author
Orville Dewey
1794–1882
Raised on a Massachusetts farm and later drawn to liberal religion, this 19th-century preacher became known for thoughtful sermons and warmly reasoned essays. His writing reflects a practical, humane faith that helped shape American Unitarianism.
2 Audiobooks
Christianity and Modern Thought
by Henry W. (Henry Whitney) Bellows, James Freeman Clarke, Athanase Coquerel, Orville Dewey, Charles Carroll Everett, Frederic Henry Hedge, James Martineau, Andrew P. (Andrew Preston) Peabody, George Vance Smith, Oliver Stearns
About the author
Born in Sheffield, Massachusetts, in 1794, Orville Dewey grew up working on his father's farm before studying at Williams College, where he graduated in 1814, and at Andover Theological Seminary, finishing in 1819. He later embraced Unitarianism and became closely associated with some of the movement's leading voices.
Dewey served as assistant to William Ellery Channing in Boston and went on to minister to congregations in New Bedford, New York, and Boston. He was widely admired as a preacher and lecturer, known for clear, persuasive sermons rather than abstract theology.
He also wrote extensively, including sermons, essays, and autobiographical work published after his death. Dewey died in 1882, remembered as an influential American Unitarian minister whose books carried his generous, reflective style to a wider audience.