Jonathan French

Jonathan French (1720–1793) was a New England Congregationalist minister whose theological writings, particularly his Election Sermon, exemplified the moderate Calvinist thought that dominated late eighteenth-century American Protestantism. His work reflected the intellectual currents of the Great Awakening's aftermath, balancing traditional Reformed doctrine with emerging concerns about human agency and moral responsibility. French's contributions to the sermon literature of his era illuminate the theological preoccupations of Revolutionary-era New England clergy navigating between doctrinal orthodoxy and Enlightenment rationalism.