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TWO FAITHS ENTER THE MODERN AGE

In the years after the Civil War the rapid advancement of science brought many changes to the thinking of both Unitarians and Universalists. The tradition of free inquiry left them better able to adjust to faith threatening shifts in understanding that modern science presented than other denominations. The theory of evolution, propagated by English Unitarian Charles Darwin, challenged the orthodoxy of traditional Bible teachings undermining the faith of many traditional Christians. But Unitarians were able to embrace the advances as part of Channing's ongoing and unfolding revelation. Even the Universalists, who adhered to a more traditionally Christian form, were able to adjust. In 1880 they became the first to decree that Darwinism was not in conflict with religious faith.

The avalanche of new scientific learning seemed to confirm for both denominations the steady progress of humanity and its moral and ethical as well as material perfectibility. Faced with the grinding poverty and exploitation of rapid industrialization, many Unitarians and Universalists came to the foreground of the Social Gospel movement of social reform. Some ministers and congregations began drifting away from remaining orthodoxy and began to advocate a new post-Christian theology. In the late 19th Century the Free Religious Association developed as a quasi-independent variant of Unitarianism rejecting traditional Theism. Latter re-absorbed into the main body of Unitarianism they, along with the Chicago based Western Conference of Unitarians under the visionary leadership of Jenkin Lloyd Jones, pioneered daring new frontiers synthisizing scientific rationalism, non-western world religious traditions, and social activism.

Disillusioned by the mass violence of World War I and the rise of totalitarianism, early Twentieth Century Unitarians began increasingly to doubt the existence or relevance of a traditional God. Increasingly they proclaimed rationalism above all and placed the ultimate responsibility for human welfare and progress solely in human, not paranormal hands. In 1933 Unitarians and a couple of Universalists provided over half of the signatures on the landmark Humanist Manifesto. By the 1950's Humanism was the dominant strain in Unitarianism, although as a non-creedal religion earlier forms of liberal Christianity, Transcendentalism, and Free Thought continued to both be practiced and to thrive.

The Fifties were an era of tremendous growth for Unitarianism. The dominant Humanist strain attracted many members faced with the rigid conformity of the post war years and the threat of nuclear annihilation. The Fellowship movement encouraged the establishment of hundreds of small, lay led societies in areas that previously could not sustain a full church with professional leadership, spreading Unitarianism far from its traditional bases in New England, the upper Mid-West and the West Coast. The Church of the Larger Fellowship allowed isolated Unitarians to band together and receive congregational services including worship materials and pastoral care through the mail.

Unitarians worked hard to confront the dangers and injustices of the world. The Unitarian Service Committee began in World War II to aid refugees from Nazi Europe. It developed the flaming chalice symbol which was latter adopted by Unitarians the world over. After the war the Service Committee expanded its activities throughout the world. Universalists modeled their own Service Committee on the Unitarian model and frequently cooperated on projects. Both denominations also became strong advocates of the United Nations, which Unitarian Adlai E. Stevenson played a leading role in founding. Congregations around the country supported the UN through the work of the Unitarian United Nations Office, a credentialized non-governmental representative body. Unitarians were strong advocates for disarmament. On the domestic front Unitarian Churches in California stood up to that state's loyalty oath requirement.

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