Christian
universalism is a school of Christian theology focused around the doctrine of
universal reconciliation — the view that all human beings will ultimately be
saved and redeemed to a right relationship with God. "Christian
universalism" and "the belief or hope in universal reconciliation
through Christ" can be understood as synonyms. Opponents of this school,
who hold that eternal damnation is the ultimate fate of some or most people,
are sometimes called "internalists."
The term
Christian universalism was used in the Christian Intelligencer in
the 1820s by Russell Streeter — a descendant of Adams Streeter, who had founded
one of the first Universalist Churches on September 14, 1785. Some Christian
universalists claim that in early Christianity (prior to the 6th century), this
was the most common interpretation of Christianity.
As a formal
Christian denomination, Christian universalism originated in the late 18th
century with the Universalist Church of America. There is no single
denomination uniting Christian universalists, but a few denominations teach
some of the principles of Christian universalism or are open to them. Instead,
their membership was consolidated with the American Unitarian Association into
the Unitarian Universalist Association in 1961.