a "spin-off" faith from the severe Puritanism of the past. Unitarians believed that God existed in only one person and not in the orthodox trinity. They also denied the divinity of Jesus, stressed the essential goodness of human nature, proclaimed their belief in free will and the possibility of salvation through good works, and pictured God as a loving father rather than a stern creator. The Unitarian movement began in New England at the end of the eighteenth century and was embraced by many of the leading "thinkers" or intellectuals of the day. It appealed to them because of the rationalism and optimism contrasted sharply with the doctrines of Calvinism. (Ch 18,pg 320)