Divinity Atlas

Sacred Correspondences
New Religious Movements

The Millerite Movement

Apocalyptic Movements

Citation Formats

General Reference

APA Style

BibTeX

Origin 1831 to 1844

The Millerite movement grew in the 1830s and early 1840s around the Baptist preacher William Miller's biblically calculated prediction that Christ would return between 1843 and 1844. When a final recalculated date, 22 October 1844, passed without the expected return, the failure became known among Millerites as the Great Disappointment, dissolving the movement's unified following. Several successor bodies trace their origin directly to the Millerite movement's aftermath, most notably Seventh-day Adventism, making it one of American religious history's most consequential apocalyptic movements.

Facts
Origins
Origin Period
1831 to 1844 1
The dates mark the movement from 1831, when William Miller began publicly preaching his calculation that Christ would return around 1843, to 22 October 1844, the recalculated date whose passing without the expected return became known among Millerites as the Great Disappointment.
Origin Period
1830s to 1844 (Great Disappointment) 1
Place of Origin
Upstate New York, where the Baptist preacher William Miller lived and first preached his prediction 1
Founder
William Miller 1
Status
Status Today
Historical; not practised continuously 1
Cross-Tradition Connections

Associated With

Baptist, Denominations

This source names Baptist directly: "the 1830s and early 1840s around the Baptist preacher William Miller's biblically calculated prediction that Christ would return between 1843 and 1844."

Source Encyclopedia of American ReligionsJ. Gordon Melton

This source names Seventh-day Adventism directly: "movement's aftermath, most notably Seventh-day Adventism, making it one of American religious history's most consequential apocalyptic movements."

Source Encyclopedia of American ReligionsJ. Gordon Melton

Objects and Practices of This Tradition

Related To

Studied By

Succeeded By

Sources
1. Encyclopedia of American Religions
J. Gordon Melton, Gale, 2009s.v. Millerite movement; Great DisappointmentView the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.

View At A Past Year

Choose a year to see this entry's facts and connections as the atlas records them at that moment: what it held then, what it held instead, and what it had not yet adopted. Choose Present for the current record.