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How Did The Puritans Have Religious Freedom

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The prospect of having religious freedom was enough reason for the Puritans to pick up their lives and begin a journey across the Atlantic. The Puritans lived and breathed their religion, which was prominent in their cultural and political beliefs. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter captures these ways with a beautiful story about a young woman and her struggle with the Puritanism expectations.
American Puritanism, with its strict religious beliefs, swept over the New England colonies during the seventeenth century. This was the movement of the Puritans, a group of protestants from England that believed the Anglican Church should be cured of Catholic influences. After years of trying to reform the Anglican Church, the Puritans became tired of their failed attempts, and began to migrate to the American Colonies. It was here they could finally express their beliefs far from Catholicism and the Stuart Monarch, who had no interest in reforming the church. …show more content…

American Puritans were literate people due to their required Bible study, which led to a production of Puritan literature. In contrary, the Puritans had no association with music, for they believed that music led to laziness, which was not tolerated because it led to a disconnection with God. The Puritans also had little to do with the visual arts, even though it was not preached against in church. Their political nature and law was strict and conservative. Even though it was against the law for ministers to hold office, the same law stated that the state must enforce religious practice on the citizens. The social inequalities in the system were even considered a part of God’s will. One of the most harsh rules of the Puritan law was that if someone were to commit blasphemy or worship a different god, they were to be put to death. This included adultery, which is demonstrated in The Scarlet

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