Jared Eliot

Jared Eliot (1685–1763) was a Connecticut minister and natural philosopher whose theological writings, particularly *Give Caesar His Due*, articulated a moderate Calvinist perspective on civil authority and religious liberty during the early American colonial period. His work synthesized Puritan ecclesiastical tradition with emerging Enlightenment thought, influencing contemporary debates over the proper relationship between church and state in New England. Eliot's contributions to both theology and agricultural science exemplified the intellectual versatility characteristic of colonial American clergy.