Although their histories are different, throughout the centuries both Unitarians and Universalists have shared commitments to freedom, compassion, love and justice based on their theological beliefs. Unitarians and Universalists were separate faiths until 1961, when congregations voted to form the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA). Today there are over 1,000 Unitarian Universalist congregations around the world.

The term "Unitarian" was first used in 16th century Europe to describe a belief in the toleration of all faiths and the unity of God (opposing the idea of three-part God of the Trinity). In 1553, Michael Servetus, a Spanish physician, was burned at the stake as a "Unitarian heretic" for publishing his views. In 1568, King Sigismund of Transylvania, the only Unitarian king, issued the first great law for religious freedom in Europe. Unitarianism and Universalism spread despite persecutions throughout Europe. In the late 1700s, Unitarian and Universalist ministers brought their faiths to North America.

The liberal religious ideas of Unitarianism and Universalism spread throughout the northeastern United States and Canada. Universalism spread with the westward expansion. In 1790, a gathering of Universalist leaders took a stand to end wars and slavery based on a "Rule of Faith". In the 1800s, many new congregations, including Springfield's, were formed when some members found the stern messages preached in their churches unbearable. Many notable Americans have been inspired by their Unitarian and Universalist beliefs, such as John Adams, Susan B. Anthony, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Dorothea Dix, Horace Greeley, Margaret Fuller, Thomas Starr King, Adlai Stevenson, and Whitney Young. Our UU district is named after Clara Barton, whose Universalist faith led her to a lifetime of service and to found the American Red Cross.

Additional Links:

•History of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Greater Springfield

•Historical Text 1 - "Never Complete" written by Gertude Goward, Church Historian published in 1969

•Historical Text 2 - "A History of the First Church" written by Henry Morris published in 1875

•Historical Text 3 - "A History of the Universalist Church in Springfield" by Dr. Everett E. Thompson, Clerk and Historian of The Church of the Unity prepared especially for the occasion of the one hundredth anniversary of the building of the first Universalist church in the city of Springfield, in 1944.

•Historical Text 4 - "Recollections of the Universalist Church Of Sixteen Acres" by Bill and Barbara DeWolfe, 1995.

•Historical Text 5 - "The Unitarian Church of Chicopee" 1995

•Historical Text 6 - ""The Second Universalist Church" by Grace Kellogg