denominational unity. Gradually Unitarians have come to the acceptance of
their fellowship as a religious body, and to a recognition of their
distinct mission. The controversy between the conservatives and the
radicals was transferred to the west in 1886, and continued to have at its
basis the problem of the relation of the individual to religious
institutions and traditions. The conservative party maintained that
Unitarians are Christians, and gave recognition to that continuity of human
development by which every generation is connected with and draws its life
from those which precede it, and is consciously dependent upon them. On the
other hand, the radical party was not willing to accept traditions and
institutions as having a binding authority over individuals. Some of them
were reluctant to call themselves Christians, not because they rejected the
more important of the Christian beliefs, but because they were not willing
to bind any individual by the action of his fellows. It was their claim
that religion best serves its own ends when it is free to act upon the
individual without compulsion of any kind from others, and that its
attractions should be without any bias of external authority.
[Sidenote: "The Western Issue."]
At the meeting of the Western Conference held in Cleveland in 1882,
arrangements were made looking to its incorporation, and its object was
defined to be "the transaction of business pertaining to the general
interests of the societies connected with the Conference, and the promotion
of rational religion." It was voted that the motto on the conference seal
should be "Freedom, Fellowship, and Character in Religion," which was the
same as that of the Free Religious Association, with the addition of the
word "character." These results were reached after much discussion, and by
the way of compromise. The issues thus raised were brought forward again at
St. Louis, in 1885, when Rev. J.T. Sunderland, the secretary and missionary
of the conference, deplored the growing spirit of agnosticism and
scepticism in the Unitarian churches of the west. His report caused a
division of opinion in the conference; and in the controversy that ensued
the conservatives were represented by The Unitarian, edited by Rev. Brooke
Herford and Rev. J.T. Sunderland, and the radicals by Unity, edited by Rev.
J.Ll. Jones and Rev. W.C. Gannett.
At the Western Conference meeting of 1886, held in Cincinnati, the
controversy found full expression. The session was preceded a few days
before by the publication of a pamphlet on The Western Issue from the pen
of Mr. Sunderland, in which he contended for the theistic and Christian
character of the conference. A resolution offered by Rev. Oscar Clute,
"that the primary object of this Conference is to diffuse the knowledge and
promote the interests of pure Christianity," was rejected by a considerable
majority. Another, offered by Mr. Sunderland--"that, while rejecting all
creeds and creed limitations, the Conference hereby expresses its purpose
as a body to be the promotion of a religion of love to God and love to
man"--was also rejected. That presented by William C. Gannett was carried
by a majority of thirty-four to ten, and declared that
the Western Unitarian Conference conditions its fellowship on no
dogmatic tests, but welcomes all who wish to join it to establish
truth, righteousness, and love in the world.
The result was a pronounced division between the two parties within the
conference; and a considerable number of churches, including some of the
oldest and strongest, withdrew from co-operation in the work of the
Conference. At the session of 1887, held in All Souls' Church, Chicago, an
effort was made to bring about a reconciliation; but this was not
completely secured.[1] A resolution was carried, however, by a majority
of fifty-nine to three, reaffirming Mr. Gannett's, declaration adopted at
Cincinnati, but also accepting a statement in regard to fellowship and
doctrines, which was called The Things Most Commonly Believed To-day among
Us, and read as follows:--
In all matters of church government we are strict Congregationalists.
We have no creed in the usual sense; that is, articles of doctrinal
belief which bind our churches and fix the conditions of our
fellowship. Character has always been to us the supreme matter. We have
doctrinal beliefs, and for the most part hold such beliefs in common;
but above all doctrines we emphasize the principles of freedom,
fellowship, and character in religion. These principles make our
all-sufficient test of fellowship. All names that divide religion are
to us of little consequence compared with religion itself. Whoever
loves truth and loves the good is, in a broad sense, of our religious
fellowship; whoever loves the one or lives the other better than
ourselves is our teacher, whatever church or age he may belong to. So
our church is wide, our teachers many, and our holy writings large.
