Welcome to this bonus episode of "Becoming Barnum: The Journey to Fame and Fortune." In this episode, we delve into the lesser-known aspects of P.T. Barnum's life, particularly his writings and his faith.
As we've discovered throughout this podcast, Barnum had a talent for writing and was a prolific letter writer. Before his circus days, he even published the Herald of Freedom newspaper in Danbury, Connecticut. However, his outspoken opinions led to his imprisonment for a sixty-day sentence. True to his nature, Barnum turned this adversity into an opportunity for profit. Not only did he continue publishing his paper while in jail, but he also expanded his subscriber list and shamelessly promoted himself. Additionally, during this period, he contributed articles to the New York Atlas newspaper.
Beyond his newspaper endeavors, Barnum wrote several books. The most well-known among them is his autobiography, which underwent multiple revisions over the years. He also penned a self-help book titled "The Art of Money Getting," reflecting his insights on financial success.
Throughout our exploration of Barnum's letters, we discovered that he rarely discussed his Christian faith explicitly. While he alluded to it on occasion, his correspondence primarily focused on business and personal matters rather than matters of religion, faith, or philosophy. Nevertheless, it was evident that Barnum's deep faith in God served as an undercurrent in his letters, providing him solace during times of worry and anxiety, such as when he feared for the health of his daughter Helen or the well-being of his wife during childbirth.
Barnum's faith was an integral part of his worldview, albeit with a unique twist. Although he identified as a Christian, he subscribed to Universalism—a belief in the salvation of all people. This perspective differed from the majority of Christian denominations, which endorse some form of limited salvation for the chosen few or those who profess their faith in God.
During Barnum's time, the Universalist church was a prominent and vibrant Christian denomination, distinct from the Unitarian church with which it now shares a name. Unitarians rejected the orthodox Christian doctrine of the Trinity, while Universalists maintained a typical Trinitarian belief system, with the exception of their universalist stance on salvation. Notable figures, including John Adams, were Unitarians.
In 1961, the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America merged, giving rise to the Unitarian-Universalist Association that exists today.
In this episode, we present Barnum's own words on his Universalist beliefs. We feature his short article titled "Why I am a Universalist," a response to an English Secularist's tract called "The Christian Doctrine of Hell." Barnum's article was originally published in the Christian World newspaper in London. It was later included in a booklet published by the Universalist Church in 1897. For those interested, we have provided a link to the booklet in the show notes.
Join us as we delve into P.T. Barnum's unique faith and explore his thoughts on Universalism in this thought-provoking episode.
[Link to the booklet: Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11134/110002:5496]
