Universalist

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. A person advocating that spiritual salvation or moral principles extend to all people universally
2. Someone who promotes the application of the same fundamental values or doctrines across all of humanity
3. An individual who believes that ethical truths or spiritual redemption apply to every person without exception

Etymology: "Universalist" is a plain English formation: "universal" with the suffix "-ist" attached, meaning one who holds a particular belief. The suffix has a long ancestry. It descends from Ancient Greek "-istēs," an agent suffix used to form nouns for people who practise or follow something, and it reached English by way of Latin "-ista," then Old French "-iste," and Middle English "-ist." The base word, "universal," comes from Latin "universalis," built from "universus," meaning "whole" or "entire," literally "turned into one." Put the two together and a universalist is someone who holds to the idea that everything, or everyone, belongs within a single scheme. The term's religious sense, a believer in universal salvation, follows naturally from that idea: all people will ultimately be saved.

Synonyms: ecumenist, unifier, globalist

Antonyms: particularist, sectarian