With a few exceptions we may be called Christian Theists: Theists as
worshipping the One-in-All, and naming that One, God our Father;
Christian, because revering Jesus as the highest of the historic
prophets of religion; these names, as names, receiving more stress in
our older than in our younger churches. The general faith is hinted
well in words which several of our churches have adopted for their
covenant: "In the freedom of the truth, and in the spirit of Jesus
Christ, we unite for the worship of God and the service of man." It is
hinted in such words as these: "Unitarianism is a religion of love to
God and love to man." "It is that free and progressive development of
historic Christianity which aspires to be synonymous with universal
ethics and universal religion." But because we have no creed which we
impose as test of fellowship, specific statements of belief abound
among us, always somewhat differing, always largely agreeing. One such
we offer here:--
We believe that to love the Good and live the Good is the supreme
thing in religion. We hold reason and conscience to be final
authorities in matters of religious belief. We honor the Bible and
all inspiring scriptures, old and new. We revere Jesus and all holy
souls that have taught men truth and righteousness and love, as
prophets of religion. We believe in the growing nobility of man. We
trust the unfolding universe as beautiful, beneficent, unchanging
Order; to know this order is truth; to obey it is right and liberty
and stronger life. We believe that good and evil inevitably carry
their own recompense, no good things being failure, and no evil
things success; that heaven and hell are states of being; that no
evil can befall the good man in either life or death; that all
things work together for the victory of Good. We believe that we
ought to join hands and work to make the good things better and the
worst good, counting nothing good for self that is not good for
all. We believe that this self-forgetting, loyal life awakes in man
the sense of union, here and now, with things eternal--the sense of
deathlessness; and this is to us an earnest of the life to come. We
worship One-in-All,--that Life whence suns and stars derive their
orbits and the soul of man its Ought,--that Light which lighteth
every man that cometh into the world, giving us power to become the
sons of God,--that Love with whom our souls commune. This One we
name the Eternal God, our Father.
This action not satisfying the remonstrants, the controversy went on with
considerable vigor for three or four years. Both parties to it were
characteristically Unitarian in their attitude and in their demands. Both
sought the truth with an attempt at unbiassed judgment; and neither wished
to disfellowship the other, or to put any restrictions upon its expression
of its opinions. Much heat was engendered by the controversy, but light was
desire by both parties with sincere purpose. The conflict was finally
brought to an end by the action of the National Conference at its session
of 1894, held at Saratoga, though this result had been practically reached
in 1892. A committee on the revision of the constitution had been appointed
by the council of the session of 1891; and this committee reported the
following preamble, which was unanimously adopted as a substitute for the
preamble of 1865 and 1868:--
The Conference of Unitarian and other Christian Churches was formed in
the year 1865, with the purpose of strengthening the churches and
societies which should unite in it for more and better work for the
kingdom of God. These churches accept the religion of Jesus, holding,
in accordance with his teaching, that practical religion is summed up
in love to God and love to man. The Conference recognizes the fact that
its constituency is Congregational in tradition and polity. Therefore,
it declares that nothing in this constitution is to be construed as an
authoritative test; and we cordially invite to our working fellowship
any who, while differing from us in belief, are in general sympathy
with our spirit and our practical aims.
This preamble to the new constitution proved to be so far acceptable to
both parties in the Western Conference, as well as to their sympathizers
elsewhere, that harmony was restored throughout the denomination. While the
Unitarian body thus retained its use of the Christian name and its
insistence upon loyalty to the teachings of Jesus, yet it put aside every
form of dogmatic test and of creedal statement. Its fellowship was made
very broad in its character, and all were invited to join it who so
desired.
[Sidenote: Fellowship with Universalists.]
At the annual meeting of the Unitarian Association in 1899 resolutions were
passed looking to joint action between Unitarians and Universalists with
reference to furthering their common interests. A committee was appointed
to confer with a similar committee of the Universalist General Convention
for the purpose of considering "plans of closer co-operation, devise ways
and means for more efficient usefulness." In October this proposal was
accepted by the General Convention, and a committee appointed. At the
annual meeting of the Unitarian Association in 1900 the report of the
joint committee was presented, in which it was declared that "closer
co-operation is desirable and practicable"; but the committee expressed the
wish to go on record "as not desiring nor expecting to disturb in any way
the separate organic autonomy of the two denominations. We seek
co-operation, not consolidation, unity, non union." The committee
recommended that it be given authority to consider the cases in which the
two denominations are jointly interested, such as opportunities of
instituting churches or missions in new fields, the circulation of tracts
and books, the holding of joint meetings of ministers and churches, or
other efforts to promote intellectual agreements and deep faiths of the
heart, and to recommend the appropriate action to the proper organizations.
At the next sessions of the Unitarian Association and of the Universalist
General Convention these recommendations were accepted, and permanent
members of the joint committee were appointed. This committee has entered
upon its duties, and important results may be anticipated in the promotion
of harmony and co-operation.
[Sidenote: Officers of the American Unitarian Association.]
Mr. Henry P. Kidder continued as the president of the Unitarian Association
until the annual meeting of 1886. He was then succeeded by Hon. George D.
Robinson, who held the office for only one year. He had been in both houses
of the Massachusetts legislature, in the national House from 1877 to 1883,
and was governor of Massachusetts from 1884 to 1886. His successor was Hon.
