Preface

Introduction

Universalist Conceptions of the Church, Circa 1870

Christian Universalism

Universalism: The American Church of the Future and the Civilized World

Universalism: The World Religion of the Greco-Roman World and the Emergent World Civilization

Selected Aspects of American Universalism in Bicentenniel Perspective

Two Representative Exponents of the Concern of Universalists with the Reform of Society

The Ordination of Women and Concern for Women and Children

Temperance and the Working Class

Penal Reform, Capital Punishment, and Spiritualism

War, Peace, and Conscience

Our Word and Work for Missions Abroad

Again the Nature and Destiny of the Universalist Church (1890–1946): Changes in Universalist Theology as Reflected in Interfaith Activity

Conclusion

“Williams's American Universalism is an important issue not because it is a history of Universalism —it is not— but because it is an analysis of American Universalism during its first hundred years. It takes a snapshot of Universalism at the time of the Murray centenary celebration in 1870 and sets up a set of categories for understanding various kinds of Universalists, then studies how these themes were developed in the second century of Universalism, paying particular attention to social issues and the relations of Universalists with other closely related denominations. This books invites us to reflect on the nature of our Universalist heritage.”

—Peter Hughes, vice president of the UUHS; chief editor of the Dictionary of Unitarian and Universalist Biography