Our History
The SUA is a national as well as a district Organisation, as it functions in a different jurisdiction from the GA since the Scottish and English legal systems do not coincide. This discontinuity creates certain administrative difficulties and will no doubt become ever more marked as devolution continues to gain momentum.
The SUA was founded by two Englishmen, the Rev. James Yates, Minister in Glasgow, and the Rev. Thomas Southwood Smith of Edinburgh, on 28th.July 1813, and was revived in 1830 (after its demise in 1824) by another Englishman, the Rev. George Harris. Although Scottish Unitarianism was stimulated and organised by the energy of English missionaries such as the Rev. Richard Wright, a growing indigenous Universalist opposition to Calvinism provided them with ready converts. The credit for founding the first Scottish Unitarian Congregation, at Montrose in 1781, is due to a Scot William Christie (albeit heavily influenced by Joseph Priestley).
The Montrose Church did not survive Christie’s departure from the town in 1794, and in the ensuing century and a half another nine Unitarian Churches elsewhere in Scotland, recorded similarly brief life-spans, leaving behind the four survivors which today constitute the SUA.
The Heroic Age of Scottish Universalism / Unitarianism with its martyrdom on the gallows (Thomas Aikenhead, Edinburgh, 1696) and transportation to Botany Bay (Thomas Fyshe Palmer, Dundee, 1793) is fortunately long past; and also long departed are our 19th. century giants, who, by their deeds, moulded Scottish Unitarianism in their pursuit of religious freedom, innovation and social justice, Alexander Webster (Aberdeen), Henry Williamson (Dundee) George Hope and Robert Drummond (Edinburgh) Henry Crosskey and John Page Hopps (Glasgow). They have bequeathed us an agenda, which in our modest way we, severally, try to honour in our service to the community, our support of inter-faith activities and our on-going concern with freedom and fair-play, at home and abroad.
Each Congregation is situated in its own city-centre premises and Edinburgh still occupies its 1835 building, the exuberant facade now restored. The others, having been obliged to surrender their own architectural heritage to the importunities of town-planners and economic exigencies, occupy in the case of Aberdeen, a former chapel building from the early 1900’s, Glasgow, a modern building and Dundee, a specially built, mid 20th century building.
Although a coordinating body, and dependent for most of its funding upon its constituent Churches, the SUA, by means of its Annual Meeting and its Executive Committee, which meets at least three times a year, is also empowered to act on its own behalf and, therefore, is a supporter of various institutions, including Jubilee 2000, and Interfaith Scotland. The SUA was a founder member of its predecessor, the Scottish Interfaith Council.
The SUA celebrated its 200th Anniversary in Edinburgh in mid-September 2013 being accorded a Civic Reception in the Town House on the Friday and by a days celebration on the Saturday in St Marks Unitarian Church. 1813 an’ a’ that! was a presentation in verse and song put together by Bill Stephen, a past Secretary and President of the Association from Aberdeen about the history of the Association.