How Did Religion Influence Early American Culture

Rummel gives an analysis of the history and development of Puritanism in New England during the 1600s. In simple words how the people had formed a society in order to reform England and separate church from government. Puritans had God as an almighty, they were known as people with strict education, solitary environment, and own beliefs such as their obsession with the devil, evil and good. Rummel states that even if Hawthorne mentions religion in his short stories most of it Puritanism, he still never recommended any particular opinion. The story is focused on Puritan elements and Hawthorne’s approach to it. Hawthorne uses religious phrases and elements that makes the reader analyze each several object, action, figure, and scenario in the story. That’s why Goodman Brown has too much conflict going on and is very detailed on what he feels and sees. The article is one great piece of information that supports the understanding of the Puritan religious mindset and Hawthorne’s attitude towards it. Of course into the interpretation of what might had happened in the story.

Compare the ways in which religion shaped the development of colonial society (to 1740) in TWO of the following regions: New England

Religion was the foundation of the early Colonial American Puritan writings. Many of the early settlements were comprised of men and women who fled Europe in the face of persecution to come to a new land and worship according to their own will. Their beliefs were stalwartly rooted in the fact that God should be involved with all facets of their lives and constantly worshiped. These Puritans writings focused on their religious foundations related to their exodus from Europe and religions role in their life on the new continent. Their literature helped to proselytize the message of God and focused on hard work and strict adherence to religious principles, thus avoiding eternal damnation. These main themes are evident in the writings of

The role of religion in early American literature is extremely pervasive and it forms the obvious theme for most written work composed during the period. The highly religious nature of the early settlers and their

There have been three major influential movements in American history—Puritanism, Rationalism, and Romanticism. Each occurring during generally different time periods, they produced a number of different types of literature reflecting their beliefs at the time. The Puritans, being some of the first settlers in modern day America, relied heavily on beliefs they brought with them from the Church of England. Rather than simply being followers of their prior Church, Puritans believed in the Church as less of a structured organization and more of a spiritual journey or community. In these beliefs, the Puritans sought to bring religion, spirituality, and the Bible into mainstream thought. The Puritans had a number of other important beliefs

In the 1600’s the Puritans were the main religious group of that time period and they had very strong ideals on how religion and government should go together. Jonathan Edwards, who shared many of their ideals, preached a sermon called, “ Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” and it had a very big impact on the congregation. Nathaniel Hawthorne, although he was a writer in the 1800’s, he was fascinated with the Puritans and their lifestyles and wrote a short story called, “ The Minister’s Black Veil.” Both authors use specific details, tone, and imagery to convey their meaning and style, Edwards harsh and accusatory style was more effective than Hawthorne’s melancholy and mysterious style because Edwards helps the reader understand the effects sin can have in one’s life.

Throughout “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne and “The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving, the topics of sin and religion are addressed. Both stories share the similar idea of how sin and religion are present in their Puritan societies. Throughout The Scarlet Letter we interpret the ideas of sin and how it relates to to the concept of religion surrounding the community. In The Devil and Tom Walker we are left to analyze the actions and beliefs of a complex character, and how it relates to sin and religion. Overall, both stories are comprable because of their topics of sin and religion and how they relate to specific characters beliefs, actions, and behavior.

Through Puritan writers, literature is influenced by religious ideologies and philosophies. Puritans writers, beginning in about 1560, put most of their focus into making their work God centered. They believed in the “Elect” and that Jesus died only for these few people. Writers usually wrote in 1st

A religious group wanted to break away from England to practice and relish in their religion their own way. They were call the puritans and set sailed out to America for their religious reasons. With what little they had they believed strongly in God that he will help them out through everything they need. Religion being taken seriously as if it was a law was noticeable in two texts, William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation and Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, where religion over the years help the colonists and so forth help shape America’s identity.

