April 24, 1876 Letter to unidentified recipient

The Free Religious Association was founded by liberals who broke away from the Unitarians in 1866. Both Francis Ellingwood Abbot and Octavius B. Frothingham, the other members of the Committee of Arrangements on behalf of which Higginson writes, helped found the Free Religious Association in 1867. Frothingham also wrote the first history of the Transcendentalist movement, titled Transcendentalism in New England, published in 1876 and giving some discussion to Higginson as part of this movement.

The FRA promoted liberty of religious thought, humanitarian action, and the scientific study of theology. Higginson was also active from the founding of the organization and attended its first convention in 1867. After he left the liberal church in Worchester, Higginson never took another position as minister. His ideas about religion were increasingly ecumenical and more directed at humanitarianism than theology. This 1876 letter lining up an unnamed "liberal-minded lawyer" as a speaker for the annual convention indicates Higginson's continued interest and involvement with the Free Religious Association.