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Ralph Waldo Emerson, Theodore Parker and
Their Influence on Charles Fillmore
Paula Coppel
HTS 551 Metaphysical Theology 1
Rev. Dr. Thomas Shepherd
December 10, 2009
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Thesis Statement
The teachings Charles Fillmore adopted from transcendentalism, his admiration for Ralph Waldo
Emerson and his sharp differences in style and orientation from Theodore Parker have all shaped Unity
history and theology and are still evident in the character and culture of the movement today.
Introduction
Transcendentalism is often considered the precursor to New Thought. In particular, Ralph Waldo
Emerson, one of the most prominent of the transcendentalist leaders and writers, has been called the
“forefather of the New Thought movement.” 1 He clearly influenced Unity co‐founder Charles Fillmore,
who quoted Emerson more often than any other author, with the exception of Shakespeare. 2
Emerson, along with his transcendentalist contemporary Theodore Parker, “provided the
Fillmores with a theological/ theoretical basis for the emerging Unity movement.” 3 Nevertheless,
Fillmore did not gravitate to, or emulate, the more outspoken and politically involved Parker as he did
Emerson. Like Emerson, Fillmore chose to remain focused on the process of internal transformation and
spiritual communion that occurs when human beings discover their oneness with God and their own
innate Christ potential.
Studying these three men, their beliefs and achievements, provides a fascinating view of not
only Unity’s roots, but also the continuum of spiritual practice ranging from asceticism to activism. Each
of these impassioned men chose their own place along that continuum. Fueled by the power of their
convictions and their own inner guidance, they each made a distinctive contribution to the world.
1 Neal Vahle, The Unity Movement: Its Evolution and Spiritual Teachings (West Conshohocken, PA: Templeton Foundation Press, 2002), 75.
2 Thomas Shepherd, Friends in High Places (Unity Village, MO: Unity School of Christianity, 1985), 155.
3 Ibid.
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Ralph Waldo Emerson
Born May 25, 1803, Ralph Waldo Emerson came from seven generations of Puritan clergymen. 4
His father, William, was a Unitarian minister and chaplain during the American Revolution. 5
Ralph Waldo met with a striking degree of personal loss in his young life. He was the fourth child
born into the Emerson family; however, the first child died in 1800 and the second in 1807. His only
remaining older sibling was his brother William. In 1811, just before Emerson turned eight, his father
died. Three years later, his younger sister died. He had three younger brothers, all of whom made it into
adulthood, but all of whom Ralph Waldo also outlived. Childhood for Emerson and his siblings was
“arduous, poverty‐stricken and ‘deprived.’” 6
Emerson’s Aunt Mary Moody Emerson encouraged education for the boys. Emerson attended
the Boston Latin School, entering Harvard in 1817 and graduating in 1820. In 1829 he became pastor of
the Second Unitarian Church in Boston. That same year he married Ellen Louise Tucker, who died of
tuberculosis seventeen months later. In 1832, Emerson left his church and traveled to Europe. Two years
later, he settled in Concord, Massachusetts, and began a career as a public lecturer, marrying Lydia
Jackson a year later. 7
As a public speaker, Emerson continued to explore new spiritual philosophies. He convened a
group in his home for spiritual discussions, which eventually became known as the Concord School, or,
later, the Transcendental Club. Members included Bronson Alcott, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel
4 Edward Wagenknecht, Portrait of a Balanced Soul (New York : Oxford University Press, 1974), 11.
5 Carl Bode, The Portable Emerson (New York: Penguin Books, 1981), opening page.
6 Wagenknecht, 12.
7 Bode, opening page.
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Hawthorne, and Margaret Fuller 8 as well as Theodore Parker. It was this small gathering of people who
launched the philosophy called transcendentalism, right in their own neighborhood.
“The movement began in a remarkably small geographic area… in Boston…that encompassed
the homes and workplaces of Emerson, Thoreau, Margaret Fuller, the Alcotts, the Parkers, and the
[Elizabeth] Peabody sisters.” 9
The Transcendental Club essentially ended in 1882 when Emerson died. Says one historian,
“Transcendentalism was not so much a formal movement as a cluster of ideas that spread out like
ripples on Walden Pond.” 10 Thus its influence has continued far beyond Emerson’s lifetime.
The transcendental philosophy emerged from English Romanticism, German idealist
philosophy, Unitarianism and Eastern religions. 11 Its basic tenet was that God is both immanent and
transcendent, i.e., both in the world and outside of it. 12 The concept of immanence implied the
“inalienable worth of man,” 13 because God was present within humankind, while transcendence
conveyed that God was also all‐encompassing. To those more accustomed to traditional Christian
theology, these were radical thoughts. Transcendentalism would seem to be “a mass of wild opinions,”
but “running through all was the belief in the Living God in the Soul, faith in immediate inspiration, in
boundless possibility, and in unimaginable good.” 14
8 Bode, opening page.
9 Professor Ashton Nichols, Emerson, Thoreau, and the Transcendentalist Movement (Chantilly, VA: The Teaching Company, 2006), 6.
10 Ibid.
11 Ibid., 5.
12 Wagenknecht, 7.
13 Octavius Brooks Frothingham, Transcendentalism in New England (New York : Harper & Brothers, 1959), 136.
14 Ibid., 137.
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Emerson, who has been called “the American Shakespeare,” 15 conveyed the principles of
transcendentalism forcefully and directly, but also eloquently. “The highest revelation,” he once wrote,
“is that God is in every man.” 16 Other gems of Emerson’s included: “The way to mend the bad world is to
create the right world,” 17 and, “We must be our own before we can be another’s.” 18 His was the
inspired voice of a poet, mystic and, some have said, seer.
