Samuel Hopkins

Samuel Hopkins (born Sept. 17, 1721, Waterbury, Conn. [U.S.]—died Dec. 20, 1803, Newport, R.I.) was an American theologian and writer who was one of the first Congregationalists to oppose slavery.

After studying divinity in Northampton, Mass., with the Puritan theologian Jonathan Edwards, in whose home he lived, Hopkins was ordained (1743) as minister of the Congregational Church at Housatonic (now Great Barrington), Mass. He served there until 1769, but his reputation as an inept preacher, combined with his unorthodox attitudes toward church membership and baptism, led to his dismissal. From 1770 until his death he was minister of the First Congregational Church in Newport, where he was active in opposing the slave trade that flourished there. He raised money to free numerous slaves, but he failed to realize his plan to establish colonies for them in Africa.

Hopkins’ belief in the need and the desirability of social service is implicit in his major work, The System of Doctrines Contained in Divine Revelation (1793). His system, which became popular as “Hopkinsianism,” reflected many of Edwards’ views on the relation of God to man. He contended that man must overcome self-love (sin) by disinterested benevolence and by complete submission to God’s will—even if submission means a willingness to be damned. Hopkins’ views helped to expand missionary activity in America and abroad, particularly in Africa.