 In the mid-1930s, Adams spent considerable time in Germany, where he befriended several notable religious figures (including Karl Barth and Albert Schweitzer) who were active in clandestine resistance to the rise of Nazism.In 1937, Adams began a long career in academia by joining the faculty of Meadville Theological School (now Meadville Lombard Theological School) in Chicago.While there, he became a member of the First Unitarian Church of Chicago and served on its board of trustees.