Emerson encouraged independent thought and personal exploration to develop one’s own
spiritual understanding. Rather than advocating reliance on an intermediary, Emerson wrote, “Why
should not we also enjoy an original relation to the universe? Why should not we have a poetry and
philosophy of insight and not of tradition, and a religion by revelation to us, and not the history of
theirs?” 19
Emerson believed that all human beings have a power in their souls to perceive God. This power
is innate and surpasses any rational understanding. 20
Most notably, in his bold and controversial 1838 Harvard Divinity School Address – which
became a turning point in Emerson’s life – he called for “the need to reform the teaching of historical
Christianity to the extent of eliminating such teaching altogether and seeing God without mediation.” 21
Emerson believed that God exists within our consciousness, thus we have no need for a
teacher, clergyman, or, for that matter, a savior, to achieve oneness with the Divine.
15 Shepherd, 155.
16 Dillaway, 3.
17 Dillaway, 52.
18 Ibid., 54.
19 Richard Geldard, The Spiritual Teachings of Ralph Waldo Emerson (Great Barrington, MA: Lindisfarne Books, 2001), VII.
20 Wagenknecht, 34.
21 August Derleth, Emerson, Our Contemporary (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1970), 75.
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“Let me admonish you, first of all, to go alone,” he told the Harvard students, “to refuse the
good models, even those which are sacred in the imagination of men, and dare to love God without
mediator or veil…Yourself a newborn bard of the Holy Ghost, cast behind you all conformity, and
acquaint men at first hand with Deity.” 22
The Harvard Divinity School Address ignited a firestorm of protest. Emerson had challenged the
notion that Jesus was uniquely divine, portraying him instead as “the Way‐Shower for all humanity to
realize its oneness with God.” 23 He went on to provide a radically different portrayal of Jesus and a
scathing indictment of traditional Christianity:
Jesus Christ belonged to the true race of prophets. He saw with open eye the mystery of the soul. Drawn by its severe harmony, ravished with its beauty, he lived in it, and had his being there. Alone in all history he estimated the greatness of man. One man was true to what is in you and me. He saw that God incarnates himself in man, and evermore goes forth anew to take possession of his world. He said, in this jubilee of sublime emotion, ‘I am divine. Through me, God acts; through me, speaks. Would you see God, see me; or see thee, when thou also thinkest as I now think.’
But what a distortion did his doctrine and memory suffer in the same, in the next, and the following ages! …The idioms of his language, and the figures of his rhetoric, have usurped the place of his truth; and churches are not built on his principle, but on his tropes (figures of speech). 24
Saying that we are all capable of what Jesus lived and demonstrated was considered blasphemy.
Even more bluntly, Emerson said, “The belief in Christianity that now prevails is the unbelief of men.
They will have Christ for a Lord and not for a brother. Christ preaches the greatness of man, but we hear
only the greatness of Christ.” 25 Historical Christianity, he said, “has dwelt, it dwells, with noxious
exaggeration about the person of Jesus.” 26
22 Dillaway, 9.
23 Shepherd, 159.
24 Shepherd, 159‐160.
25 Dillaway, 63.
26 Ibid., 62.
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The Divinity School faculty and Boston leaders and clergy were outraged, and retaliated by
attacking Emerson and disassociating themselves from him. Emerson, for his part, remained unruffled.
He wrote in his journal, “As long as all that is said is said againstme, I feel a certain sublime assurance of
success, but as soon as honied words of praise are spoken for me, I feel as one that lies unprotected
before his enemies.” 27 A month later he further confided to his journal that he had “a great deal more to
say that will shock you out of all patience.” 28 Clearly, here was a man with strong convictions prepared
to contest prevailing opinion, without backing down.
Though the controversy over his Divinity School Address diminished over time, Unitarian and
Congregational clergy continued to resent Emerson, which ultimately ended his career as a preacher. It
was nevertheless a fortuitous ending, as it launched his new and formidable career as an essayist and
public lecturer. The intellectually curious and spiritually seeking were drawn to him because he was, as
Matthew Arnold said, “the friend and aider of those who live in the spirit.” 29
Author Edward Wagenknecht offers a stirring summary of who Emerson was and what he
believed:
He had perhaps the most seminal mind we have ever produced in this country. He believed that the development of the human soul was an ultimate end; that whatever stood in the way of the development and expression of that soul is vicious, however venerable or even sacred it may appear; and that unless life can be lived spontaneously and fully and gladly, there is no hope for the future of the world. It is not enough that God spoke to Moses; He must speak to me and to you. It is not enough that Shakespeare and Michelangelo created great art; you and I must create it also, and if we cannot do this ourselves, we must recognize its value in those of our contemporaries who can. It is not enough that we shall have pie in the sky by and by; life must be triumphant here and now. And what do you want with immortality, he asks you, if you are bored every time you are left alone for half an hour here? 30
27 Derleth, 76.
28 Ibid, 77.
29 Wagenknecht, 125.
30 Ibid, 225‐226
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This was perhaps the heart of Emerson’s inspirational appeal: He believed in the inherent worth
and capacity for greatness in all people and urged individuals to see that in themselves and call it forth.
