charles W. Eliot "The Religion of the Future (II-29-31)

1917, Clarence Skinner, "Social Implications of Unitarianism" (II-38-55)

1926, Curtis W. Reese "Humanism" (II-78-80)
1927, John Dietrich "Unitarianism and Humanism" (II-81-83)

1933, "The Humanist Manifesto" (II_84-88)

Supplemental reading online:
New York Times, February 27, 1917, "Dr. Eliot's Belief"
William F. Schulz 2003 UUWorld article "Our Humanist Legacy: Seventy years of religious humanism"
Susan Casteel 2006 paper (PDF), "The Humanist-Theist Controversy"

Week 1 (April 2, 2018) Background to the Twentieth Century

After introducing ourselves to each other, we went over some of the material we covered in the last class two-and-a half years ago.
We started with some of Free Religion movement's 1869 Fifty Affirmations (extracts in I-406-408) by Francis Ellingwood Abbot and William James Potter and continued with William Wallace Fenn's 1913 Modern Liberalism (extracts in II-34-37)

Earlier Classes

Unit 3. Civil War to World War I: Unitarianism and Free Religion

What happened to Unitarianism after the Transcendentalists and the Civil War? David Parke and Jessica Mink continued with a series of discussions about the evolution of Unitarianism from the Civil War to World War I. We met over the first four Mondays in November 2016 and discussed major documents by some now-lesser-known religious thinkers.

Unit 2. Unitarianism Through Transcendentalism

In the fall of 2014, David Parke--yes, the person who almost 50 years ago wrote the first text we used--and Jessica Mink led a study using Conrad Wright's Three Prophets of Religious Liberalism: Channing-Emerson-Parker. Week one was a discussion of the introduction, then over succeeding weeks we read and discussed one significant sermon each by William Eller Channing, Ralph Walso Emerson, and Theodore Parker.

Unit 1. An Overview of Unitarian Hisory

In the winter of 2014, we read David Parke's 1957 The Epic of Unitarianism: Original Writings From the History of Liberal Religion with Julie McVay, covering the entire sweep of Unitarian history