Universalism
Universalism,religious belief in universal salvation or the eternal progress of all souls. Since its followers consider that truth and righteousness are the controlling powers of the universe, good inevitably triumphs over evil and all mankind is brought into harmony with God. This belief has existed in one form or another since the earliest days of the Christian church, but as an organized Protestant denomination it is primarily centered in the U.S., where it owes its origin to John Murray, an English minister who came to this country in 1770. The Church had 73,194 members in 1954, but in 1961 it gave up independent identity by merging with the Unitarians, their combined membership (1981) being some 170,000 members. Early forerunners of Universalism include Samuel Gorton, the younger Henry Vane, Charles Chauncey, and Jonathan Mayhew, and later important members included Adin Ballou and Hosea Ballou.
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