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• universalism
  universalism

  noun

  universal character; universality.
• Universalism
  Universalism

  noun

  a system of religious beliefs maintaining that all men are predestined for salvation

universalism

American  

[yoo-nuh-vur-suh-liz-uhm] / ˌju nəˈvɜr səˌlɪz əm /

noun

1. universal character; universality.

2. a universal range of knowledge, interests, or activities.

3. (initial capital letter) the doctrine that emphasizes the universal fatherhood of God and the final salvation of all souls.

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universalism ¹ British  

/ ˌjuːnɪˈvɜːsəˌlɪzəm /

noun

1. a universal feature or characteristic

2. another word for universality

3. social welfare the principle that welfare services should be available to all by right, according to need, and not restricted by individual ability to pay, but funded by general contributions through taxes, rates, or national insurance payments

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Universalism ² British  

/ ˌjuːnɪˈvɜːsəˌlɪzəm /

noun

1. a system of religious beliefs maintaining that all men are predestined for salvation

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Other Word Forms

• Universalist
  noun

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Etymology

Origin of universalism

First recorded in 1795–1805; universal + -ism

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

universalism Universalism

It is a repudiation of cosmopolitan universalism in favor of historical continuity and particular identity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 19, 2026

“They will be Palestinian New Yorkers in Bay Ridge who will no longer have to contend with a politics that speaks of universalism and then makes them the exception.”

From Slate ● Jan. 3, 2026

"The broad universalism standing at the center of the Gospel makes brotherhood morally inescapable," he said at a conference on Christian faith.

From Salon ● Oct. 18, 2024

Brustein’s universalism grew ornerier and more claustrophobic with age.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 8, 2023

The loss of national independence prepared for the universalism of Jesus Christ and St. Paul.

From The Expositor's Bible: The Epistle to the Hebrews by Thomas Charles Edwards

As the novel opens, she has returned to the Unitarian Universalism bequeathed by her parents.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 19, 2022

Universalism Very eagle-eyed viewers have spotted small references to Schur’s sitcoms taking place in the same universe.

From The Guardian ● May 26, 2018

The century’s most famous Catholic convert, a journalist named Orestes Brownson, tried Congregationalism, Presbyterianism, Universalism, Unitarianism, and Transcendentalism on his way to Catholicism.

From Slate ● Jul. 8, 2015

Shawn Dove: There has been a growing body of research, most notably that of John Powell’s Targeted Universalism, that reveals that improved outcomes for a targeted population requires targeted investments and interventions.

From Forbes ● Apr. 14, 2015

In another article Mr. Gladstone objects to Universalism as a contradiction of Divine utterance. 

From The Real Gladstone an Anecdotal Biography by J. Ewing (James Ewing) Ritchie

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