Francis Ellingwood Abbot
About the Author
Francis Ellingwood Abbot (1836-1903) was an American Unitarian minister, philosopher, and religious reformer. Born in Boston, he graduated from Harvard in 1859, studied at Harvard Divinity School and Meadville Theological School, and earned a Harvard Ph.D. in 1881. After ministries in Dover, New Hampshire, and Toledo, Ohio, he co-founded the Free Religious Association in 1867 and edited its weekly journal, The Index, from 1870 to 1880. Abbot advocated a religious liberalism shaped by reason, scientific inquiry, and evolutionary thought, which he developed as “scientific theism.” His books include The Impeachment of Christianity (1872), Scientific Theism (1885), The Way Out of Agnosticism (1890), and the posthumously published The Syllogistic Philosophy (1906).
Resources by Francis Ellingwood Abbot
The Way Out of Agnosticism; or, The Philosophy of Free Religion
Based on forty-one lectures delivered in Harvard University's Advanced Course, Philosophy 13, in 1888, this work argues for a constructive religious liberalism grounded in science and philosophy. Abbot presents a direct response to nineteenth-century agnosticism, aiming to defend enlightened theism by examining and philosophically extending the scientific method.
Read LessArticle and chapter contributions
Entries this person contributed to inside a larger issue or volume. They are not listed as authors of the whole issue.
- Proceedings at the Eighth Annual Meeting of the Free Religious Association — Essay by Francis E. Abbot (Author) — 47
- Proceedings at the Third Annual Meeting of the Free Religious Association, Held in Boston, May 26 and 27, 1870 — Address of Francis Ellingwood Abbot (Contributor) — 43
- Freedom and Fellowship in Religion: A Collection of Essays and Addresses — The Genius of Christianity and Free Religion (Author) — 222