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Related Sites:
Transcendentalists
Emerson Texts
|
Recommended Site:
Questia.com
For in-depth homework help and research including biography and
history using recent full-length texts online, try
Questia.com |
| |
Historical Notes and
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Unitarian Universalist?
 | an informal answer
|
| For the sake of this web site,
individuals are identified as Unitarian Universalists if they
| were raised Unitarian,
Universalist, or Unitarian Universalist, and/or |
| at some time in their lives
regularly attended or joined a Unitarian, Universalist, or Unitarian Universalist church
or society, and/or |
| at some time in their lives
identified themselves as Unitarian, Universalist, or Unitarian Universalist in theology or
membership. |
|
Was Thomas Jefferson really a
Unitarian?
| Like many others of his time (he
died just one year after the founding of institutional Unitarianism in America), Jefferson
was a Unitarian in theology, though not in church membership. He never joined a
Unitarian congregation: there were none near his home in Virginia during his
lifetime. He regularly attended Joseph Priestley's Pennsylvania church when he was
nearby, and said that Priestley's theology was his own, and there is no doubt Priestley
should be identified as Unitarian. Jefferson remained a member of the
Episcopal congregation near his home, but removed himself from those available to become
godparents, because he was not sufficiently in agreement with the trinitarian theology.
His work, The Jefferson Bible,
was Unitarian in theology. For a slightly different analysis (one that slights the
fact that the Unitarians were not formally organized into a sect until 1825), see the
relevant "Matters
of Fact" factsheet at the Monticello website. |
Was Henry David Thoreau a
Unitarian?
Thoreau was a
non-joiner, as were many who identified in his time as Unitarian in theology. But he
identified with Transcendentalism, a movement that grew as a rebellious
Unitarianism, and he considered himself Unitarian.
Was Sylvia Plath really a
Unitarian?
Recent work has
indicated that Plath was a Unitarian. See the article in
the Dictionary of UU Biography for details.
Where can I find more about Unitarian Universalist history?
| The Links page
of this web site will include, as they are found, links to substantial UU history web
pages or sites. |
| Links to good books on UU history
will be added soon. |
Some disputed UUs:
These individuals have been removed from these listings, because we could find no
positive evidence that they they considered themselves Unitarian and/or Universalist.
If you find any resources identifying them with UUism, please email us.
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