He invited his listeners and readers to break free of any perceived or self‐imposed limitations in order to
live fully and abundantly. Wrote Emerson, “…in yourself slumbers the whole of Reason; it is for you to
know all; it is for you to dare all.” 31
Emerson left a legacy of noble work and timeless wisdom. He was a visionary, a mystic and a
change agent. One of his biographers wrote: “He dealt a stunning blow to soulless Tradition. He exposed
the folklore of a faltering civilization. He laid the foundation for a new and more excellent society than
history has recorded. He pointed man to the Supreme Spirit in his own soul.” 32
Walt Whitman offered a particularly poetic and affectionate description of Emerson, describing
him as “a just man, poised on himself, all‐loving, all‐enclosing, and sane and clear as the sun.” 33
Emerson had once written that “Whenever a noble soul comes, the audience awaits.” 34
One of the people waiting in his own circle of admirers was Charles Fillmore.
Charles Fillmore and Ralph Waldo Emerson
Had Charles Fillmore been alive in Boston when the Transcendental Club came into being, he
might well have been one of its founding members. Fillmore’s beliefs and, in turn, many of the key
principles on which Unity is based, are notably Emersonian. Indeed, “Emerson is quoted by more Unity
writers than any other religious author of previous eras.” 35
31 Dillaway, 74.
32 Dillaway, 77.
33 Ibid., 79.
34 Ibid., 35.
35 Shepherd, 155.
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The Fillmores were so taken with Emerson’s philosophies that they wrote in the first issue of
Modern Thoughtmagazine in April, 1889: “All students of metaphysics should read Emerson. His
writings contain the essence of all the higher thoughts that are now being lavishly given to the world
through Christian Science, Metaphysics, Theosophy and the various systems of soul culture.” 36
In The Essential Charles Fillmore, James Gaither summarizes the beliefs that are common to
transcendentalism and New Thought:
Some of the ideas espoused by Emerson that still very much characterize Unity and New Thought are self‐reliance and independent thinking; the oversoul [the transcendent God]; Divine Mind as the origin of all things; prayer as “contemplation of Truth” in the Silence (an idea Emerson himself probably got from the Quakers), rather than as begging God for favors; a “Law of Compensation” [what is given returns to us] that operates here and now, not just in the afterlife; knowledge through intuition; good as absolute reality and evil as “privation” or mere negation of the good; Jesus as seer and revelator of the divinity in all humanity. Indeed, these Emersonian themes are so fundamental to New Thought that some have maintained that Emerson is the true founder of the New Thought movement. 37
A scan of Fillmore’s books reveals the frequency in which he quotes Emerson. Especially
interesting is how often he pairs a quote from Emerson with a quote from or reference to Jesus Christ. It
is as if he instinctively turns to his two most revered sources of authority to make a point:
• “Emerson says of Plato: ‘He was born to behold the self‐evolving power of Spirit, endless
generator of new ends; a power which is the key at once to the centrality and the evanescence
of things.’ Jesus Christ said: ‘The kingdom of God is within you.’” 38
• Emerson said that when a man of ideas is born into the world kings totter on their thrones. Jesus said that He came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets; that is, to demonstrate that natural and spiritual law are one. He foresaw this very period when the “powers of the heavens shall be shaken” – that is, the mental realms be broken up – and He attributed this phenomenon to the coming of the Christ as “lightning.” 39
36 Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, “Growing Better,”Modern Thought, April, 1889, 8.
37 James Gaither, The Essential Charles Fillmore (Unity Village, MO: Unity Books, 1999), 10.
38 Charles Fillmore. Talks on Truth (Unity Village, MO: Unity School of Christianity), 9.\
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• “Jesus said that His words were spirit and life and would never pass away. Emerson says that
words are alive and if you cut one it will bleed.” 40
Fillmore’s regard for Emerson was so high that he even named one of his sons after him: Waldo
Rickert.
Fillmore liberally lifted ideas from Emerson as well as from others without shame or apology. He
had never claimed that his ideas were unique or original. Whatwas unique was the way he combined,
interpreted and practically applied them. He adopted teachings from a variety of religions, which meant
that, while the spiritual movement he and his wife Myrtle launched was Christian‐based, it was also
eclectic.
“We have been readers among all the schools of thought and we find good in all of them,”
wrote Fillmore. “We do not claim to have discovered any new truths nor have had any special revelation
of truth. There is truth in every religion. It is my privilege to take Truth from any source, put it into my
religion, and make it a fundamental rule of action in my life.” 41
Fillmore was familiar with Buddhism, Brahmanism, Theosophy and Rosicrucianism as well as
Christianity. He wrote in an early issue ofModern Thoughtmagazine that he and Myrtle had taken
“more than forty courses (in metaphysical subjects) some of them costing as much as $100.” 42
It was this very melding of Truth principles from various faith traditions that distinguished
Fillmore and, in turn, Unity:
Fillmore’s genius was the ability to synthesize and systematize without dogmatizing. He found ways to take ideas from the seemingly incompatible thought worlds of science, Christian tradition, occult religion, and philosophical idealism and tie them together in a coherent and
39 Charles Fillmore, Jesus Christ Heals (Unity Village, MO: Unity Books, 1999), 149.
40 Charles Fillmore, Prosperity (Unity Village, MO: Unity Books, 1998), 112.
41 Vahle, 121.
42 James Dillet Freeman, The Story of Unity (Unity Village, MO: Unity Books, 2000), 42.
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intelligible world view. He was able to communicate that world view to a fairly wide range of people in terms of practical application to issues of health, prosperity, and happiness. 43
Fillmore, like Emerson, encouraged his students to discover their own truth for themselves.
