Andrews Norton
Andrews Norton was an influential Unitarian theologian born on December 31, 1786, in Hingham, Massachusetts. The son of Reverend John Norton, he graduated from Harvard College in 1804 and subsequently spent years studying and teaching at both Harvard and Bowdoin College. Norton was appointed as the Dexter Professor of Sacred Literature at Harvard in 1819, a role he held until 1830, and he also served as the college librarian. Alongside fellow theologian William Ellery Channing, he became a prominent figure in the Unitarian movement. Early in his career, Norton advocated for liberal Unitarianism, opposing conservative views like Calvinism and Trinitarianism, but he gradually adopted a more conservative stance later in life. His notable works include "A Statement of Reasons for Not Believing the Doctrine of Trinitarians" and "The Evidences of the Genuineness of the Gospels." In his later years, Norton became critical of the Transcendentalist movement, emphasizing the importance of scholarly rigor over personal intuition in religious understanding. He passed away on September 18, 1853, in Newport, Rhode Island.
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Andrews Norton
- Born: December 31, 1786
- Birthplace: Hingham, Massachusetts
- Died: September 18, 1853
- Place of death: Newport, Rhode Island
Biography
Unitarian theologian Andrews Norton was born in Hingham, Massachusetts, on December 31, 1786. He was the son of Reverend John Norton. He enrolled at Harvard College and graduated in 1804.
Norton spent the next fifteen years studying and lecturing at Harvard and at Bowdoin College. He became Dexter Professor of Sacred Literature at Harvard in 1819, remaining in this position until 1830. He also served as the college librarian from 1813 to 1821.
Norton and fellow theologian William Ellery Channing became leaders of the mainstream Unitarian movement. Although Norton advocated liberal Unitarianism in his early years and spoke out against the conservative tenets of Calvinism and Trinitarianism, he grew more conservative in his later years. In 1819, Norton published his treatise A Statement of Reasons for Not Believing the Doctrine of Trinitarians Respecting the Nature of God, and the Person of Christ, which became a prominent Unitarian text. Norton’s years of theological research and scholarship culminated in his masterwork The Evidences of the Genuineness of the Gospels, published between 1837 and 1844. In addition to his own writing and research, he was an editor of The Select Journal of Foreign Periodical Literature. He also contributed to and helped manage The North American Review.
Later in life, Norton became a strident opponent of the Transcendentalist movement. He disagreed with the Transcendentalists’ emphasis on the self, their belief in the intuitiveness and immediacy of religion, and their skepticism regarding the reality of Biblical miracles. He discounted the idea that human intuition could lead to profound religious understanding, and he advocated instead a strict adherence to scholarship and exegesis. His Discourse on the Latest Form of Infidelity, delivered in 1839 to the alumni of the Harvard Theological School, was a response to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s famous Divinity School Address of the previous year. In his Discourse, Norton presented an indirect refutation of Emerson’s philosophy. Norton died on September 18, 1853, in Newport, Rhode Island.