Unitarianism and animal rights
Unitarianism is the key to developing a progressive Christianity, particularly if you value animal rights. In short, Unitarianism is the belief Jesus of Nazareth was inspired by the divine, but not equal to God. Without Unitarianism, Christian campaigners would be limited by the moral perspective of a first-century preacher, however expansive that view may have been.
For instance, if you believe Jesus was God, you must believe his every act was perfect, including his relationship to animals. This is an untenable belief for me, as an anti-speciesist. The New Testament doesn’t suggest Jesus was a vegetarian, let alone a vegan. Records of his life outside of Christian scripture are scant. So there’s not much else to go on.
Thankfully, there are many passages in the New Testament which support Unitarianism. The ones most persuasive to me come from an episode in which Jesus counsels a rich man. They are repeated, in slightly different forms, in all the Synoptic Gospels. Specifically, you can find the episode I’m discussing in Matthew 19:16-30, Mark 10:17-31, and Luke 18:18-30.
They’re very similar, but let’s look at the Gospel of Mark. A rich man asks Jesus how to obtain eternal life, referring to him as a good teacher. Jesus responds this way in the New International Version. “Why do you call me good?” He asks. “No one is good — except God alone.” The trouble this answer poses to Trinitarian theology is obvious. Jesus differentiates himself from God.
Trinitarians tie themselves in knots trying to explain these passages. Frankly, none of their explanations make much sense. The most logical explanation to me is just to take Jesus at his word. He’s not perfect. He’s not God. He’s a teacher. The New Testament presents a number of conflicting theological views. I don’t need textual support for Unitarianism, but for those who do, it’s there.
Once we dispense with the idea Jesus was God, we can interpret Christian principles in ways he likely never intended. For instance, as animal protectionists, we can say the Golden Rule applies to other creatures. We can say loving your neighbor includes all sentient beings. We can say those working to reduce nonhuman suffering and death are peacemakers.
It opens up so many possibilities for Christianity. I believe part of the reason organized religion is struggling in the United States is because of Christianity’s failure to adapt to modern times. For many people, the faith is simply not relevant or hopelessly backward. Unitarianism gives us the theological tools to change that.
My limited historical knowledge is this religious perspective used to be much more common than it is today. There have been four Unitarian presidents of the country! Disbelief in the Trinity can imply a range of Christologies and I don’t know the views of John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Millard Fillmore or William Taft.
My understanding is some Unitarians aren’t actually so different from Trinitarians, in that they elevate Jesus to a near God-like status. Still, it’s a little surprising this alternate view of Christianity was at one point so mainstream four men who claimed it were elevated to the highest political office in the country.