Unity

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Unity

The Unity School of Christianity is in many respects a small mainstream Protestant religious denomination, but it also has strong affinities with the New Thought and New Age movements. Much of its activity is carried out through publications and the mail rather than primarily in church congregations. Worldwide, there are about 600 congregations with 70,000 members, but a considerably larger population is reached by the spiritual message communicated through literature, over radio, and now on the World Wide Web.

Unity emerged from the spiritual quest and ministry of Charles Fillmore and Myrtle Fillmore (Mary Caroline Page), who were influenced by Christian Science while they were living in Kansas City, Missouri. Like many founders of healing ministries, Myrtle suffered from chronic medical afflictions, which at one point were diagnosed as tuberculosis. In 1886, she and Charles attended a course on Christian Science, and in her desperation Myrtle focused upon these healing words: "I am a child of God and therefore I do not inherit sickness." She began studying the Gospels, sensing the presence of Christ and sharing the healing with her husband. The couple studied metaphysics, then were ordained in Christian Science. For a time, the Fillmores cooperated with Christian Science and the related New Thought Movement, but their ministry gradually established its independence from them, becoming incorporated in its present form in 1914.

In 1889, Charles founded Modern Thought, a periodical that was renamed Christian Science Thought in 1890 and took its current name, Unity, in 1891. Describing itself as "a spiritual resource for daily living," this inspirational monthly is widely read, even by many who may not accept Unity's metaphysical interpretations of the Bible. Standard columns in the paper at the present time include "The Spiritual Journey" ("A monthly thought for your daily walk along the path of spiritual enlightenment") and "Metaphysical Musings" ("An opportunity to explore the insights of metaphysics and the practical application of those insights in everyday life"). Readers in need of spiritual support are invited to accpt the free help of Silent Unity, a twenty-four-hour prayer ministry that claims to receive two million prayer requests annually.

Sociologically, it is important to recognize that Unity arose from a widespread cultural movement embedded in a social network, rather than being either the unique creation of the Fillmores or a schismatic splinter group from Mary Baker Eddy's Christian Science church. The first Christian Science course the Fillmores took was taught by Eugene B. Weeks, from an independent Christian Science school in Chicago, the Illinois Metaphysical College. The sister-in-law of Charles's business partner was Nona Brooks, who later founded the similar Divine Science Church. A chief contributor to Unity magazine in its early years was Annie Rix Militz, who had been a disciple of metaphysical teacher Emma Curtis Hopkins in San Francisco before meeting the Fillmores and who founded a long-lived New Thought group called the Home of Truth.

Also important to realize is the fact that Unity arose from an equal partnership between Myrtle and Charles. Popular notions about new religious movements tend to assume that each is the creation of a lone individual, and the tendency of many groups to revere a figurehead supports this misconception. In fact, it is quite common for movements to be created by a couple, and examples range from Seventh-day Adventism to the I Am movement. Myrtle's spiritual healing provided the link to divinity required by a new religious movement, and Charles's writings provided much of the theology.

Unity holds that proper metaphysical interpretation of the Bible can reveal valuable spiritual truths. For example, Adam represents the movement of mind in relation to the world, whereas Eve is the principle of love and feeling in individual consciousness. Jesus is considered to be the most important individual expression of the Christ idea, but Christ resides in all human beings who love truth, especially in their intelligence, life, love, substance, and strength. Humans are not really separate persons but factors in the cosmic mind. It is wrong to call Jehovah "the Lord," because he is not a being who rules the universe from outside but a divine mind that creates existence and can provide spiritual peace.

The Unity School of Christianity teaches that humans are spiritual beings who can establish right principles of thinking through the spoken words of prayer, denials, and affirmations—like the sentence quoted above that healed Myrtle Fillmore. Right thoughts influence feelings and deeds, thereby shaping the life of the individual. Thus the doctrines and practices of Unity see Christianity in a new light and apply its principles for the practical betterment of human lives.

See alsoChristian Science; Healing; New Age Spirituality; New Thought.