I just realized something strange the other day. Here are the American presidents who were affiliated officially as Unitarians:
- John Adams
- John Quincy Adams
- Millard Fillmore
- William Howard Taft
The first Adams, Fillmore and Taft were undeniably conservatives in their time. John Adams’ faction was much more hostile to French Jacobinism than those who supported Thomas Jefferson. Fillmore was a conservative Whig who later ran unsuccessfully as a Know Nothing. And Taft’s conservatism later prompted a third party challenge from Teddy Roosevelt. Whether John Quincy Adams is a conservative or not is more confused, and depends on whether you paint the Jacksonian populism which he opposed as Right or Left. Thomas Jefferson had personal Unitarian sympathies, but he was never an official member of the church.
This is strange because the modern Unitarian-Universalist Association is arguably more a body which brings together people of Left-Liberal politics, than a religious fellowship. And of course historically there were many radical Unitarians, such as the abolitionist Theodore Parker. But during this period Unitarian didn’t have such a strong factional valence in politics; besides Fillmore, Daniel Webster was another conservative Whig Unitarian, while John C. Calhoun was arguably the intellectual godfather of the Confederacy.
Charles Dickens — though not an American politician — was also a Unitarian and his “A Christmas Carol” preaches a decidedly Unitarian view of Christmas, that is, it downplays faith in Christ as the only way to God (it hardly mentions Christ at all) and preaches the message of Christmas (and implicitly of the Christian religion) as good works and good will, not grace.
My research has found small u (that is theological) unitarianism as opposed to capital U (that is being an official member of the club) Unitarianism as key to Founding era theology. James Madison was likely a theological unitarian. Madison (like most of the other key Founders) never confessed or spoke as a Trinitarian. Though publicly denying the Trinity back then was dangerous. Here is what George Ticknor, Founder of the Boston Public Library, noted about Madison:
I found the President more free and open than I expected, starting subjects of conversation and making remarks that sometimes savored of humor and levity. He sometimes laughed, and I was glad to hear it ; but his face was always grave. He talked of religious sects and parties, and was curious to know how the cause of liberal Christianity stood with us, and if the Athanasian creed was well received by our Episcopalians. He pretty distinctly intimated to me his own regard for the Unitarian doctrines.— TICKNOR, GEORGE, 1815, Letter to his Father, Jan. 21 ; Life, Letters and Journals, vol. I, p. 30.
I haven’t found any evidence officially tying Washington to the u word; however, like the other key Founders, he seemed to have a unitarian view of God in a sub silencio sense. That is, he never spoke of God in Trinitary terms. He hardly EVER talked about Jesus Christ by name or example (never once in his recorded private writings and only twice in his public writings, neither written in his own hand). And Washington, like the other key Founders preached a religion of virtue/works/utility, not salvation thru grace/Christ’s atonement.
It may just be because of my most recent reading habits, but I would like to leave Jacksonian democracy, and its transfer of power to the lowest common denominator of society, squarely on the doorstep of the left.
There is an affiliated organization to the UUA called the Conservative Forum for Unitarian Universalists:
http://www.cfuu.org/
While you are right that most contemporary UUs fall more to the Adlai Stevenson (a Unitarian) end of the spectrum than perhaps the Adamses did, conservatives certainly do exist and are welcome in UU congregations. Depending on the region in the country, conservatives would probably face more or less of a robust (but always respectful) political debate, but would, as religious humanists, secularists seeking to share reverence for human experience (perhaps even with a bit of mystery thrown in), or liberal (in a theological sense) Christians, Jews, or Pagans, for that matter, find much in common.
Well, Republican UUs are not unknown even in our time. Bob Packwood, William Cohen and Nancy Johnson come to mind.
George Washington once (at least) did worship at First Parish Cambridge, Unitarian: http://firstparishcambridge.org/?q=FirstParishHistory
“In 1775, George Washington worshiped in the fourth Meeting House. In 1825, General Lafayette was received there with an address of welcome by Edward Everett.”
