The highly religious philosophy of Transcendentalism developed as the response of a group of people who felt that it was unnecessary to practice a religion (and live a life) that was based on fear. The first Transcendentalists set out to create a more liberal way of life that allowed for personal growth, justice and freedom. To truly understand the implications of Transcendentalism and why Transcendentalists believed what they did, one must first look at the root of Transcendentalism, Unitarianism. Unitarians were a liberal, cutting edge group of people that completely discarded the standards of Calvinism. Where Calvinists believed that man had a degraded and depraved nature, Unitarians believed that people are basically good. Where Calvinists believed that knowledge of God and ethics came to people through the Bible and Clergy, Unitarians believed that people were capable of discerning truth and goodness with their own capabilities. Unitarians rejected the ideas that people were born into sin and that one had to work hard and suffer all of one’s life in order to secure passage into heaven. Moreover, they strongly advocated the idea that people had free will and that rational thinking was the way into heaven. One particular Unitarian, William Ellery Channing helped personify the ideas and ideals held by Unitarians. William Channing (1780-1842) was a pastor at the Federal Street Church in Boston and stressed the idea that it was an individual’s responsibility to listen and act according to his own conscience. Channing also supported the humanitarian reform and helped to link the liberal ideas of Unitarianism to those of humanitarianism. Channing managed to balance the rationalism of Unitarianism with a concern for the welfare of humanity. As time went on, the ways of Unitarianism began to change and the pillars of the religion began to evolve into something that struck many as “distressingly cold and f...
