Who was Eric Butterworth?



Eric Butterworth (Unity Library and Archives)

 Eric Butterworth (1916-2003) demonstrated stability and resolve throughout his life. Daily he shared his message of individual divinity and the process for making enlightened choices.  He was a profound philosopher, a thoughtful theologian, an inspiring speaker and a gifted writer of sixteen books. 

Butterworth did not seek notoriety – it sought him.  The 40th anniversary edition of his book, Discover the Power Within You, was recently printed with a foreword by Maya Angelou.  Oprah Winfrey shared “This book changed my perspective on life and religion.”  The late Norman Vincent Peale told readers “This book really does release the power within us all."

Butterworth’s life began in an agricultural capital: Winnipeg,  Canada.  In his youth, the city suffered from reduced use of the nearby canal and rail traffic when business began to use the new Panama Canal more frequently.  Strikes followed a postwar recession.  He experienced childhood in Southern California.  His college education included time at Fresno State University in Fresno, California, at the foot of the imposing Sierra Nevada mountain range.  He also attended the Lutheran based Capital University in Columbus,  Ohio.  During World War II he served in as an army lieutenant in the Medical Corps.  He trained medical personnel while helping as a chaplain.   He attended the Unity Training School near Kansas City, Missouri and was ordained as a Unity minister in 1948.  His mother, a longtime Unity student, had been ordained in 1941.

Butterworth first served Unity centers in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania and Detroit, Michigan.  His career peaked in the financial capital of the world: New York  City.  For many years he held Sunday morning services in large lecture halls including Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center.  He embraced his students with encouragement.  He expected them to live their best.  He referred to sin as “self-inflicted nonsense.”  If sin is a mistake, “missing the mark,” or feeling separate from God, it is based on personal choices.  We have all inflicted some circumstances on ourselves.  As Eric Butterworth encouraged, our task in life is to rise above our limitations and our embedded theology, to explore life and enjoy doing it!