Charles Francis Potter (October 28, 1885 – October 4, 1962) was an American Unitarian minister, theologian, and author. In 1923 and 1924, he became nationally known through a series of debates with

John Roach Straton John Roach Straton (surname rhymes with "Dayton"); born April 6, 1875, in Evansville, Indiana; died October 29, 1929, in Clifton Springs, New York) was a Baptist pastor. Straton was the son of the Reverend Henry Dundas Douglas Straton and the f ...

, a fundamentalist Christian. They were soon published in four volumes entitled ''The Battle Over the Bible'', ''Evolution versus Creation'', ''The Virgin Birth—Fact or Fiction?'' and ''Was Christ Both Man and God?''

Scopes Trial

In 1925 he was adviser on the Bible to Clarence Darrow in his defense of

John Thomas Scopes John Thomas Scopes (August 3, 1900 – October 21, 1970) was a teacher in Dayton, Tennessee, who was charged on May 5, 1925, with violating Tennessee's Butler Act, which prohibited the teaching of human evolution in Tennessee schools. He was trie ...

, a schoolteacher who was charged with teaching evolution in his classes.

Education

He was born in

Marlborough, Massachusetts Marlborough is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 41,793 at the 2020 census. Marlborough became a prosperous industrial town in the 19th century and made the transition to high technology industry in the ...

, where his father was a shoe-factory worker, and received his education at Bucknell University,

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

and Newton Theological Institution. Beginning his career as a Baptist minister, his developing liberal theological views led him to resign his ministry and convert to Unitarianism serving in a number of congregations before being called to the West Side Unitarian Church in New York City in 1920. However, he resigned his position in 1925 because, he explained, even a liberal pulpit did not afford all the necessary freedom of expression. The next year he took a position of professor of comparative religion at Antioch College.

Humanism

In 1927 Potter returned to the ministry at the

Church of the Divine Paternity The Fourth Universalist Society in the City of New York is a congregation within the Unitarian Universalist Association located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It is the last surviving of seven Universalist congregations in the city, founded ...

, a Universalist congregation on Manhattan's Upper West Side. In 1929, his progressive ideas led him to resign his post and found the

First Humanist Society of New York In 1929 Charles Francis Potter founded the First Humanist Society of New York whose advisory board included Julian Huxley, John Dewey, Albert Einstein, and Thomas Mann. Potter was a minister from the Unitarian tradition and in 1930 he and his wife ...

, whose advisory board included

Julian Huxley Sir Julian Sorell Huxley (22 June 1887 – 14 February 1975) was an English evolutionary biologist, eugenicist, and internationalist. He was a proponent of natural selection, and a leading figure in the mid-twentieth century modern synthesis. ...

John Dewey John Dewey (; October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. He was one of the most prominent American scholars in the f ...

, Albert Einstein, and Thomas Mann. Together with Dewey, Potter was one of the original 34 signers of the first '' Humanist Manifesto'' in 1933. "Humanism is not the abolition of religion," Potter was quoted as saying, "but the beginning of real religion. By freeing religion of supernaturalism, it will release tremendous reserves of hitherto thwarted power. Man has waited too long for God to do what man ought to do himself and is fully capable of doing." It was to be, he said, "a religion of common sense; and the chief end of man is to improve himself, both as an individual and as a race."

Social justice

Potter became a vocal advocate for social reform, campaigning vigorously against capital punishment, promoting "civil divorce laws," and supporting birth control and women's rights. He was also the founder, in 1938, of the

Euthanasia Society of America The Euthanasia Society of America was founded in 1938 to promote euthanasia. It was co-founded by Charles Francis Potter and Ann Mitchell. Alice Naumberg (mother of Ruth P. Smith) also helped to found the group. The group initially supported bo ...

, helping to raise the issue of euthanasia before the American public.

Published works

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References

External links

Dictionary of Unitarian & Universalist Biography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Potter, Charles 1885 births 1962 deaths American Unitarians American humanists