Samuel Haven

Samuel Haven (1727–1786) was a prominent New England Congregationalist minister whose theological writings, particularly his election sermons, articulated the intellectual foundations of Revolutionary-era Protestantism and its relationship to civic virtue and democratic governance. His work exemplified the transitional theology of the late eighteenth century, bridging Calvinist orthodoxy with emerging Enlightenment rationalism while addressing the spiritual dimensions of American independence. Haven's sermons remain significant primary sources for understanding how New England clergy negotiated between traditional Reformed theology and the ideological demands of the Revolutionary period.