Samuel Hopkins was an American Congregationalist, theologian of the late colonial era of the United States, and from whom the Hopkinsian

New Divinity

The New Divinity is a system of Christian theology that was very prominent in New England in the late 18th century...

 theology takes its name.

Early life

Samuel Hopkins (the younger) was born in Waterbury, Connecticut

Waterbury, Connecticut

Waterbury is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, on the Naugatuck River, 33 miles southwest of Hartford and 77 miles northeast of New York City...

 and was named after his uncle, Samuel Hopkins (1693–1755), a minister in the church in West Springfield, Massachusetts

West Springfield, Massachusetts

The Town of West Springfield is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 28,391 at the 2010 census...

. Hopkins graduated from Yale College

Yale College

Yale College was the official name of Yale University from 1718 to 1887. The name now refers to the undergraduate part of the university. Each undergraduate student is assigned to one of 12 residential colleges.-Residential colleges:...

 in 1741, then studied divinity in Northampton, Massachusetts

Northampton, Massachusetts

The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of Northampton's central neighborhoods, was 28,549...

 with his brother-in-law Jonathan Edwards. He was licensed to preach in 1742, and in December 1743 was ordained pastor of the North Parish of Sheffield (now Great Barrington) in Housatonic, Massachusetts

Housatonic, Massachusetts

Housatonic is a village and census-designated place in the town of Great Barrington in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,335 at the 2000 census....

, a small settlement of only 30 families, from 1743 to 1769. Hopkins theological views were faced opposition and was finally dismissed from the pastorate on the grounds of lack of funds for his support. From April 1770 until his death in 1803 Hopkins preached at the First Congregational Church in Newport, Rhode Island

Newport, Rhode Island

Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...

  While the British occupied Newport from 1776-1780, Hopkins preached at Newburyport, Massachusetts

Newburyport, Massachusetts

Newburyport is a small coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, 35 miles northeast of Boston. The population was 21,189 at the 2000 census. A historic seaport with a vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island...

, and Canterbury

Canterbury, Connecticut

Canterbury is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 4,692 at the 2000 census.-History:The area was first settled in the 1680s as Peagscomsuck, consisting mainly of land north of Norwich, south of New Roxbury, Massachusetts and west of the Quinebaug River and the...

 and Stamford, Connecticut

Stamford, Connecticut

Stamford is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 122,643, making it the fourth largest city in the state and the eighth largest city in New England...

.
Hopkins received a Doctor of Divinity

Doctor of Divinity

Doctor of Divinity is an advanced academic degree in divinity. Historically, it identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christian theology or related religious subjects....

 from Yale in 1802.

Theological Contributions

He created the theological scheme that bears his name, Hopkinsianism, also known as the New Divinity

New Divinity

The New Divinity is a system of Christian theology that was very prominent in New England in the late 18th century...

. This religious system is a form of Calvinism

Calvinism

Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...

 which its adherents called "consistent Calvinism." Hopkins is credited with originating the concept of "disinterested benevolence". The view evolved into a distinct theology under Nathaniel W. Taylor, a later instructor of theology at Yale Divinity School

Yale Divinity School

Yale Divinity School is a professional school at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. preparing students for ordained or lay ministry, or for the academy...

, known as the "New Haven Theology" or New England theology

New England theology

New England theology, in the technical sense of these words, designates a special school of theology which grew up among the Congregationalists of New England, originating in the year 1732, when Jonathan Edwards began his constructive theological work, culminating a little before the American Civil...

, which became important in the Second Great Awakening

Second Great Awakening

The Second Great Awakening was a Christian revival movement during the early 19th century in the United States. The movement began around 1800, had begun to gain momentum by 1820, and was in decline by 1870. The Second Great Awakening expressed Arminian theology, by which every person could be...

. Originally a slaveholder, Hopkins was one of the first of the Congregationalist ministers to denounce slavery. His efforts coincided with the 1774 law that forbade the importation of slaves into Rhode Island, and the 1784 law that granted freedom to all slaves born in Rhode Island after March 1785. During America's war of independence, Hopkins' school for negro missionaries to Africa was broken up due to the confusion.

Abolitionist Advocacy

An early opponent to the institution of slavery

Slavery

Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...

, he published a pamphlet entitled, "A Dialogue Concerning the Slavery of the Africans," which was addressed "To the Honorable Members of the Continental Congress, Representatives of the Thirteen United American Colonies."

Publications

• A Dialogue concerning the Slavery of the Africans, showing it to be the Duty and Interest of the American States to emancipate all their African Slaves (1776)
• A Discourse upon the Slave Trade and the History of the Africans (1793)
• A System of Doctrines Contained in Divine Revelation, Explained and Defended (1793)
• Life and Character of Jonathan Edwards (1799)

Sources and references

Patten, William, Reminiscences of the late Rev. Samuel Hopkins, D.D., of Newport, R.I. Illustrated in His Character and Doctrines, Providence, R.I., 1843.

External links

• The works of Samuel Hopkins, Volume 1 by Samuel Hopkins, Edwards Amasa Park, Sewall Harding (Doctrinal Tract and Book Society, 1852)