Caleb Rich
From Philosopedia
Rich, Caleb (1750–1821)
Although John Murray’s Gloucester Church is considered the first officially recognized Universalist Church, Caleb Rich’s church founded in Warwick, Massachusetts, in 1773 predates Murray’s church, although it had no official legal recognition.
When twenty-one, Rich became a Baptist but began to believe that a fear of Hell is a selfish (and therefore tainted) motive for religious experience and moral action. His rebellion against the use of Hell as a motive for conversion grew and was supplemented by visionary religious experiences confirming in him the doctrines of universal salvation. The Baptists then excluded him, which led to his forming the Warwick church.
One of Rich’s converts to Universalism was Hosea Ballou.