Puritans were an important religious, social and political group which helped form the opinions, values and direction of the early American colonists. Thus, affecting the formation of our country. Among the most influential and prolific Puritan writers was William Bradford who impacted Colonial values and thinking. Puritan writers not only stirred the ideology of the people of the time but were important historians. The puritan style of writing was simple, logical and pongnant. Carefully selected words and sentences that directly addressed the issues and concerns at hand in a clear concise style. The purpose of Puritan writing was to influence and govern the colonists; providing instruction on how one should conduct themselves; social and spiritual lives. Puritans stressed four main values in structuring their society; Sobriety - a serious attitude towards life, Industriousness - preaching the value of hard work, Temperance - everything

During the seventeenth century, Puritan literature dominated American culture. Two major authors of this style of prose are Anne Bradstreet and Jonathan Edwards. Both Bradstreet’s, “Upon a Burning of Our Home,” and Edward’s, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” demonstrate characteristics of Puritan literature. These and Bradstreet and Edwards other literary works focused on their relationship with God and attempted to grow the Puritan church by converting their readers. Although their mission was the same, they utilized different emotional tones and rationals to persuade their readers to give their lives to God.

                For the less obvious (though not by that much), we must look at the (stereotypical) Puritan beliefs and how they were viewed by the rest of the world. Many people found that, especially with the mythical horrid-ness of the Salem witch-trails, Puritan ideology was not a god thing. There was a great deal of dislike for the religious fervor that was once described as exemplary. Hawthorne shows this in the description of his "devil" in "Young Goodman Brown".  "...the second traveler was...apparently in the same rank of life as Goodman Brown..." (p 376). Hawthorne describes the Devil in the image of a puritan: the dress is the same, the overall appearance the same, the speech the same. Yet it is the devil being described. Hawthorne is showing a disdain for the Puritan thought.

The colonial period is abundant in its sources of people who influence and help to be American literature. The colonial period is from 1600 to 1750 and it began with the Puritans arriving at cape cod on the Mayflower and Speedwell. The Puritans came to America because they wanted to separate from the Anglican church. The Puritans believed that God should be the leader of the church, not the priest. There are also other differences that cause the Puritans to leave such as writing style.The Puritans writing style was called plain style and its writing is inspired by the Geneva Bible; the Anglican read from the King James Bible and is far more complex and complicated than the Geneva Bible which is more straightforward. Plain style contains biblical allusions, double synonyms, and puritan double vision. Works that are written in plain style are: “Of Plymouth Plantation” by William Bradford, and “ Narrative of her captivity” by Mary Rowlandson. The writing style of the Anglicans is called high style and it includes metaphors, satire, Greek and Roman allusions, and conceit. A story that is written in high style is “ The history of the dividing line” by William Byrd. The Puritans and Anglican were also different in the ways they would live their lives. The Puritans see anything that took their attention away from god as a temptation of the devil. But the Anglicans like to enjoy the things of beauty in the world, things like art, literature, and music. Also, the Puritans believed

During the Age of Faith, the subject matter and writing styles were unusual. Puritans wrote about their

The Colonial Period in American Literature Blake Quickel The Colonial Period of American Literature was vital not only to the timeline of literature in our country, but it shaped the values and tradition that we identify America with. Literature from this period gives us a look into the beginnings of our country from different views such as Poems and stories from Native culture, Puritans, and the founding fathers. These writings give us an honest view of the way of life during this time. The Puritan writings we read in this class were very interesting in how they showed the early stages of America’s religion. Although religion in our government and our country’s values has become less and less extreme over time, it is amazing knowing how much control it had over society in our country’s beginnings; and many of the morals exorcised in the Puritan culture are still values relevant to our society today. In a reading from the “Introduction: Puritan Voices” assignment (a), the writer refers to the Massachusetts Bay Colony as a “man’s world”, describing the limited roles of women in society and how men were portrayed in the church as superior. Puritan ministers often preached that the soul had two parts, the immortal masculine half, and the mortal feminine half. Gender inequality is an enormous part of American Literature throughout all periods, and here you can see where these values originated in our country. Puritan society exists as a valid demonstration for why the first