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Austin, William (1778-1841)

Posted on January 20, 2023 by Susan Ritchie

William Austin was born on March 2,1778, in Lunenburg, Massachusetts, where his family fled after their house in Charlestown was burned down during the Battle of Bunker Hill. Austin was educated at Harvard College in a class of forty-nine students that included William Ellery Channing, and he studied law at Lincoln’s Inn, London, thanks to assistance from Alexander Hamilton.  …

Radcliffe, Ann (1764-1823)

Posted on January 20, 2023 by Susan Ritchie

Ann Radcliffe was born Ann Ward in London on July 9, 1764. During her childhood, Radcliffe was immersed in the culture of Unitarian Dissent.  She sometimes lived with her maternal uncle, Thomas Bentley, who was partners with his fellow Unitarian, Josiah Wedgwood, in producing English fine china, porcelain and related luxury accessories.…

Explore the Unitarian Gothic!

Posted on October 14, 2022 by Susan Ritchie

Unitarian authors are disproportionately represented in the tradition of gothic literature.   This anthology includes some of the best of work of those authors, alongside a critical introduction explaining their links to Unitarian Theology.  Some might be surprised to learn that Unitarianism, closely associated with the Enlightenment and its positive valuation of reason and human nature, also has such a large claim to the dark, clammy dungeons of the gothic. …

Reading the Gospels with Bernard Loomer: The Origin of the Interdependent Web

Posted on March 25, 2022 by Susan Ritchie

Most Unitarian Universalists are likely aware of the principle of the Unitarian Universalist Association that calls for the affirmation of “the Interdependent Web of Existence, of which we are all a part.” But how many are aware of the the web by theologian Bernard Loomer? …

The Pamphlet Podcast: Uncovering Unitarian Universalism’s Hidden Histories

Posted on November 16, 2021 by Susan Ritchie

The Pamphlet Podcast was podcast a co-hosted by Rev. Dr. Susan Ritchie and Rev. Sean Neil-Barron in 2016-2017.  Together they uncovered the hidden histories of Unitarian Universalism.  The Harvard Square Library is pleased to offer an archive of those shows here.…

Buddhism and Unitarianism: Past and Present

Posted on May 27, 2021 by Susan Ritchie

by Wendy Bartlett

A Shared Spiritual Journey: Unitarian Universalism and Buddhism

    One of the “six sources” recognized by the Unitarian Universalist Association reads in part “…wisdom from the world’s religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life…”[1] Although Judaism, Christianity, and humanism are specifically cited in the six sources, somewhat surprisingly, Buddhism is not.

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Caron, Sandra Mitchell (1935-1993)

Posted on May 27, 2021 by Susan Ritchie

by Wendy Bartlett

UUA Moderator (1977-1985)

     Sandra Mitchell Caron was the first woman to be elected moderator of the Unitarian Universalist Association. Elected in 1977, she was the third person to hold the position, following Joseph Lyman Fisher (served 1964-1977) and Marshall Edward Dimock (served 1960-1963).…

James Luther Adams (in his own words) and the Unitarian Resistance to Fascism

Posted on April 28, 2021 by Susan Ritchie
In the 1930’s, James Luther Adams, who would go on to become twentieth century Unitarianism’s most beloved ethicist, arrived in Germany to study theology. He witnessed there first hand the rise of Nazism as well as the responses of the theologians and the churches.
… James Luther Adams

Singing Our History

Posted on February 26, 2021 by Susan Ritchie

Harvard Square Library is delighted to announce our acquisition of Singing Our History: Tales, Tunes and Texts from Two Centuries of Unitarian and Universalist Hymns by Eugene Navias (Boston: UUA, 1975, used with permission). This lovely collection uses specific hymns as a window through which to view the historic development of Unitarian Universalism.…

Dimock, Marshall Edward (1903-1991)

Posted on November 1, 2020 by Susan Ritchie

By Wendy Bartlett

Marshall E(dward) Dimock served as the first post-merger moderator from 1961-64. Though the American Unitarian Association (AUA) under Frederick May Eliot had created a moderator role in 1937, Marshall Dimock was the first person to serve as moderator for the newly formed UUA.…