Publishes first major religious reference work

In 1784, Hannah Adams published her first major work, "An Alphabetical Compendium of the Various Sects", later retitled "A View of Religious Opinions" and eventually "Dictionary of Religions" in subsequent editions. The book offered a remarkably even-handed, alphabetically organized survey of world religious sects and denominations, drawing on primary texts and adherents' own descriptions rather than polemical secondhand accounts.

This was a groundbreaking approach in an era when religious writing was overwhelmingly sectarian and often hostile toward rival denominations. Adams's effort to present each faith fairly, in its own terms, was novel and won her admiration from scholars and clergy across denominational lines, including figures such as the Reverend Jeremy Belknap, who assisted her in securing a publisher.

The financial arrangement she made was, however, exploitative by later standards—her original publisher paid her little and retained most profits, a bitter lesson that spurred her to become fiercely protective of her rights in later editions and works. Nevertheless, the book's publication marked the beginning of Adams's career as a professional reference author and one of the first instances of an American woman publishing a scholarly reference work intended for wide public and academic use.