“Like Emerson, Fillmore points us back within ourselves when we look to him for ‘leadership,’” writes
James Gaither. 44 Emerson wrote in his renowned essay Self‐Reliance, “Vital religion can only begin when
a man begins to arrive at his convictions by exploring his own consciousness.” 45
This necessarily meant shedding any rigid adherence to a particular doctrine or dogma. Both
Emerson and Fillmore rejected the confinement of a single organized denomination and, in fact, started
their own more expansive movements as alternatives. Each gravitated to spiritual discussion and study
groups – Emerson with his Transcendental Club and Fillmore with the Society of Silent Help, which he
later named Unity. Both men created movements that focused on helping individuals realize their Christ
potential through a greater awareness and expression of the divinity within. And both movements
emphasized prayer as well as philosophical and theological discussion. Wrote Emerson: “Prayer is the
contemplation of the facts of life from the highest point of view.” 46
One way in which New Thought differed from transcendentalism was that New Thought, like
Christian Science, emphasized the practice of what was once called “Mind Cure,” which asserted that “if
we can align our minds with the divine idea of our body, we will be cured” 47 of any illness. This had
indeed been the starting point for Unity, which began as a healing ministry based on Myrtle Fillmore’s
self‐healing experience through affirmative prayer. Though Mind Cure was not a point of emphasis in
43 Gaither, 19.
44 Gaither, 364.
45 Wagenkecht, 45.
46 Dillaway, 69.
47 Ibid., 10.
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transcendentalism, Emerson had at times speculated whether the mind could control the body such that
all illness would disappear. 48
On many other topics, the beliefs of these two spiritual trailblazers mirrored one another.
Consider these quotes from or about each of them:
• Prosperity:
Emerson: “The only real prosperity I can have is a rush of ideas.” 49
Fillmore: “Whoever you are and whatever your immediate need, you can demonstrate the
law…Say with conviction: I am strong, immovable Spirit substance. This will open the door of
your mind to an inflow of substance‐filled ideas…They are God’s ideas given to you in answer to
your prayer and in order to supply your needs.” 50
• Mind:
Emerson: “Mind is the only reality, of which men and all other natures are better or worse
reflectors.” 51
Fillmore: “These facts prove conclusively that in Truth there is but one Mind; that the one Mind
is universal; that Truth is not the property of any particular race or chosen people, but is given
48 Wagenknecht, 25.
49 Unity Finishing Department Records, A Drill in the Silence (Kansas City, MO: Unity School of Christianity, 1941), 6.
50 Gaither, 116‐7.
51 Dillaway, 19.
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freely to all who open their understanding to that one Divine Mind, from which the only real
wisdom, life, and love, ever come.” 52
• Going Within:
Emerson: “Let man learn…that the Highest dwells with him…If he would know what the great
God speaketh, he must ‘go into his closet and shut the door,’ as Jesus said. God will not make
himself manifest to cowards. He must greatly listen to himself, withdrawing himself from all the
accents of other men’s devotion.” 53
Fillmore: “A daily half hour of meditation will open up the mind to a consciousness of the inner
One and will reveal many things that are hidden from the natural man.” 54 Fillmore called this
“going to headquarters.” 55
• Dogmatic vs. independent thinking:
Emerson: “Be neither chided nor flattered out of your position of perpetual inquiry. Neither
dogmatize, nor accept another’s dogmatism. Why should you renounce your right to traverse
the star‐lit deserts of Truth, for the premature comforts of an acre, house and barn? Truth also
has its roof, and bed, and board. Make yourself necessary to the world, and mankind will give
you bread…” 56
Fillmore: “Whoever formulates a creed or writes a book, claiming it to be an infallible guide for
mankind; whoever organizes a church in which it is attempted, by rules and tenets, to save men
52 Gaither, 57.
53 Dillaway, 68.
54 Gaither, 97.
55 Freeman, 52.
56 Dillaway, 58.
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from their evil ways; whoever attempts to offer, in any way, a substitute for the omnipresent
Spirit of God dwelling in each of us, is an obstructor of the soul’s progress.” 57
• Enthusiasm:
Emerson: “Emerson…was certainly not deficient in either ardor or cheerfulness. ‘What is a man
good for without enthusiasm?’ He was a prophet of joy, respecting the pursuit of happiness far
beyond most moralists…” 58
Fillmore: “I fairly sizzle with zeal and enthusiasm and spring forth with a mighty faith to do the
things that ought to be done by me.”
• Oneness:
Emerson: “..within man is the soul of the whole; the wise silence; the universal beauty, to which
every part and particle is equally related; the eternal ONE.” 59
Fillmore: “A key to God‐Mind is with everyone – it is the action of the individual mind...It is
therefore true…that man and the universe are within God‐Mind as living, acting thoughts.” 60
Emerson at times referenced the coming of “a new religion,” which, in hindsight, seemed to set
the stage for New Thought. He wrote, “Presently there will arise a race of preachers who will take such
hold of the omnipotence of truth that they will blow the old falsehood to shreds with the breath of their
mouth.” 61 He further indicated that the overall goal of our spiritual evolution is integration, or unity,
which comes from harmonizing the various aspects of our being. Emerson biographer Richard Geldard
57 Gaither, 364.
58 Wagenknecht, 26.
59 Dillway, 13.
60 Gaither, 140.
61 Dillaway, 43.
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said, “Emerson called this harmony ‘completeness,’ and in his late essay ‘Greatness’ he said that this
ultimate aim of the spiritual life came later, ‘perhaps adjourned for ages.’” 62 One can’t help but wonder
if he was foretelling the unfolding of Unity or New Thought philosophy.
