Free Religious Association
In 1894, the Unitarian National Conference essentially accepted the position of the FRA, removing part of the original reason for its creation.
In 1825, the American Unitarian Association (AUA) was formed by people who disagreed with the traditional Christian doctrine of the Trinity, the belief that God is three persons (Jehovah, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit).
The convention's decision to characterize the denomination as exclusively Christian created friction with a vocal minority who wanted a broader approach.
[3] Characterizing the AUA as exclusively Christian created a problem for the increasing number of Unitarians who were beginning to challenge traditional views, such as the authority of the Bible and the existence of miracles.
[3] The transcendentalists, who were closely identified with Ralph Waldo Emerson, challenged orthodox thinking with their belief that religious understanding was best achieved through direct intuition.
[5] The group oriented toward science wanted to modify traditional Unitarian teachings to accommodate recent scientific developments, including evolution.
"[6] Despite their very different approaches, these two groups wanted to join with others to form an organization that would actively encourage the exploration of alternative religious views.
[7] On May 30, 1867, Unitarian dissidents organized a meeting in Horticultural Hall in Boston that formed the Free Religious Association (FRA).
Among the speakers were Ralph Waldo Emerson, Lucretia Mott, Robert Dale Owen, and Rabbi Isaac M.
[11] William J. Potter, the primary force within the FRA during its most active years,[12] described the FRA as a sort of "spiritual anti-slavery society", referring to the recent success of the movement to eliminate slavery in the U.S.[13] He said the goal of the movement was to "bring people together in religious union" while "liberating religion from every sort of thralldom to irrational and merely traditional authority".
[17] The founding convention adopted a constitution that said the goal of the FRA was "to promote the interests of pure religion, to encourage the scientific study of theology, and to increase the fellowship of the spirit.
[19] In 1874, Lucretia Mott succeeded in having the constitution modified to say, "to encourage the scientific study of man's religious nature and history" instead of "to encourage the scientific study of theology," which put less emphasis on technical issues of theology and more on issues of religion in everyday life.
[23] In 1894, the Unitarian National Conference essentially accepted the position of the FRA, removing part of the original reason for its creation.
Octavius Frothingham was succeeded as president of the FRA in 1878 by Felix Adler, founder of the Ethical Culture movement, which was open to people of diverse religious beliefs.
Adler tried to rejuvenate the organization with a program of establishing a network of local societies that would promote education about the science of religion and would work to advance social welfare.
The committee of conservative Unitarians in charge of overseeing the divinity school subsequently interrogated each member of the class of 1869 about their religious views and denied two of them their stipend.
[35][36] The Index: A Weekly Paper Devoted to Free Religion was founded in Toledo, Ohio in 1870 as the semi-official periodical of the FRA under the editorship of Francis Abbot.
