Universalist Church of America
Off Center Cross of Universalist Church of America before the 1961 merger | |
| Abbreviation | UCA |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1793 |
| Dissolved | May 1961 (consolidation with American Unitarian Association to form the Unitarian Universalist Association) |
| Type | Christian religious denomination |
| Location | |
Formerly called | Universalist General Convention, New England Universalist Convention |
The Universalist Church of America (UCA) was originally a Christian Universalist religious denomination in the United States, Canada and the Philippines (plus affiliated churches in other parts of the world). Established in New England in 1793, the denomination had no official name until 1866, as the Universalist General Convention and in 1942 as the Universalist Church of America. In 1961, it consolidated with the American Unitarian Association to form the Unitarian Universalist Association.
The defining theology of Universalism is universal salvation; Universalists believe that the God of love would not create a person knowing that person would be destined for eternal damnation. They concluded that all people must be destined for salvation. Some early Universalists, known as Restorationists and led by Paul Dean, believed that after death there is a period of reprobation in Hell preceding salvation. Other Universalists, notably Hosea Ballou, denied the existence of Hell entirely.