There is also an element of prescience in Emerson’s comment that: “The Teacher that I look for
and await shall enunciate with more precision and universality, with piercing poetic insight those
beautiful yet severe compensations that give to moral nature an aspect of mathematical science. He
will not occupy himself in laboriously reanimating a historical religion, but in bringing men to God by
showing them that he is, not was, and speaks, not spoke.” 63 One wonders if he knew, on some level,
that the likes of Emma Curtis Hopkins, Emilie Cady and Charles Fillmore were on their way.
It is interesting to note that, in addition to the close correlation in their beliefs and writings,
Emerson and Fillmore had noticeably similar personal histories. Both lost their fathers at an early age, as
well as one or more siblings; both were raised by their mothers in financially burdened households; both
suffered hip problems from which they recovered in unconventional ways (Fillmore applied healing
principles to cure himself; Emerson was allegedly cured by “a quack” 64 ); both had first wives who died;
both had a thirst for knowledge and learning; and both, it seems, were called to serve God.
“Charles Fillmore was born to yearn after God, to seek Him with all his heart. He had an
instinctive urge to seek out the meaning of life and he was the kind of person who had to find the
meaning in his own soul. He had to find God for himself.” 65
62 Geldard, 136‐7.
63 Dillaway, 47.
64 Wagenknecht, 22.
65 Freeman, 41.
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Emerson wrote: “The time is coming when all men will see that the gift of God to the soul is not
a vaunting, overpowering, excluding sanctity, but a sweet, natural goodness, a goodness like thine and
mine, and that so invites thine and mine to be and to grow.” 66
No wonder, then, that these two spiritual icons connected “in the ethers,” as Charles Fillmore
might say, and gave birth to two interconnected movements that emphasized our mystical oneness with
God.
Theodore Parker
One of the participants in the Transcendental Club in Boston was a young contemporary of
Emerson’s named Theodore Parker. Parker had tremendous respect for Emerson and similarly adopted
the principles of transcendentalism as the cornerstone of his life. Where he sharply differed from
Emerson, however, was in his area of focus. Parker was an outspoken activist, whose passion was
putting into practical application the theoretical ideas espoused by Emerson. 67 Reminiscent of his
grandfather, Captain John Parker, who had led the Yankee forces at the first Revolutionary War battle in
Lexington, Theodore was willing to take risks and do battle:
Parker reported in his letters and correspondence that grandfather John Parker was told by some of the men that they did not like the odds at Lexington (900 redcoats to Parker’s 70 patriots) and wanted to flee. Captain Parker promptly drew his sword and vowed to run the first man through who even considered bolting his battle line. This action, it seems, was typical of the Parker family, because his grandson Theodore drew his sword‐like pen and vowed eternal hostility toward anyone who supported the horrible institution which infected nineteenth‐ century America, human slavery. 68
Yet Parker was:
…more than anything, a preacher; ‐‐ preacher more than theologian, philosopher or scholar. Whatever else he was, contributed to his greatness in this. He had profuse gift of language; expression was a necessity to him; his thoughts came swiftly, and clothed in attractive
66 Dillaway, 34.
67 Shepherd, 155.
68 Shepherd, 163.
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garments; he had wit, and he had humor; laughter and tears were equally at his command...The religious emotions were as genuine with him as they were quick, and as deep as they were glowing: the human sympathies were wide as the widest, and tender as the tenderest. 69
Parker’s profound compassion fueled his fervor in attacking any unjust conditions or political
practices. Further, he felt this was the rightful role of any clergyman and a proper domain for the
church. In his installation sermon on The True Idea of the Christian Church, he said, “A Christian church
should be the means of reforming the world, of forming it after the pattern of Christian ideas.” 70
He added, “If there be a public sin in the land, if a lie invade the state, it is for the church to give the
alarm…” 71 In other words, the church should be a watchdog for social injustices, and a participant in
righting those wrongs.
Parker took issue with the failure of his contemporaries to take action “in the face of evils.”
“What had the church been doing that slavery was tolerated and war glorified and labor exploited and
woman oppressed and the rich suffered to lord it over the poor?” 72
So great was Parker’s commitment to spiritual activism that Emerson once wrote of him:
His commanding merit as a reformer, is this, that he insisted beyond all men in pulpits…that the essence of Christianity is its practical morals; it is there for use, or it is nothing; and if you combine it with sharp trading, or with ordinary city ambitions to gloze over municipal corruptions, or private intemperance, or successful fraud, or immoral politics, or unjust wars, or the cheating of Indians, or the robbery of frontier nations, or leaving your principles at home to follow on the high seas or in Europe a supple complaisance to tyrants, ‐‐ it is a hypocrisy, and the truth is not in you; and no love of religious music or the dreams of Swedenborg, or praise of John Wesley, or of Jeremy Taylor, can save you from the Satan which you are. 73
69 Frothingham, 308‐9.
70 George F. Whicher, The Transcendentalist Revolt (Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath and Company, 1968), 68.
