Paul Coffin

Paul Coffin was an eighteenth-century American clergyman whose Election Sermon exemplified the theological and political discourse of the Revolutionary era, blending Calvinist doctrine with emerging republican ideals. His work contributed to the broader ministerial tradition of using election sermons as vehicles for articulating the relationship between divine providence and civil governance during a period of significant social and political transformation. Coffin's theological writings reflect the intellectual currents of New England Protestantism as it grappled with questions of religious authority and democratic participation in the founding period.