The Oxford Group was a semi-religious and political movement led by Frank Buchman in the early 20th century. It focused on surrendering one’s life to God and living by his principles, but did not favor one sect of Christianity over another. The group faced criticism for its beliefs and practices, including Buchman’s interview about Hitler. The principles of the group have influenced Alcoholics Anonymous, and the Oxford Group later changed its name to Initiatives for Change.
The Oxford Group is a semi-religious and political movement that swept across parts of Europe and America in the early 20th century. Its nominal leader was Frank Buchman, who had a religious conversion to Christianity in the 1900s, and who would later found the group in 1908 based on his religious beliefs. The group is perhaps best remembered because Bill Wilson, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) was a member of the group and adopted many of his ideas for AA Likewise, Dr. Bob, or Robert Smith, was also a member of the group and a founding member of AA
Although the Oxford group movement, also called moral rearmament, was based primarily on Christian beliefs, it did not embrace one sect of Christianity more than another. Instead, Christians and non-believers alike gathered in informal settings to learn how to surrender their lives to God or a higher power and to learn to be guided only by his principles. Unlike many standard religious sects, Oxford Group meetings did not take place in temples or churches. Most meetings took place in houses or halls, and each meeting could elect a specific leader or moderator for the night.
Considerable bad press followed the Oxford groups on several key issues. First, a number of traditional religious groups, including the Church of England and many Catholic groups, have criticized it. However, it attracted both Catholics and Anglicans, as the group was not incompatible with most religious objects from either church.
Secondly, the Oxford Group has built a large and expensive complex on Mackinac Island. The use of funds and the belief that prosperity was compatible with divine life were used as the group’s point of attack. However, the group did not charge for membership, and indeed no formal membership existed. People attending meetings may be asked to contribute, but not told to.
Perhaps most damning was Buchman’s interview before World War II about the possible benefit Hitler could bring. He downplayed Nazi anti-Semitism. Although he later expressed public regret at this interview and at accepting any help from Hitler for the German factions of the group, it was certainly a blight on the continued success of the Oxford groups.
The principles by which the Oxford groups lived were as follows:
Sin sharing and conversion stories
Surrender your life to the higher power of God
I try to give back to anyone a person has hurt
Rely on God’s guidance in all words and deeds.
It is very clear that God and not Buchman or anyone else in the group was the leader. People were asked to surrender their lives to God and bear witness of their sins and problems before or after this surrender. Some Christian groups were particularly offended by the idea that people could actually “hear from God” or claim that their actions were guided by God. Others felt that the denominational nature of the meetings was too revealing and were downright uncomfortable.
The fervor for the initial Oxford groups has gradually waned, but AA are certainly still very active. AA is no longer exclusively Christian, and in fact some groups are specifically non-religious. A higher power can be anything you designate in certain groups. The Oxford Group shifted its focus to championing personal accountability in reshaping a peaceful world and officially changed its name to Initiatives for Change (IOC) in 2001. The CIO has far greater worldwide respect and branches around the world . It even consults with the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
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