George S. Hale, from 1887 to 1895, who was a distinguished lawyer, and was
greatly interested in charities and reforms. Hon. John D. Long was the
president from 1895 to 1897. He had been in the lower house of the
Massachusetts legislature, was lieutenant governor in 1879, governor in
1880-82, in the national House from 1883 to 1889, and from 1897 to 1902 was
Secretary of the Navy. Hon. Carroll D. Wright held the office from 1897 to
1900. He was in the Massachusetts Senate in 1871 and 1872, was chief of the
Massachusetts bureau of statistics from 1873 to 1888, superintendent of the
United States census in 1880, has been commissioner of the national Bureau
of Labor since 1885, and in 1902 became president of Clark College at
Worcester. At the annual meeting of 1900 it was thought best to make a
change in the nature of the presidency, in order that the head of the
Association might become its chief executive officer. In that way it was
sought to add dignity and efficiency to the position of the executive
officer, as well as to meet the greatly increased work of the Association
by this addition to its salaried force. The secretary, Rev. Samuel A.
Eliot, was elected to the presidency.
In 1881 Rev. Grindall Reynolds became the secretary of the Association. He
had previously held pastorates in Jamaica Plain and Concord. He had rare
executive abilities, was gifted with sound common sense and a judicial
temper; and he had a most efficient business capacity. Under his leadership
the growth of the Unitarian denomination was more rapid than it had been at
any earlier period; and this was largely due to his zeal, energy, and
wisdom.
In December, 1894, Rev. George Batchelor became the secretary, and he
continued in office until November, 1897, when he became the editor of The
Christian Register. He had previously held pastorates in Salem, Chicago,
and Lowell. He was succeeded, January 1, 1898, by Rev. Samuel A. Eliot, who
had been settled over churches in Denver and Brooklyn, and who became the
president of the Association in 1900. Rev. Charles E. St. John, who had
been settled in Northampton and Pittsburg, became the secretary at the
annual meeting of 1900.
[Sidenote: The American Unitarian Association as a Representative Body.]
In the report of the council of the National Conference at the session of
1880, Dr. Bellows pointed out the fact that the American Unitarian
Association was "not a union of churches, but an association of individuals
belonging to Unitarian churches, who became members of it and entitled to
vote by signing its constitution and the annual payment of one dollar. This
Association never had, and has not now, any explicit relation to our
churches as churches, but only to such individuals as choose to become
voluntary subscribers to its funds, and members by signing its
constitution, and to such churches as choose to employ its services."
This statement led to the appointment of a committee "to consider how the
National Conference and the American Unitarian Association can more
effectually co-operate without sacrifice of the advantages belonging to
either." The committee reported in 1882 in favor of so changing the charter
of the Association that a church might become a member. At the annual
meeting of the Association in 1884, after a prolonged discussion, its
by-laws were so amended that, while the life membership was retained, the
sum creating it was raised from $30 to $50; and churches were given
representation on the condition of regular yearly contributions to its
treasury, two of such contributions being necessary to establish a church
in this right. Since that time the delegates from churches have
considerably outnumbered the life members voting at the annual meetings.
This has practically given the churches the controlling voice in the
activities of the Association.
The giving a representative character to the Association had the effect of
increasing the contributions made to its support by the churches. Under the
leadership of Dr. Bellows, at the National Conference in 1884, there began
a movement looking to the establishment of a conference in every state and
the employment of a missionary by every such conference. This plan has not
yet been fully carried out; but in 1885 and the following years missionary
superintendents were appointed by the Association for five general sections
of the country, and, with some variations, this, system has continued in
operation to the present time.[2]
[Sidenote: The Church Building Loan Fund.]
The work of building churches was greatly facilitated by the establishment,
in 1884, of a Church Building Loan Fund. The proposition to create such a
fund was first brought forward by the finance committee at a meeting of the
directors of the Unitarian Association on February 11, 1884. At the March
meeting a committee was appointed to mature plans; and at the meeting of
the National Conference in September, held at Saratoga, a resolution was
passed asking the Association to set apart $25,000 for this purpose, and
pledging the Conference to add $20,000 to this sum. At the November meeting
of the directors of the Association the organization of the fund was
completed, a board of trustees was created, and the sum of $43,000 was
reported as secured. The fund was steadily increased by contributions from
the churches and by gifts and legacies until in 1900 it amounted to
$142,820.92. Up to May, 1900, an aggregate sum of $294,310 had been
disbursed, in one hundred loans to ninety societies, chiefly to aid in the
erection of new church edifices.[3]
[Sidenote: The Unitarian Building in Boston.]
For several years after the organization of the American Unitarian
Association the records give no indication of the place of meeting of the
directors. During the latter part of 1825, and in 1826, David Reed was the
general agent of the Association; and his place of business was at 81
Washington Street. It is probable that the directors met at the study of
the secretary or at the place of business of the agent. In December, 1826,
the firm of Bowles & Dearborn, booksellers, became the agents, their store
being first at 72 and then at 50 Washington Street. Here all Unitarian
publications were kept on sale, the name of "general repositary" being
given to their stock of books, tracts, periodicals, and other publications
of a liberal character. In 1829 the agent was Leonard C. Bowles, evidently
a continuation of Bowles & Dearborn.
