Zabdiel Adams

Zabdiel Adams (1739–1801) was a Massachusetts Congregational minister whose theological writings, particularly his Election Sermon, exemplified the moderate Calvinist thought that dominated New England pulpits during the Revolutionary and early Federal periods. His sermons engaged contemporary debates over divine sovereignty, human agency, and the moral foundations of republican governance, reflecting the intellectual currents that shaped American Protestant theology in the late eighteenth century. Adams's ecclesiastical career and published works contributed to the broader discourse through which New England clergy negotiated traditional Reformed doctrine with Enlightenment rationalism and emerging democratic ideals.