The cause of Free Religion was ably presented in the pages of The Radical,
a monthly journal edited by Sidney H. Morse, and published in Boston, and
The Index, edited by Francis E. Abbot, at first in Toledo and then in
Boston. It also found expression at the Sunday afternoon meetings held in
Horticultural Hall, Boston, for several winters, beginning in 1868-69; in
the conventions held in several of the leading cities of the northern
states; at the gatherings of the Chestnut Street Club; and in the annual
meetings of the Free Religious Association held in Boston during
anniversary week. Little effort was made to organize churches, and only two
or three came into existence distinctly on the basis of Free Religion. In
connection with The Index, Francis E. Abbot organized the Liberal League to
promote the interests of Free Religion, with about four hundred local
branches; but this organization proved ineffective, and soon ceased its
existence.
The withdrawal of the radicals into the Free Religious Association did not
quiet the agitation in the Unitarian ranks, partly because some of the most
active workers in that Association continued to occupy Unitarian pulpits,
and partly because a considerable radical element did not withdraw in any
manner. The conferences had an unfailing subject for exciting discussion,
and the Unitarian body was at this time in a chronic condition of
agitation.
Pages:
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273