Many have argued that American Unitarianism originated solely from within Congregationalism and developed independent of outside influences. William Ellery Channing's 'Unitarian Christianity' sermon in 1819 was a key moment in the history of the denomination, as Channing consciously sought to define the parameters of the faith and eliminate all vestiges of competing influences. Yet the American Unitarian tradition was far more complex than its nineteenth-century adherents were willing to admit. In Joseph Priestley and English Unitarianism in America, J. D. Bowers reexamines its origins, course, and development and subsequently reveals the extent to which Joseph Priestley's ideas concerning Congregational polity were recognized and established within the United States. In contrast to studies that simply trace the history of the denomination as it flows out of New England and is controlled by Bostonians, Bowers shows that Priestley's legacy grew in importance throughout the nineteenth century and held sway throughout many of the frontier regions of the nation. By discussing the complexity of interdenominational rivalry, lack of central control, and a continuous transatlantic exchange among religious liberals, he shows that English Unitarianism continued to serve as an essential and noteworthy foundation for subsequent developments within the American denomination as it endured the challenges of Protestant orthodoxy, unregulated liberalism, Transcendentalism, and the never-ending quest to define liberal religion in America. This is an insightful account of an often neglected set of tenets and developments in the denomination's history. It uniquely traces the course of continued English influence as it established a new point of reference for understanding the dynamic origins of denominational development, Unitarian thought, and liberal religion.
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Editorial Reviews
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A resolute and positive reaffirmation of Joseph Priestley's place in the heritage of American Unitarianism. J. D. Bowers reminds us of both the complexity and importance of theology in early American history. --Daniel Walker Howe, Oxford and UCLA
This beautifully and persuasively written account of the contributions of Joseph Priestley and English Unitarianism to the development of liberal religious thought in nineteenth-century America offers a valuable contribution to the growing historiography on the transatlantic exchange of ideas in the early republic and on the role of religious thought in influencing political discourse on such topics as toleration and cultural identity. Professor Bowers renders complex issues of religious belief and denominational difference understandable while stressing their importance in a broader context of social, political, and intellectual history. --Mark D. McGarvie, University of Richmond, author of One Nation Under Law
In Joseph Priestley and English Unitarianism in America, J.D. Bowers turns the historical lens and brings into focus two significant American locations where Joseph Priestley's earliest efforts to establish liberal religious congregations took root in the early national period Philadelphia, the nation's capital and Northumberland, the frontier outpost that was Priestley's home from 1794-1804.
Readers seeking evidence of English Unitarianism s contribution to the history and development of Unitarianism in the religious landscape of America's Atlantic world will be rewarded with this volume, which is well-steeped in pertinent pamphlets, tracts, letters, and sermons that inform the author s position on English Unitarianism s critically influential role in the development of Unitarianism in America. --Andrea Bashore, Director, Joseph Priestley House Museum
This beautifully and persuasively written account of the contributions of Joseph Priestley and English Unitarianism to the development of liberal religious thought in nineteenth-century America offers a valuable contribution to the growing historiography on the transatlantic exchange of ideas in the early republic and on the role of religious thought in influencing political discourse on such topics as toleration and cultural identity. Professor Bowers renders complex issues of religious belief and denominational difference understandable while stressing their importance in a broader context of social, political, and intellectual history. --Mark D. McGarvie, University of Richmond, author of One Nation Under Law
In Joseph Priestley and English Unitarianism in America, J.D. Bowers turns the historical lens and brings into focus two significant American locations where Joseph Priestley's earliest efforts to establish liberal religious congregations took root in the early national period Philadelphia, the nation's capital and Northumberland, the frontier outpost that was Priestley's home from 1794-1804.
Readers seeking evidence of English Unitarianism s contribution to the history and development of Unitarianism in the religious landscape of America's Atlantic world will be rewarded with this volume, which is well-steeped in pertinent pamphlets, tracts, letters, and sermons that inform the author s position on English Unitarianism s critically influential role in the development of Unitarianism in America. --Andrea Bashore, Director, Joseph Priestley House Museum
This beautifully and persuasively written account of the contributions of Joseph Priestley and English Unitarianism to the development of liberal religious thought in nineteenth-century America offers a valuable contribution to the growing historiography on the transatlantic exchange of ideas in the early republic and on the role of religious thought in influencing political discourse on such topics as toleration and cultural identity. Professor Bowers renders complex issues of religious belief and denominational difference understandable while stressing their importance in a broader context of social, political, and intellectual history. --Mark D. McGarvie, University of Richmond, author of One Nation Under Law
In Joseph Priestley and English Unitarianism in America, J.D. Bowers turns the historical lens and brings into focus two significant American locations where Joseph Priestley's earliest efforts to establish liberal religious congregations took root in the early national period Philadelphia, the nation's capital and Northumberland, the frontier outpost that was Priestley's home from 1794-1804.