In 1830 the depositary was removed to 135 Washington Street, and was under
the management of the firm of Gray & Bowen, who were paid $144.44 for their
services. In 1831 the place of business of this firm was 141 Washington
Street; and the sum it received from the Association was $200, which was
the next year increased to $300. Leonard C. Bowles, located at 147
Washington Street, again became the agent in 1836. In 1837 James Munroe &
Co. appear as the publishers of the annual report, but they are not
mentioned as agents or as having charge of the repositary. The sum of $150
was paid in that year for the rent of a room for the general secretary,
Rev. Charles Briggs; and the location of the room is probably indicated by
the record that in 1838 Munroe & Co. were paid $133.34 for rent of room and
clerk hire, their store being at 134 Washington Street. Here the
headquarters of the Association were at last established, for they
continued in this place until 1846. In 1839 the rental paid was $300, and
for the six succeeding years it was $200. Surely, these were the days of
small things; but here the Association carried on such activities as it had
in hand, and the Unitarian ministers met for conversation and consultation.
In 1846 Crosby, Nichols & Co. became the agents of the Association, first
at 118 and then at 111 Washington Street. This firm brought out several
Unitarian books, and issued The Christian Examiner and other Unitarian
periodicals. For a number of years they were intimately associated with
Unitarian interests, and the theological and literary traditions of the
time connect them with many of the leading men and movements of Boston. In
the rear of their store the Association had its office, its meeting-place
for the directors and other officers, as well as for the Monday gatherings
of ministers.
After these many wanderings from the rear of one bookstore to another the
Association at last secured an abode of its own. On March 9, 1854, rooms
for the use of the Association were opened at 21 Bromfield Street. On this
occasion a small company came together, and listened to an address by Dr.
Samuel K. Lothrop, the president of the Association. Another change was
made in October, 1859, when Walker, Wise & Co. undertook the book-selling,
and publishing work of the Association at 21 Bromfield Street.
In the year 1865 there came to the Association an opportunity for securing
a building of its own. The sum of $16,000 was paid for a house at 26
Chauncy Street, which was occupied in the spring of 1866. The enlarged
activities of the Association at this time here found the housing they
needed. Affiliated organizations also found a home in this building,
especially the Sunday School Society, the Christian Register Association,
and The Monthly Religious Magazine.
The theatre meetings, begun in Boston in 1866, having suggested the need of
a larger denominational building, The Monthly Journal of November, 1867,
proposed the erection of a building with a spacious hall for these great
popular meetings, smaller rooms for social gatherings, offices for the
Association and other affiliated societies, and an attractive bookstore.
"In short, we would have it comprise all that might properly belong to a
denominational headquarters or home. We would have it in a convenient and
conspicuous situation, and every way worthy of our position." This dream of
Mr. Lowe's he brought forward again in his annual report of 1870, when he
said: "The building now occupied by the Association has become wholly
inadequate to its uses; and steps were taken more than a year ago by its
friends in Boston towards providing more suitable accommodations, and at
the same time providing in connection with it for such other uses as might
make the building to be erected worthy to be the headquarters of the
denomination in the city which gave it birth." Mr. Shippen called attention
to the needs of the Association in his report of 1872, saying that the
project of a large hall had been abandoned, but that there was urgent
demand for a building suited to the business and social needs of the
denomination in Boston.
The great fire of November, 1872, brought this project to a sudden
termination. The Chauncy Street building was for many hours in danger of
being burned, out it was finally saved. Its market value was much increased
by the fire, however; and in February, 1873, it was sold for $37,000.
Purchase was soon made, at a cost of $30,000, of the estate at 7 Tremont
Place, belonging to Hon. Albert Fearing, who had been active in the work of
the Association and prominent in the Unitarian circles of Boston. This
building, entered by the Association in May, 1873, was somewhat larger than
its predecessor and in some respects better suited to the needs of the
Association; yet the secretary, at the annual meeting held in the same
month, called for the more convenient building, which should serve "as a
worthy centre in this city for the various charitable and missionary
activities of our faith."[4]
In his report of 1880 Mr. Shippen again presented his demand for a suitable
home for the Association and its kindred organizations. This appeal was
renewed in the following year by Mr. Reynolds, who urged "the need of a
denominational house in Boston, which should be commodious, accessible,
easily found, and where all our charities and all our works should find a
home." "Very fitting it is," he added, "that such a house should be named
after him who, by his personal influence in life and by the power of his
written word after his death, has been the mightiest single force for the
diffusion of rational Christianity."