The context of the term in the above examples relates to the tension from the 1830s onward between more traditional and relatively scripture-fundamentalist Unitarians and those advocating a freer approach such as transcendentalists Theodore Parker and James Martineau. This conflict came to a head in 1876 when Robert Spears resigned from the British and Foreign Unitarian Association and, with the support of Sharpe, a former president of the Association, began to publish a rival magazine.
The context of the term in the above examples relates to the clash from the 1830s onward between more conservative and strictly scripture-based Unitarians and those advocating a more liberal approach, such as transcendentalists Theodore Parker and James Martineau. This disagreement reached its peak in 1876 when Robert Spears quit the British and Foreign Unitarian Association and, with Sharpe's backing, started publishing a competing magazine.