Readers seeking evidence of English Unitarianism s contribution to the history and development of Unitarianism in the religious landscape of America's Atlantic world will be rewarded with this volume, which is well-steeped in pertinent pamphlets, tracts, letters, and sermons that inform the author s position on English Unitarianism s critically influential role in the development of Unitarianism in America. --Andrea Bashore, Director, Joseph Priestley House Museum
This beautifully and persuasively written account of the contributions of Joseph Priestley and English Unitarianism to the development of liberal religious thought in nineteenth-century America offers a valuable contribution to the growing historiography on the transatlantic exchange of ideas in the early republic and on the role of religious thought in influencing political discourse on such topics as toleration and cultural identity. Professor Bowers renders complex issues of religious belief and denominational difference understandable while stressing their importance in a broader context of social, political, and intellectual history. --Mark D. McGarvie, University of Richmond, author of One Nation Under Law
In Joseph Priestley and English Unitarianism in America, J.D. Bowers turns the historical lens and brings into focus two significant American locations where Joseph Priestley's earliest efforts to establish liberal religious congregations took root in the early national period Philadelphia, the nation's capital and Northumberland, the frontier outpost that was Priestley's home from 1794-1804.
Readers seeking evidence of English Unitarianism s contribution to the history and development of Unitarianism in the religious landscape of America's Atlantic world will be rewarded with this volume, which is well-steeped in pertinent pamphlets, tracts, letters, and sermons that inform the author s position on English Unitarianism s critically influential role in the development of Unitarianism in America. --Andrea Bashore, Director, Joseph Priestley House Museum
From the Publisher
"This beautifully and persuasively written account of the contributions of Joseph Priestley and English Unitarianism to the development of liberal religious thought in nineteenth-century America offers a valuable contribution to the growing historiography on the transatlantic exchange of ideas in the early republic and on the role of religious thought in influencing political discourse on such topics as toleration and cultural identity. Professor Bowers renders complex issues of religious belief and denominational difference understandable while stressing their importance in a broader context of social, political, and intellectual history." -Mark D. McGarvie, History Department at the University of Richmond and author of One Nation under Law.
"A resolute and positive reaffirmation of Joseph Priestley's place in the heritage of American Unitarianism. J. D. Bowers reminds us of both the complexity and importance of theology in early American history." --Daniel Walker Howe, Oxford and UCLA
"In Joseph Priestley and English Unitarianism in America, J.D. Bowers turns the historical lens and brings into focus two significant American locations where Joseph Priestley's earliest efforts to establish liberal religious congregations took root in the early national period - Philadelphia, the nation's capital and Northumberland, the frontier outpost that was Priestley's home from 1794-1804.
Readers seeking evidence of English Unitarianism's contribution to the history and development of Unitarianism in the religious landscape of America's Atlantic world will be rewarded with this volume which is well-steeped in pertinent pamphlets, tracts, letters and sermons that inform the author's position on English Unitarianism's critically influential role in the development of Unitarianism in America." --Andrea Bashore, Director of the Joseph Priestley House Museum
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
English Unitarian Universalists versus Congregational Liberal Christians,
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This review is from: Joseph Priestley and English Unitarianism in America (Paperback)
J.D. Bowers Joseph Priestley and English Unitarianism in American is a very important contribution to American Unitarian history. It clearly demonstrates the English Unitarian influence on Unitarian Universalist church history and the instances of institutional continuity. For ministers and seminary students it will help differentiate the Middle Atalantic English Priestley Unitarians from the liberal Christians growing out of the New England Puritan Congregationalist heritage. The liberal Christians saw themselves as a party or theology in a wider church and wanted to avoid the sectarian tendencies of English Unitarians. Eventually, of course, the two distinct streams were to merge.
Wesley V. Hromatko, D.Min.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
English Unitarianism in America vindicated,
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This review is from: Joseph Priestley and English Unitarianism in America (Paperback)
The thesis of "Joseph Priestley and English Unitarianism in America" is found on p. 10: "this book seeks to restore Joseph Priestley and English Unitarianis to their proper and influential place in the history of the American denomination. . .", and this reviewer thinks that in this JD Bowers largely succeeds.On p. 18 of the book, Bowers quotes Priestley as calling the doctrine of the Trinity "absurd;" but absurdity is in the mind of the beholder. Just because Priestley could not fathom the Trinity does not ipso facto make it absurd. And one would take mystery out of religion, mystery understood as a religious truth about which accurate statements can be made, but that the non-omnicient human mind cannot totally comprehend, thereby signs onto the dogma of rationalism, which they usually don't recognize as a dogmatic belief, because they take take it for granted as common sense. On p. 46 we learn that in the eyes of Priestley, American Unitarianism is Arminian with a touch of Arianism, which states that Christ is divine, but not equal in status to God the Father. Priestley leaned more toward Socinianism, which considers Christ as a mere man, and he thought this variation more rational and in coherence with the Scriptures. Bowers shows how Unitarianism in America, particularly in New England, grew as a reaction against the emotionalism of the Great Awakening. It was also used as a theological weapon against the Catholics of Quebec, and the quasi-Catholics which many American Protestants considered Anglicans to be. Ironically, one could state that Priestley played the role of pope to some Unitarians. Priestley supported the French Revolution, a highly significant point which Bowers dispatches with one line on p. 88. On p. 144, Bowers notes that John Sherman, who succeeded Priestley at his PA church, declared that this church would have no doctrinal tests for admission, but isn't the denial of the Trinity a major doctrinal test? All in all, this book is worth reading if you are interested in the very important role of Unitarianism in the formation of the USA. Some think of Boston as a Catholic city, but it was only such for maybe one hundred years. Before that, it was Unitarian, and is becoming informally Unitarian again.
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