About Universalism

The defining teaching of the Universalist Church in America was Universalism, or “universal salvation,” the doctrine that a loving God would not create a torture chamber called “Hell,” and then create people so flawed that they had to be sent there. Since the Bible tells us that “God is love” (1 John 4:8 and 4:16), the Universalists had faith that all people would be saved, and none would be damned forever.

Some Universalists, the “Restorationists,” thought there might be a temporary punishment for some very wicked people, but that eventually all people would be restored to a proper relationship with God.

Other Universalists were called “Ultra-Universalists.” They thought there was no hell at all, except the hells we create right here on earth. All Universalists thought that sin, like illness, should be cured and not punished.

Without hell, would people still be good? The Universalists said there are many reasons to be a good person, but fear of hell is not one of them. The way to be happy is to do good. As Abraham Lincoln once said, “When I do good I feel good. When I do bad I feel bad. That is my religion.”

George de Benneville (1703-1793) began preaching Universalism in Pennsylvania as early as 1741. The Universalists were established in America largely through the efforts of John Murray, and English Methodist who had become convinced of Universalism. He established a Universalist church in Gloucester, Massachusetts, in 1779. Murray also served as a chaplain in George Washington’s army. By 1790 the Universalists had organized as a denomination.

Hosea Ballou published his influential book, A Treatise on Atonement, in 1805. Unlike Murray, who held Trinitarian beliefs, Ballou took the “unitarian” position that God is one. Ballou was the most important Universalist preacher of the early 1800s.

In their early years, the Universalists relied on the Bible for their doctrines. They pointed to 1 Corinthians 15:22 where the Apostle Paul writes, “For as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ.” Who are the “all” who die in Adam? Everyone. Who are the “all” who are made alive in Christ?” It’s the same “all.” In other words, everyone is saved.

John 12:47 says, “I do not judge anyone who hears my words and does not keep them, for I came not to judge the world but to save the world.” Titus 2:11 says, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all.” The Universalists said that these and many other passages confirmed the love of God and the salvation of all.

Many Universalists have been important in American history. Dr. Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, is called “the father of American psychiatry.” He also established the first anti-slavery society in America. Horace Greeley, editor of the New York Tribune, was the 1872 nominee for president of both the Liberal Republican Party and the Democratic Party. Nonetheless, Greeley lost in a landslide. P.T. Barnum founded the Barnum & Bailey Circus. Clara Barton, another Universalist, founded the American Red Cross.

Like the Quakers, the Universalists were strongly committed to abolishing slavery. The Universalist denomination went on record against slavery as early as 1794.

The Universalists were the first denomination to give their full endorsement to the ordination of women. Olympia Brown was ordained in 1863, and had a long career in the ministry. Brown was the first woman ordained with the approval of her denomination. She was also active in the Women’s Suffrage movement, and lived to vote in both 1920 and 1924.

By 1850 the Universalists were an important denomination, with about half a million members. In the 20th century, Universalist numbers declined as people moved to the cities, and rural Universalist churches closed. The Universalists were poorly organized, and did not establish enough new churches in growing areas of the country.

In the twentieth century the Universalists also became less Bible-centered and more humanistic. In the 1940s, when the Universalist Church in America applied to join the Federal Council of Churches (now the National Council of Churches) they were rejected on the grounds that they were not Christ-centered enough, and were too much like the Unitarians.

In 1935 the Universalist Church in America adopted the following affirmation: “We avow our faith in God as eternal and all-conquering love; the spiritual leadership of Jesus; the supreme worth of every human personality; the authority of truth, known and to be known; and the power of people of good will and sacrificial spirit to overcome evil and progressively establish the kingdom of God. Neither this nor any other statement shall be imposed as a creedal test.”

Although the Universalist view of the Bible and of God changed over time, their conviction that God is love remained constant. By the 1950s a younger group of Universalist ministers (who dubbed themselves “the Humiliati,” although they were not terribly humble) were redefining Universalism. These new Universalists taught that God is love; no one is condemned; the way to be happy is to do good; and there are worthwhile sources of religious truth outside of Christianity. The new Universalism was emphasizing universal principles, such as compassion and loving-kindness, that are important to all of the world’s great religious faiths.

In 1961 the Universalist Church in America consolidated with the American Unitarian Association, forming the Unitarian Universalist Association. Today the UUA has a less theistic and less biblical outlook than the earlier Universalists, but the Universalist heritage still inspires the belief that a truly loving God would not damn anyone to eternity in hell.