The Hibbert Trust was founded in 1847 under the will of Robert Hibbert, a Unitarian. It seeks to promote public interest and private scholarship in "Christianity in its simplest and most intelligible form." The Trust also administers the Case Fund, left to the Trust in the will of Rev George Case, which seeks to promote liberal religion more generally and upholds "the unfettered exercise of private judgement in matters of religion."
The Hibbert Lectures have been promoted by the Trust for over 100 years, and have been given by such distinguished persons as Max Muller, Ernest Renan, Albert Schweitzer, and Sir Rabindranath Tagore, among others. In more recent times they have been broadcast by the BBC and speakers have included the Venerable Bede Griffith and Jonathon Porritt.
The Hibbert Assemblies offer worldwide distribution of non-denominational material for school assemblies on a range of topics.
In 2011, "Shaping the Future", the report of a collaborative inquiry into the future of Unitarianism and Liberal Religion was published by the Trust. An executive summary is also available for download.
The Trust also awards scholarships to Unitarian ministers and lay people, supports publications such as The Inquirer and Faith & Freedom, and finances projects ranging from international interfaith work to local seminars.
