Unity Church

Motto: A positive path for spiritual living

Formation: 1889

Founders: Charles Fillmore; Myrtle Page Fillmore

Unity Church (or simply Unity) is a religious movement that began in 1889. It was an outgrowth of the nineteenth-century New Thought movement that arose parallel to the Christian Science movement. New Thought also gave rise to the Church of Divine Science. Unity is one of the oldest remaining New Thought organizations.

Like other followers of the New Thought movement, the Unity movement is neither as doctrinaire or as tightly organized as the Christian Science movement, nor does it as completely reject the usefulness of modern medicine. However, Unity is linked to the Christian Science movement both in its history and in its basic philosophy.

The movement began as a means to spiritual healing, and this concept remains a focus at present. Unity is best known in the United States through its devotional publication, the Daily Word. Unity says it has one million members worldwide. Independent estimates place the number of members in the United States between 75,000 and 110,000 in more than 300 churches. Any of the three figures makes it the largest of the New Thought philosophies still in existence.

History

Unity was founded in 1889 in Kansas City, Missouri, by a husband-wife team, Charles and Myrtle Page Fillmore. Myrtle had suffered with poor health for most of her life, and in 1886 she expected to die from chronic tuberculosis. But after taking a class from a New Thought philosopher named Dr. Eugene B. Weeks, she began to pray in a different way. Her belief was that as a child of God, she "did not inherit illness."

When Myrtle recovered, Charles applied the same techniques to a childhood injury that had plagued him his whole life. He too recovered. He and Myrtle began to study alternative religious philosophies, particularly centered on the New Thought movement. This mind-healing movement held that each person’s spirit is more real than matter and that the mind has the power to heal the body. In the mid-1800s New Thought developed as a counter-reaction to what its adherents saw as growing religious skepticism. It is based in Christianity, romanticism, and metaphysics. Along with the New Thought and Christian Science movements, the same period saw the birth of Transcendental Meditation, theosophy, and other religious or quasi-religious spiritual movements.

The Fillmores began to spread the word through magazines, pamphlets, and books. In 1889 Charles began publishing Modern Thought, a periodical dedicated to passing along the New Thought concepts he was exploring. In 1891 the Fillmores launched another periodical, Unity, in which Dr. H. Emilie Cady published a series of articles titled "Lessons in Truth." The articles were turned into a book in 1896 with the title Lessons in Truth, A Course of Twelve Lessons in Practical Christianity. It became one of the founding documents of the Unity movement and is regarded as one of its core texts.

They also offered an innovative outreach program called "Silent Unity," which was a telephone and postal service providing help through prayer and counseling. The Unity movement grew steadily in the early years of the twentieth century. Following the end of World War I, the Fillmores developed Unity Village near Kansas City as the movement’s headquarters.

Charles Fillmore did not intend to create a new denomination, but the growing numbers of students and followers needed greater organization. The first Unity ministers were ordained in 1906, Charles and Myrtle among them. A formal program for training ministers was not instituted until 1931, the year of Myrtle’s death. Charles died in 1948.

Beliefs and Practices

Although Unity describes itself as a Christian organization, its beliefs include philosophies that are not aligned with Christian dogma. The Unity Worldwide Ministries website describes the movement as follows: "Unity is a positive, practical, progressive approach to Christianity based on the teachings of Jesus and the power of prayer. Unity honors the universal truths in all religions and respects each individual's right to choose a spiritual path." In practice this means that Unity claims to have no specific creed or rituals. It is inclusive in outlook and accepts a diverse set of beliefs.

Unity’s emphasis is on spiritual healing, prosperity, and what it calls practical Christianity. Unity adherents believe that everyone can improve their lives through thought. While Unity teaches that illness can be cured spiritually, it does not reject modern medicine or medical treatment. The movement insists that there is no single approach to God and that there is good in every religion that satisfies people’s needs.

Unity puts forward five basic concepts as its main system of beliefs. According to the Unity website in 2019, these are:

"God is all there is, present everywhere, and absolute good."

"Human beings are created in the image of God and our very essence is divine; therefore, we are inherently good."

"We create our life experiences through our way of thinking."

"Our lives can be changed and transformed through the power of prayer."

"Knowing these principles is not enough; we must live the truth we know."

Unity writings sum up these five basic ideas in a variety of ways, teaching that every individual is sacred and worthy, and that each individual is capable of using the power of creative thought to enjoy a fulfilled, prosperous life. They see God as a spiritual presence that is everywhere and available to everyone. God is incapable of anger or vindictiveness in the Unity view. Like Christians, adherents believe that Jesus is divine, but they also feel all human beings have the potential for divinity. As the mind is capable of healing the body, Unity believes that individuals should take responsibility for their own choices and should choose life-affirming thoughts and behave accordingly. Unity members believe that this will result in a more fulfilled and abundant life.

Bibliography

"About Us." Unity, www.unity.org/about-us/who-we-are. Accessed 29 Jan. 2019.

Allen, Ike and Ande Anderson. 45 Days with Myrtle Fillmore: A 45-Day Empowerment Journal Blended with Love from Myrtle Fillmore. Vol. 13. Seattle: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2014. Print.

Butterworth, Eric. Unity: A Quest for Truth. Washington, DC: Catholic U of America, 2013. Print.

Fillmore, Charles, and Cora Fillmore. Teach Us to Pray. Houston: Unity Classics, 2006. Print.

Hayes, Temple. How to Speak Unity: A Seeker’s Guide to the Basic Concepts and Terms That Define This Practical Spiritual Lifestyle. Camarillo: DeVorss, 2011. Print.

Vahle, Neal. The Spiritual Journey of Charles Fillmore: Discovering the Power Within. West Conshohocken: Templeton, 2008. Print.

Vahle, Neal. The Unity Movement: Its Evolution and Spiritual Teaching. West Conshohocken: Templeton Foundation, 2002. Print.