Charles Dickens — though not an American politician — was also a Unitarian
I believe Rudyard Kipling was unitarian in his belief, as well. No screaming liberal, he. Of course, he had a warm spot for Islam, which is Unitarianism on crack.
Washington was not a believing Episcopalian, at least when he died, in that he didn’t have his wife fetch the minister when he was on his deathbed. It took him about a day to die, he had a terrible cold that caused his esophagus to swell up until he choked, and he had plenty of time to have the minister sent for but he didn’t. His religion was probabley best described as Freemasonry, who were Christian deists of a sort, just like Unitarians.
The only one of the the top five Founding Fathers who was a conventional Christian was Hamilton, who did call for the minister for the last rites when he was on his deathbed. Or maybe he was hedging his bets, he wasn’t all that religiose when alive, he was the one who didn’t want a prayer said in the Constitutional Convention, because he thought if it got out that they were reduced to praying that would be very bad, but it would be a mistake to conflate being outwardly demonstrative about one’s religion with being religious, so who knows.
His religion was probabley best described as Freemasonry, who were Christian deists of a sort, just like Unitarians.
That’s not quite true; Freemasonry doesn’t even make that much of a statement one way or another, which is why Christians, jews, Buddhists, Moslems, and Hindus (as well as Deists, animists, and so on) are all welcome.
In any case, though, what was meant by “Unitarian” at Adams’ church in Quincy — accepting the authority of the Bible as divine, but denying the divinity of Jesus — is pretty wildly different from what the Unitarian Universalists believe now.
The only one of the the top five Founding Fathers who was a conventional Christian was Hamilton, who did call for the minister for the last rites when he was on his deathbed.
This is true; but Hamilton didn’t seem to have become a conventional Christian until the very end of his life (he may have been one when younger as well; but during the time he did his work “Founding” America he was not a conventional Christian but rather believed something like the other key Founders).
[H]e was the one who didn’t want a prayer said in the Constitutional Convention, because he thought if it got out that they were reduced to praying that would be very bad,…
Again, true; he thought officially praying at time when things weren’t going well would signify desperation or failure. However, I’d caution folks to NOT use the “we forgot”/”foreign aid” quotations that are not confirmed in the primary sources. Stick Madison’s account in his notes where he stated Franklin’s call to prayer, though not acted on, was treated with respect.
I take your point and agree in principle; but there is another sense of the term “Jacksonian,” which I find most useful. Walter Russel Mead, in his book “Special Providence,” breaks American foreign policy into four schools named for the Presidents he considered most closely identified with them. Suspend your disdain for Jackson’s uncouth assault on the White House long enough to read Mead’s essay, “The Jacksonian Tradition.” Doing so, taught me a lot about my own proclivities and why as a libertarian I find myself on the Secular Right, while most libertarians are more aligned with the Jeffersonian school and lean Left. ◄Dave►
Whether John Quincy Adams is a conservative or not is more confused, and depends on whether you paint the Jacksonian populism which he opposed as Right or Left.
Jackson’s masonic-Presbyterianism and pro-slavery agenda should be viewed as rightist, I believe–he was the Mike Hucklebee of 1830s (tho’ Huck’s probably never been in a duel).
JQ Adams on the other hand seems like an intelligent moderate, and Republican in european sense (say, similar to a Condorcet), not lacking a secular sensibility. JQA style republicanism no longer plays a part in American politics, really.
The Unitarianism of the Founding fathers was rather different than the flaky new-age Unitarianism–more akin to Deism.
American Unitarianism is an outgrowth of New England-based Congregationalism, and all those 4 Presidents were Yankees, of Puritan stock. New England. They tended to support policies that favored their Yankee milieu. New England used to be identified with Conservative Economic policies – it has since become the hearth of the modern Democratic Party.
In any case, party labels are generally useless in thinking about Left and Right in the USA before the 1960s, or at the very least since the 1930s.