The theological belief that all people will ultimately be saved and reconciled with God, regardless of their earthly beliefs or actions. This doctrine rejects the concept of eternal damnation.
From Latin 'universalis' meaning 'of or belonging to all.' The doctrine emerged in early Christianity with theologians like Origen, was revived during the Reformation, and became organized as Universalist churches in 18th-century America.
Universalism was so controversial that universalist preachers were literally run out of colonial American towns—people preferred the fear of hell to the 'dangerous' idea that everyone gets saved! Yet this 'heretical' idea has quietly influenced mainstream Christianity's move away from fire-and-brimstone preaching.
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