71 Ibid., 69.
72 Whicher, 69.
73 Wagenknecht, 202‐3.
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Parker, who is often ranked one of the most influential Unitarian ministers of his century, 74 was
nevertheless a controversial figure who ignited significant debate and backlash. An outspoken opponent
of the Fugitive Slave Law, which made it illegal to protect runaway slaves, Parker provided refuge for
black families in his basement. He “wrote his sermons with a gun on his desk because his home was a
station in the underground railroad. Many times the Reverend Theodore Parker stood in danger of
committing acts of violence even as he wrote words of love.” 75
Parker approached the Bible from a level of “higher criticism,” which was the term used to
describe the practice of studying religion in historical and rational terms which had originated in
Germany and England. Higher criticism yielded the belief that the Bible was a historical document,
which could be understood just like any other historical account, and that the miracles in the Old
Testament were myths – i.e., not factually true. Parker had gone a step further in identifying some
factual problems with the Bible in terms of translation, inconsistencies, and the apocrypha [scriptural
writings that were not included in the canonical Bible]. 76 While Parker’s unconventional views fit fine
with transcendentalist thought, they did not fit well within Unitarianism, which was still dominated at
that time by strict Calvinist doctrine.
The turning point for Parker came in 1841 when he delivered the ordination address for Rev.
Charles C. Shackford at Hawes Place Church in Boston. His sermon, called “The Transient and
Permanent in Christianity,” revealed Parker’s most radical beliefs and ignited a public outcry:
What aroused anger was that he pronounced certain tenets of the common faith as not merely imperfect but vulgar and absurd. He stated that Christian doctrines in general owed more to heathenism, Judaism, and “the caprice of philosophers” than to the teachings of Jesus. ..The pure stream of Christ’s message had, he thought, been polluted by man with mire and dirt…
74 Nichols, 47.
75 Shepherd, 163.
76 Nichols, 48.
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As for the alleged authority of Jesus, Parker could not see “why the great truths of Christianity rest on the personal authority of Jesus, more than the axioms of geometry rest on the personal authority of Euclid, or Archimedes.” 77
He capped it all with what was considered his most blasphemous statement: “The permanent
element in (Christianity)…is the teaching of Jesus, and the truth of that is self‐evident apart from
miracles; it does not rest on the personal authority of Jesus, indeed it would still remain true though it
were proved that Jesus never lived at all.” 78
This address of Parker’s served much the same purpose as Emerson’s Harvard Divinity School
Address: It exposed his most deeply held beliefs, catapulted him out of the Unitarian tradition and
launched his new career as a speaker in public halls, where he drew ever‐larger audiences – up to 2,000
per Sunday in 1852. Parker called his gatherings “free church” and the members were sometimes known
as “Parkerites.” 79
“Huge audiences, including the abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, the suffragette Elizabeth
Cady Stanton, Julia Ward Howe, and Louisa May Alcott, came to listen when Parker ‘preached’ on
matters of public concern or pressing political events.” 80 This rousing response may well have been why
Parker often predicted, “The religion I preach will be the religion of enlightened men for the next
thousand years.” 81
Though lesser known than Emerson, he was nonetheless highly accomplished in public speaking
and writing, and even spoke numerous foreign languages and wrote poetry. 82
77 William R. Hutchison, The Transcendentalist Ministers: Church Reform in the New England Renaissance (Boston: Beacon Press, 1959), 109.
78 Shepherd, 166‐7.
79 Nichols, 48
80 Nichols, 49
81 Frothingham, 319
82 Shepherd, 168.
Coppel 21
Though Parker and Emerson shared the journey of religious reform, they were a study in
opposites: “Emerson was the scholar, the gentle giant who tried to influence his world by example and
quiet reflection. Parker was the activist who grappled with the evils of the day, who led the fight against
slavery and cried like a lone voice in the wilderness for women’s rights, the universality of Truth, the
essential oneness of all humanity.” 83
Charles Fillmore and Theodore Parker
Charles Fillmore gravitated so wholeheartedly to the words and ways of Ralph Waldo Emerson
that it is not surprising he never mentioned Theodore Parker in his writings. One might imagine that
Parker’s blunt and high‐profile assault on traditional Christian beliefs offended Fillmore’s sense of
decorum, whether he agreed with Parker’s arguments or not.
While Fillmore espoused the liberal theology of transcendentalism, he was much less liberal in
his political life, and less confrontational in his tactics. Fillmore was a Republican businessman from the
real estate industry whose passion was the application of spiritual principles in the lives of private
individuals – not in the public arena. On the continuum of asceticism and activism, Fillmore was likely
even further toward the pole of asceticism than Emerson.
Emerson, for his part, “sought and found a golden mean in the area of reform quite as
successfully as elsewhere, and his record for public protest compares very favorably with that of many
who criticize him.” 84 Emerson opened his pulpit to abolitionists before he became one himself, and in his
Bowdoin Prize essay of 1821, he took the position that “the plague spot of slavery must be purged
thoroughly.” 85 His outrage over the removal of Cherokee Indians from their homeland prompted him to
send a scathing letter to President Van Buren which said: “You, sir, will bring down that renowned chair
83 Shepherd, 169.
84 Wagenknecht, 199
85 Ibid.
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in which you sit into infamy if your seal is set to this instrument of perfidy; and the name of this nation,
hitherto the sweet omen of religion and liberty, will stink to the world.” 86
Nevertheless, Emerson tended to regard the world’s affairs from a higher point of view, while
Parker engaged in the front lines: “Emerson tried to express the aspirations of Americans; Parker
became ‘the Conscience of a Party.’” 87
With his discourse on “The Transient and Permanent in Christianity,” Parker had set up a
contrast between religion as belief and religion as social action. 88 Charles Fillmore seemed to offer a
third alternative: religion as spiritual practice applied in one’s everyday life. It fell short of social action,
but it reflected Fillmore’s philosophy that the only way the world would change is if the people within it
changed.
