Puritans Beliefs Research Paper

Religion had a powerful impact on Puritans lives. Many Puritan people had faith in a supreme being, God, and the teachings of his Divine Son, Jesus Christ. They’d assume that if you weren’t a good Christian they would suffer in hell, but if you were one would be saved by god. An example would be in the sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” the speaker strongly describes about how being a bad Christian has its consequences and the good things that come of being a good Christian. “Many that were very lately in the same miserable condition that you are in are now in a happy state, with their hearts filled with love to him who has loved them, and washed them from their sins in his own blood, and rejoicing in hope of the glory of God.”(152)This explains how they had a strong feeling towards god’s ways. By being concerned about their religious life and being good Christians.

The Puritans were a religious group in the New England colonies who wanted to purify the Church of England. The Puritans centered everything on God, even their judicial system. They had a theocratic system, which means they thought God had the overall authority. Their laws, court system, and punishments were all based on the Bible. The puritan era judicial system was a theocratic, unjust, and harsh system that enforced absurd laws; they practiced an unfair way of prosecution, and gave cruel punishments to the peccant.

Some of the Puritans’ main focuses were spreading their culture and faith. They thrived on the belief that they were sent from God, who expected them to study and live by his scriptures in the Bible. They believed stories in the Bible could be applied to every aspect of their lives. A big part of the reason they left England to have a new start in America is so that they would have an opportunity to purify the Church of England that they were accustomed to.

The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell shows that the Puritans were more than a colony of uptight Englishmen. Her thesis is about how the Puritans were a writing based group of people. The Wordy Shipmates starts off with Vowell stating, “The only thing more dangerous than an idea is a belief. And by dangerous I don’t mean thought-provoking. I mean: might get people killed” (pg 1). Vowell supports this statement throughout her book by explaining how religion plays an important role in every part of the Puritan lifestyle. She explains that they thought of themselves as "God's new chosen people” (pg 24).

William Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation gives insight to typical seventeenth century Puritanical thought. The Puritans believed that God’s will directs and guides all aspects of the universe. Puritans further believed the Bible could help them understand God’s will in their personal lives. Bradford’s writing was meant to express an understanding of God in everyday life and to teach future Puritans how to see God in their lives.

While the Puritans are generally perceived as hard working and God fearing people, they were also a highly educated people and their education found its expression in their writings. Their writings reflected their engrained beliefs, especially religion which was integral to their existence and hence early American literature is infused with religiosity.

Puritans live in a life with a life of rules. They live by religious beliefs and literature purposes. The puritans believed in God being all powerful, Bible is God’s true law, success is a sign of improvement, and how education was written to glorify God and for education only not for entertainment.

Puritans believed God had made a “long promised summons” to them. Creating a society in every way connected to just God was challenging enough for the Puritans but also the need to spread His words to other people. The Puritans’ priorities were centralized on their religion and the teaching of it. This shows their focus in education to them was to teach children religious and moral beliefs. No doubt that the educational life of a Puritan began at home. In keeping with covenant household, the salvation of children and their spiritual being was in the heart of every parent. Parents prayed that their children would become a source of glory. The Puritans started the Old Dilutor Act: to teach children to read and write so they can understand the

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

In the 1630s to 1660s, the Puritans strong belief in god and its upholding shaped the Massachusetts Bay Colony’s development. The colony was fully based on the Puritan’s view which painted their religion and it effected the lifestyle. The Puritans were a highly religious group that believed god’s will was the absolute. As shown in document 3, it states how the church is always right and nothing should be done to offend it. This shows the grasp of the Puritans hold toward god because this was a statement of the church’s membership and so it should display their beliefs.

Although they still considered themselves English as well, they were determined to form their own spiritual and political identities. Their faith put more of an emphasis on individual righteousness before God, instead of the Puritan form, that put more of an emphasis on corporate and community righteousness. The Puritans were energized as a group by the constant persecution of their faith. As a result they developed an entire system for defining and explaining their doctrine concerning

These goals that the Puritans strived to achieve both at home and abroad placed a great amount of stress on the people and community. They were always working for their model society and for them their true leader was God. “Puritans believed in the

None the less, they used the Bible as the manual to guide how the people should live their lives according to God. They referred to it for everything that occurred in their lives to make sense of their new surroundings. For example, in John Winthrop’s journal he wrote July 5, 1632, about the mouse who became victor of its battle with a snake (178). The event was interpreted to be a sign from God representing a sign of the Puritans triumphing Satan (Winthrop 178). To accomplish God’s will it was best believed to withdraw from materialistic values and live simply, which is why the poem’s narrator is crying because they could be experiencing that struggle of wanting pleasure but not wanting to risk their

Puritans felt that living for God was their very purpose for being present in this life. Their destination has been marked, and the time at which they shall depart from earth is already set. Their actions control the level of grace and mercy that God will bestow upon them. As faithful Puritans they must maintain a righteous bearing to insure that God does not open the floodgates of wrath on them or their family. Two Puritan authors illustrated this very perception of life in their own sentiment.

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