By William C. Placher, Presented by Lewis Loflin
Reproduced from A History of Christian Theology: An Introduction, © 1983 William C. Placher
The Great Awakening briefly stalled the spread of rational religion on America’s East Coast, but by the time of the independence struggles, many leaders leaned toward Deism. Benjamin Franklin, reflecting on Christ’s divinity late in life, wrote, "It is a question I do not dogmatize upon, having never studied it, and think it needless to busy myself with it now, when I expect soon an opportunity of knowing the truth with less trouble."
Thomas Jefferson shared this pragmatism, asserting, "He who steadily observes those moral precepts in which all religions concur, will never be questioned at the gates of heaven, as to the dogmas in which they all differ." Jefferson even crafted a New Testament edition, retaining Jesus’ teachings but excising all miracles.
Despite such views, in 1776, every state except Rhode Island required religious affirmations for public office. Connecticut (until 1818), New Hampshire (until 1819), and Massachusetts (until 1833) maintained established churches with tax support. Figures like Jefferson and Franklin pushed to curb church influence, but religious diversity—Congregationalists in Massachusetts, Anglicans in Virginia, and no national majority—prevented a federal established church.
This diversity fostered a public Christianity resembling Deism: a least-common-denominator faith focused on ethics over doctrine.
In the early 1800s, rationalism crystallized into Unitarianism. Though small in number—mocked as believing in "the Fatherhood of God, the brotherhood of man, and the neighborhood of Boston"—Unitarians wielded outsized intellectual influence. They championed reason and divine benevolence, rejecting the Trinity as illogical and denying that a good God would damn humanity for Adam’s sin or predestine anyone to hell.
William Ellery Channing, Boston’s Federal Street Church minister for forty years and Unitarianism’s leading voice, declared, "A natural constitution of the mind unfailingly disposing it to evil ... would absolve it from guilt ... and argue unspeakable cruelty [on God’s part]; and ... to punish the sin of this unhappily constituted child with endless ruin would be a wrong unparalleled by the most merciless despotism."
Unitarians embraced the Bible and miracles but filtered them through reason. Channing argued, "Christianity is not a deduction of philosophy ... intelligible but to a few. It is ... sealed by miracles ... which are equally intelligible, striking, and appealing to all." Miracles, backed by evidence, validated the authority of their performers, grounding faith in rational inquiry rather than blind acceptance.
Acknowledgment: I’d like to thank Grok, an AI by xAI, for helping me format and refine this presentation of Placher’s work. The final edits and structure are my own. —Lewis Loflin
The following extracts are presented for educational purposes only. The owner retains all rights.
Section updated, added 4/05/2025