There are few examples in the Unity Archives of instances where Charles Fillmore spoke out on
political or social issues. Though his leadership at Unity spanned such momentous events as the Great
Depression, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Hitler’s siege in World War II, and growing racial strife, his
writings reflect no particular moral outrage or call to action on these fronts. Rather, he consistently
remained focused on faith in God, the power of prayer, and an unwavering belief that all would come
out for good.
In one undated manuscript titled “A Multitude of Reforms and Reformers,” Fillmore even
expressed frustration with those clamoring for Unity to become more social action‐oriented:
The flood of letters, circulars and books which Unity is getting these days from reformers in every phase of life tempts us to cry “Hold! Enough.” There seems to be a widespread idea that Unity will take up and endorse any movement or plan for the race uplift that has incorporated
86 Ibid.
87 Whicher, 63.
88 Nichols, 48.
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the idea of Spirit. In this respect we are in hearty sympathy with all movements spiritually progressive but hardly equal to their adoption. 89
In what may be the only direct statement of how Fillmore related to social causes and how he
saw Unity’s role, he added:
The Unity movement is in sympathy with all spiritually awakened people and rejoices in their efforts to help the human family, although we may not be led to take an active part in their propaganda. The Lord is working everywhere to raise the thoughts of men to higher things, and every movement that has this object is good and will receive the blessing of the Most High. Each of us has a special work in the great onward trend of the race. The Lord has given Unity the department of Individual Religious Training, and it is requiring all our time and efforts to meet the large demands made upon us. The harvest is ripe and the laborers seem to be few. 90
On Sept. 13, 1931, Fillmore delivered a talk on “Christian Missions,” in which he referenced the
raging war in Europe, but mainly focused on what he called “the stock gambler’s frenzy for illegitimate
gains” that had precipitated the stock market crash. It is one of the few times he spoke out on a current
event or issue. He decried that these reckless “gamblers” had not been brought to justice. 91 So strong
were his feelings about the “great stock‐gambling dragon,” that he declared, “I am convinced that if
every church member in this country would each day for one year offer a prayer for deliverance from
this Red Dragon of Wall Street, that deliverance would come.” 92 He did not, however, rally Unity
followers to take action.
On another occasion, on December 9, 1941, two days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor,
Fillmore convened a meeting of Unity employees to share their feelings about the “Japanese crisis.” He
89 Charles Fillmore, “A Multitude of Reforms and Reformers.” Unpublished manuscript. Available from Charles S. Fillmore papers (Unity Village, MO: Unity Library and Archives, undated), 1.
90 Ibid., 2.
91 Charles S. Fillmore, “Christian Missions.” Unpublished manuscript. Available from Charles S. Fillmore papers (Unity Village, MO: Unity Library and Archives, Sept. 13, 1931), 7.
92 Ibid., 8.
Coppel 24
used it as an opportunity to bolster faith, to release attachment to outer appearances and to affirm
“that God is in His world and PEACE must come; and when it does come, it will be the PEACE OF GOD.” 93
Fillmore said, “It is good for us to get together and attain an understanding of these
fundamental principles and not only understand them, but adhere to them in our minds. Establish a
place in the midst of turmoil, a consciousness of light (enlightenment) and be at PEACE, realizing within
ourselves this great Spirit of PEACE is with us. And in this way, we save any reaction.”
Thus Fillmore focused on the internal work that was needed for people to maintain their faith
and hold the high watch, regardless of external circumstances. Son Lowell Fillmore offered counsel on
how Unity workers could take more direct action: “We can put a Unity slant into everything we do. If we
have to go and join the army, we can go and radiate helpfulness, and if we stay at home, we can radiate
helpfulness. And we can go 100 per cent with the Government. We can pray for peace and harmony. “ 94
Fillmore’s position on war and peace is best summarized in one line from his Nov. 11, 1925
essay on the topic. He wrote, “The love of Christ in the hearts [of men] will solve all the problems of
war.” 95 Thus his model for social change was for it to be a natural outgrowth of individuals’ rising
consciousness rippling outward, rather than Parker’s model of taking direct action in the external world.
While Fillmore acknowledged what was going on in the world and reaffirmed Truth principles to help
people get through it, he had no interest in the type of social activism purported by Thomas Parker.
The one realm in which a reticence to become involved in social issues eventually caught up to
Unity was in the area of race relations. Issues surrounding segregation at Unity Village began to surface
93 Charles Fillmore, “Unity Workers’ Attitudes on Japanese Crisis,” Unpublished manuscript. Available from Charles S. Fillmore papers. (Unity Village, MO: Unity Library and Archives, Dec. 9, 1941), 4.
94 Ibid, 10.
95 Charles S. Fillmore, “War—Peace,” Unpublished manuscript. Available from Charles S. Fillmore papers. (Unity Village, MO: Unity Library and Archives, Nov. 11, 1925), 2.
