William James Potter from Convinced Quaker to Prophet of Free Religion

William James Potter’S Name Is Virtually Unknown To Contemporary Unitarian Universalists Even By Many Of Those Who Consider Themselves Scholars Of This Liberal Religious Movement. Why Forgotten? He Was A Founder And The Mainstay Of The Free Religious Association An Organization Whose Members Radically Transformed American Unitarianism And Had A Significant Influence On American Public Life. He Was The President Of The Index Association And Later Editor Of That Influential Journal Of Religious And Social Commentary. Few Remember That Association Or The Journal Still Fewer Potter. Coming Of Humble Origins Shy And Withdrawn By Temperament He Did Little To Put Himself Forward.