Our tradition is Unitarian, and to understand it properly we must first see how it emerged from the Reformation of the sixteenth century, initially in the form known as Socinianism. During the eighteenth century Socinian beliefs were adopted by dissenting Presbyterians and disenchanted Anglicans and this, along with the influence of Enlightenment thought and scientific discovery, gave rise to a distinct movement who came to be known as Unitarians.
The term Unitarian refers to the belief that Jesus was a man, not God, but Unitarianism was always about far more than denying the Trinity. As long ago as the seventeenth century, Socinians (later known as Unitarians) rejected the church’s teaching about Hell (eternal conscious torment for non believers) along with the concept of original sin, and the doctrine of predestination. Equally controversially, they rejected the teaching that Jesus’s death was some sort of blood sacrifice demanded by his Father. As shocking as this was (and still is to some), Unitarians didn’t reject these doctrines because they took a low view of the Bible. On the contrary, they rejected these teachings because they consiered them to be unbiblical and contrary to the faith of Jesus and the early church.
In the nineteenth century, Unitarianism, continued to evolve, absorbing the influence of the Free Christian movement, which arose from within its own ranks and further emphasised the role of conscience, ecumenical freedom and ethical faith. In the twentieth Century Unitarians were among the first denominations to have female ministers and to bless and marry same sex couples. Today, we continue to explore new ideas and discoveries but while honouring this Unitarian & Free Christian tradition.
We are conscious that, as dissenting Presbyterians and later as Unitarians, our spiritual ancestors endured serious discrimination and persecution. Out of this experience grew the values that continue to define our tradition today: faith with tolerance, free inquiry, freedom of conscience, and freedom of expression.
Unitarianism emerges from the Reformation
Unitarianism emerged from the Reformation, the sixteenth-century movement that challenged the authority and teachings of the Catholic Church across Europe and beyond.
Reformed churches—such as Presbyterian and Congregationalist churches—rejected the authority of the Catholic Church, including its priesthood. Instead, they taught the priesthood of all believers: the belief that every Christian could approach God directly without the need for a priestly intermediary.
The Catholic Church taught that there was no salvation outside the Church—meaning the Catholic Church alone—and that forgiveness of sins could be received only through priests, who heard confession and granted absolution. Reformers such as Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli rejected this teaching. They argued that individuals could interpret the Bible for themselves and that Jesus Christ was the only mediator needed for a direct relationship with God.
As a result, Reformed churches abolished priests and instead appointed ministers, a word meaning “servant.” This difference is clearly seen in their practice of communion. In Catholic worship, priests administer the bread and wine individually, acting in the role of Christ, while communicants often kneel before them. In Reformed churches, ministers distribute the bread and wine to the congregation and then receive communion alongside them, emphasizing equality rather than priestly authority.
The Catholic Church also claimed sole authority to interpret scripture. Reformed Christians, by contrast, believed that scripture could be understood by individual believers. While Reformed churches still taught specific interpretations, their ministers claimed to be under the authority of the Bible in the same way as the congregation. In principle, if shown that a teaching was unscriptural, it could be corrected.
Together, these Catholic claims to exclusive authority over salvation, scripture, and priesthood created immense spiritual power—power that was inevitably vulnerable to error and abuse.
Unitarians emerged from within the Reformed tradition. They accepted the Reformers’ rejection of the authority of priests and the Catholic Church, but argued that the Reformation had not gone far enough. In their view, many remaining church doctrines had no sound basis in scripture and should also be rejected.
The movement later became known as Unitarian because of its rejection of the doctrine of the Trinity. However, Unitarianism was defined by far more than non-Trinitarian belief. Unitarians also rejected other central doctrines, including original sin, predestination, eternal conscious torment in hell, and penal substitutionary atonement.
These positions were highly controversial, and Unitarians were subjected to severe persecution for their beliefs.
Unitarians emerged from within the Reformed tradition as Christians who believed the Reformation had not gone far enough. While they accepted the rejection of Catholic priestly authority, they argued that many doctrines retained by Protestant churches lacked a firm basis in scripture and should also be abandoned.
They later became known as Unitarians because they rejected the doctrine of the Trinity. However, Unitarianism involved a broader theological rethinking. Unitarians questioned a range of inherited teachings—such as original sin, predestination, eternal punishment in hell, and the idea that God required a violent sacrifice to forgive sin—arguing that these doctrines were unbiblical, irrational, and incompatible with a God of love and justice. Such views were highly controversial, and Unitarians were often severely persecuted.
The first Unitarians
The earliest Unitarians were known as Socinians, after Faustus Socinus, an Italian thinker of the sixteenth century. Like many intellectuals of his time, Socinus was drawn to Geneva during John Calvin’s Reformation. He supported the Reformers’ rejection of Catholic priestly authority but believed they had stopped short of a thorough reform. In his view, key doctrines retained by Calvin and others—including the Trinity and related teachings about sin, salvation, and judgment—had no clear biblical foundation.
Socinus built on the work of his uncle, Lelio Socinus, who had earlier moved within Geneva’s theological circles and privately questioned orthodox doctrines. Lelio was influenced by the anti-Trinitarian writings of Michael Servetus, who famously challenged Calvin and was executed for heresy.
While Socinian ideas circulated underground in Geneva, they gained public influence elsewhere. In Transylvania, Francis Dávid, leader of the Reformed Church, came under Socinian influence and led his church to adopt these beliefs. In Poland, Socinus became the leading theologian of the Minor Reformed Church. When this church was later expelled by the authorities, its ideas spread across Europe.
Unitarianism in England
In seventeenth-century England, Unitarian ideas emerged independently through the work of John Biddle. His followers, known as Biddleans, were heavily persecuted and failed to establish lasting institutions after Biddle’s death in 1662. Nevertheless, Biddle is remembered as the Father of English Unitarianism.
Biddle’s theology closely resembled that of Faustus Socinus, though it developed independently and in distinctive ways. In the eighteenth century, his reputation grew as a new generation of rational dissenters began to encounter Socinian ideas, many of which were being smuggled into England from continental Europe. These ideas were taken up by dissenting Presbyterians and other rational Nonconformists.
Although Unitarian beliefs date back to the sixteenth century, the term Unitarian was not widely adopted in England until the eighteenth century. Earlier adherents were usually known as Socinians or Biddleans. What united these early Unitarians was a shared commitment to a rational, scripture-based reinterpretation of Christianity and a rejection of doctrines they believed were products of tradition rather than the Bible.