Coppel 25
in the 1930s and built to a crescendo in the 1950s, finally erupting into the ugliest, most divisive conflict
in the history of the movement:
While Blacks were drawn to the Unity teaching, until the mid‐1960s Unity School itself made it difficult for them to participate. Unity rhetoric supported equality. Charles Fillmore in a speech to the Unity summer conference in 1927 declared, “We see no separation in color, in race, in sect, in creed, in anything. We are all one in Spirit.” Unity practices did not live up to this rhetoric. The school followed segregationist policies of the South in dealing with those who came to Kansas City to study. The Unity Training School allowed Blacks into classes and workshops, but refused them accommodations on the grounds of Unity Farm. Housing was available for Whites only. 96
Despite public pressure (including an attack on Unity’s segregationist policy by a Kansas City
newspaper called The Call 97 ) and protests from Unity employees and students, Unity’s segregation
continued until 1955, when it finally came to a head. Johnnie Colemon of Chicago, a Black female
ministerial student, threatened to quit the program if Unity continued to refuse her on‐campus housing.
A group of ministerial students submitted a petition requesting that Colemon be allowed to live at the
Village, and the administration complied, which officially ended the segregated housing at Unity
Village. 98
Remarkably, however, the pool at Unity Village continued to be off limits for Blacks until the
summer of 1963. According to Rev. David Williamson, a staff member of the Unity Ministers Association,
the practice ended one summer day during a Youth of Unity conference at Unity Village:
A number of black youths were in attendance. On a hot summer afternoon everyone, black and white, went down to the pool. Only the whites went in for a swim. Blacks stood on the deck watching. Ralph Rhea, the veteran Unity minister who at the time was co‐director at the Unity Field Department, happened by the pool. Finding the situation intolerable he hollered, “Everyone swims.” The blacks jumped in and from then on the pool was integrated. 99
96 Vahle, 377.
97 Ibid.
98 Ibid., 380.
99 Vahle, 380.
Coppel 26
What a stark contrast to the principles and actions of Theodore Parker in his anti‐slavery days!
It is commonly agreed that Unity’s failure to take responsible action sooner was due to the general
acceptance of segregation in the Kansas City area. Nevertheless, there was a startling lack of integrity in
a movement that claimed as its foundation, “We are all one.”
Fillmore’s grandson Charles R. Fillmore, who himself played a role in integrating the campus in
the 1960s, probably summarized it best when he said, “We evolved with the rest of society. We were
not pioneers.” 100
Conclusion
Ralph Waldo Emerson believed “that all men who have thought deeply and truly are in
fundamental agreement with one another.” 101 This alone could explain why Emerson, Parker and
Fillmore were so deeply committed to the same spiritual principles. But, as this paper has
demonstrated, even men of great stature can have the same philosophical foundation – and perhaps
even similar personal backgrounds – yet find distinct and even sharply contrasting ways to bring those
beliefs to bear in their life and work.
Charles Fillmore moved “from a healthy skepticism to a determined experimentalism to a
whole‐hearted, dedicated practical mysticism.” 102 He synthesized the ideas of others who had preceded
him, added his own fresh insights, and wove them together to form the basis of Unity, a movement
based on practical Christianity. Unlike Emerson and Parker, he never gave a railing speech against
100 Ibid., 381.
101 Wagenknecht, 9‐10.
102 Gaither, 8.
Coppel 27
traditional Christian dogma; in fact, he never rejected any of the essential traditional Christian
doctrines 103 ‐‐ rather, he reinterpreted them and gave them practical application.
Emerson, the “Concord Sage,” was equally drawn to mysticism and devoted to the inner journey
that helps all people discover their innate goodness and potential. His calling was to share his inspired
wisdom through writing, speaking and, when necessary, taking a bold and vocal position for change.
Parker, the activist in the group, was as fervent as the others in his love of enlightened thinking
and a new definition of Christianity. His calling was to apply spiritual principles by taking moral action
when human beings were being treated unjustly.
When viewed in contrast to Emerson and Parker, some of Fillmore’s distinguishing traits
become more apparent. These traits also seem to have shaped the culture and character of the Unity
movement. For example:
• Fillmore was more focused on what was happening within Unity than what was going on in
the outside world. Today Unity recognizes it has become overly insular and is striving to
reconnect with the larger world.
• Fillmore never aggressively confronted the Christian establishment, and certainly never gave
a speech as confrontational as either Emerson’s Divinity School Address or Parker’s “The
Transient and Permanent in Christianity.” Fillmore set the standard for Unity having a
quieter, more thoughtful voice, which has also made it more difficult for the movement to
be heard and recognized.
• Fillmore was non‐dogmatic and opposed orthodoxy. In the absence of his leadership, Unity
has at times lost sight of its core teachings and unique contribution in the world.
103 Gaither, 15.
Coppel 28
• Rather than engaging in social action, Fillmore kept his focus on the personal change in
individuals that collectively contributes to a better world. Today in Unity younger
constituents are demanding more Unity involvement in spiritual social action, as it appears
to be an important, historically missing piece. There is also a sense of shame in the
movement about the failure to take a courageous stand on racial equality before being
forced to.
• Fillmore combined teachings from many different faith traditions to create the foundation
for Unity. No wonder Unity followers so frequently find that something they hear in another
religion “sounds like Unity”! And no wonder it is sometimes challenging to identify what is
uniquely ours.
If there is one resounding message from the lives of these three men, it is that they each lived
their lives in complete integrity with the calling in their own soul. They knew who they were; they
led with clarity, conviction and passion; and each in their own way made a lasting mark on history.
Two chose a path more ascetic in nature – one more activist. But all three were divinely inspired to
explore and share new ideas that would change lives and in so doing change the course of history.
Their ideas are as relevant (and in some cases would still be considered as radical) today as they
were in the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries. They have gifted us with timeless wisdom and inspiring
examples of how to discover one’s truth, share it with others, and in so doing live true to one’s
purpose.
Coppel 29
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