Ann Lee Bressler’s Universalist Movement in America, 1770-1880 is one of the finest works on the subjects I know. This thought, from page 42, is vital to our understanding of the movement — as a social movement — in conjunction with Unitarianism.
The rise of restorationism during the second quarter of the [nineteenth] century helped ensure the common characterization of Universalism would be Unitariarianism’s poor relation, a form of liberalism that shared Unitarianism’s view of benevolent divinity and perfectible humanity but lacked its intellectual base and social standing.
What would have been the alternative? Ultra-Universalists (infers Bressler) which disavowed a temporary period of punishment after death and thus avoided the moralism that gives most religions in America their particular flavor and ferver. Ultra-Universalism was more concerned with a common humanity, the consciousness of which — among other things — overcame fear and self-centeredness.
But ultra-Universalism was too easily painted with the brush of lax morals and the early impulse that way was quenched, leading to the quotation above.
I can explain Universalism easily. I’ve had more orthodox Christians ask me to explain Unitarianism in the hope they’ll understand Trinitarianism more easily. That’s a tough slog of a talk. I think Universalism will last longer than Unitarianism.