A brief history

The roots of the Unitarian movement lie principally in the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. At that time, many people began to claim:

• the right to read and interpret the Bible for themselves;
• the right to seek a direct relationship with God, without the mediation of priest or church;
• the right to set their own conscience as a test of the teachings of religious institutions.

Many came to question orthodox Christian doctrine and to affirm beliefs of their own which included:

• the unity or uni-personality of God, as opposed to the doctrine of the Trinity - hence the name 'Unitarian';
• the humanity, as opposed to the deity, of God;
• the worth of human beings, as opposed to ideas of original sin, inherited guilt and innate depravity.

The theological roots of Unitarianism are found in 16th century Europe (Hungary, Poland and Romania) where some biblical scholars rejected the idea of the trinitarian Christian God, claiming that a single God was more consistent with the Bible. Hence the name Unitarian. Also at that time, the first Act of Religious Toleration in Europe, granting religious freedom, was legislated in Transsylvania, where the king and his subjects were largely Unitarian.

Fleeing religious persecution, Unitarians came to North America from Britain in the 17th century. Unitarian ideas, including congregational polity and transcendentalism, evolved in New England, and as the churches organized, Unitarianism spread west in the US and north to Canada. However, the first Unitarian churches in Canada, established in the 19th century, were served by ministers from Ireland, England, and America. In Britain, the development of Unitarianism was slower, since professing Unitarian ideas was a criminal offence for a long time, and Unitarians were banned from public office until 1828.

In Canada, a third stream flows from a group of liberal Icelandic Lutherans in Manitoba. Their beliefs eventually led them from the Lutheran fold and into the Unitarian milieu. Meanwhile, a sister church, the Universalists, came to believe in a loving God, rejecting the doctrine of eternal damnation. Many Christian churches espouse this today but in the 17th century it was heresy. In the 19th century the Universalist church was the first to ordain women.

In 1961, the Unitarians and Universalists merged into the Unitarian Universalist Association, an association of congregations. Unitarian Universalists are responsible for their own beliefs, consistent with these principles. There is no creed.

Unitarianism came to North America over two centuries ago. Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, leaders of the American Revolution, were Unitarians. Unitarianism took root in the liberal wing of the Congregational church, tied in with the Boston establishment throughout the 19th century. In the 1820's Unitarians began showing up in Canada from England, Ireland and New England, with the first Unitarian church being founded in Montreal in 1842 and in Toronto years later.