Our Unitarian Heritage
Origins
In post Reformation England [late 1600s] people and ministers who worshipped outside the Church of England but were not part of the Roman Catholic Church were known as Dissenters or Nonconformists. They tried to live according to the teachings of Jesus and the New Testament, while rejecting the authority of the established church. Salvation to them was meant for all men and women, not just for the few chosen as ‘elect.’ Their views often meant rejection from their communities, which affected their ability to work and live. Attendance at the established church was obligatory by law. The early dissenters were persecuted and imprisoned because they refused to obey that law. This forced them to meet in secret.
A Catalogue of the Several Sects and Opinions in England and other Nations. With a brief Rehearsal of their false and dangerous Tenents – a propaganda broadsheet denouncing English dissenters from 1647. (British Museum)
This disobedience from the norm was considered extreme and dangerous. The dissenters regarded the Bible as the only authority on religious matters, angering the powerful leaders of established religion.The dissenters wanted each member to study the Bible and decide on their own personal interpretation. Eventually, long held beliefs and practices were replaced by a slow movement towards the Unitarian approach of freedom of belief.