The Influences of Puritan and Quaker Thinking on the American Experience
Puritans left England in large numbers during the 1600’s with the goal of creating a God centered community where citizens worked together in all aspects of life (Butler, Wacker, and Balmer, 2003). Likewise, as stated in Religion in America: A Reader (1998), William Penn planned for Pennsylvania to be a place where people could serve the Lord and Quakers would be an example of Christian values. Although there were differences in beliefs between the two religions, the basic moral values were very much aligned. Whereas the intolerance of the Puritans led to the division of the religion and creation of new factions , the religious tolerance of the Quakers led to contention from within and outside of the religion. It seems that America was founded on religious values and yet the multitude of beliefs led to a diverse culture which saw a diminishing desire to seek and follow the will of God. Has religious freedom led to a stronger America or has religion become so splintered that many Americans lack the desire to serve anyone other than themselves? As Americans we have the freedom to practice whatever religion we choose, but we are a far cry from having religious tolerance as is evidenced by the abundance of hate crimes in the news every day.
Butler, Wacker, and Balmer (2003) described the Puritan religion as “ the belief of God’s omnipotence, salvation by God’s grace alone, predestination, and ..……group
Puritanism was a major belief during the 1500s-1700s, Puritans believed that you are required to devote your whole life to the Lord. In order to be a Puritan you had to glorify God by attending church, report sinners, and show God’s grace through your own actions. In
In early 1600's, Puritans followed the Pilgrims to America then they landed in Massachusetts bay. The Puritans started the colony because they wanted to escape religious persecution. The only religion was the Puritans.In the early 1600's of, Massachusetts there was only one Indian tribe,and that was the Wampanoag. Puritans tried to purify the Anglican church because they wanted to make services simpler and taking ranks of authority
The most known acts of cruelty in the power of the people are the various punishments dealt out by the Puritans. Then you have the Quakers-they weren’t just men appearing on labels of oatmeal bins; they were chosen to be on the label because the Quaker faith projected the values of honesty, integrity, purity, and strength. However, the Puritans and Quakers both traveled to the New World to escape religious prosecutions. John Winthrop, leading the Puritans, wanted a more “purified” state and society, giving them the name, Puritans. William Penn, leading the Quakers, wanted to spread their beliefs through themselves. They questioned leaders, resulting in leading themselves. Both had different views of reconstructing a new society, religion, and government.
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
A Puritan defined is “a member of a group of English Protestants of the late 16th and 17th centuries who regarded the Reformation of the Church of England under Elizabeth as incomplete and sought to simplify and regulate forms of worship.” Puritan society in America depended on the belief that all members were working for the glory of God. The Puritans did not allow deviations from the strict code of behavior which would not allow any member to have individuality. They restricted any type of entertainment, except that which was endorsed by the church. They worked and worshipped.
Dissent always existed in the New England Colonies; the Puritans rarely all agreed on one point. Differing theological opinions forged a schism between groups and lead to the creation of colonies such as Rhode Island. As they stressed literacy, individuals formed their own impressions of the gospel. Minister Roger Williams, for example, disagreed with the Massachusetts Bay Colony’s Indian relations and lack of religious freedoms. Roger Williams wrote this on the matter, “God requireth not a uniformity of religion to be enacted and enforced; which enforced uniformity sooner or later is the greatest occasion of civil war.”
In the 1600s there were a certain group of people that took up a vast majority of the population this group was called the Puritans. The Puritans were a strictly religious group of people who had a very strict interpretation of bible and they believed anything as long as they believed it was God's’ will to be done, they only did what the bible could tell them to do, or if they preformed anything different than what was lead to be by the bible they were punished. They had so many restrictions on the littlest of things just like dancing, no fancy clothing and no smoking. But they did have restrictions on pretty big things as well like you can’t miss church no matter what even if someone were to be sick, people had to pay to celebrate christmas.
The Puritans led their lives according to a strict moral code, centered around religion, which they had followed and conformed to. In addition conformity, Puritans believed, was crucial to uniting the community, and therefore resulted in anti-individualistic beliefs. However, when they deviated from the religious code they were threatened with banishment from the community and often experienced public shaming. Also the Puritans, whom had come to the colonies seeking religious freedom for themselves, cultivated a society that was intolerant of the practice of religious freedom for others. The Puritan influence enabled conformist tendencies based around a religious moral code which did not tolerate for deviation of Puritan beliefs that ultimately sacrificed individualism.
In the New England colonies from 1630 through the 1660s, Puritan ideas and values influenced the political, economic, and social development of the New England colonies. With new political ideas being developed with the imposed Puritan virtues and ideas, the way government was viewed changed due to the new imposed ideas. Puritan ideas further on, in addition affected the social development of the colonies socially, and economically, due to the increase in resources and change in environment.
The puritans believed that God was all-knowing and all-powerful and they emphasized the idea of divine sovereignty known as predestination.
Starting with the puritan founded northern colonies of New England. Puritanism evolved from the Protestant Reformation in England after King Henry VIII outlawed the Catholic Church in order to control religion in his country . Not all New England colonists were Puritans, but the Puritan religion was a major influence in the seventeenth-century New England way of life. In the last half of the seventeenth century the Quakers began to populate Massachusetts. Quakers believe that neither preachers nor Bibles are necessary to worship God, which is the polar opposite of the Puritan religion. Many New England communities treated Quakers poorly and many Quakers saw acts of violence inflicted on them in the name of God leading to an eventual migration
Nathaniel Hawthorne is respected as “one of the great masters of American Fiction” (“Hawthorne, Nathaniel” 363). He is an accomplished author who wrote novels as well as children’s literature. However, Hawthorne’s strength is American short story; his “haunting” tales are undeniably responsible for establishing this genre as a “significant art form” (“Nathaniel Hawthorne” Columbia 1). He is known for his “penetrating explorations” of the conflicts within one’s conscience and the consequences that plague his characters, as a result of their disobedience (“Nathaniel Hawthorne” 1). These “dilemmas” of the “human condition” are prominent in his story, “The Birth-Mark” (Tuerk 1). Mosses of an Old Manse, is a compilation of short stories; which
As early settlers built an infrastructure for economic prosperity, the outlet for the arts and literature began to form and increase in importance. The early American literature was influenced by Puritans, Age of Reason, and the smallpox plague. The Puritans' goal of purifying the Church of England had a profound effect on education. To start with, reading the Bible was a necessity for all Puritans because the Puritans believed that the Bible was the literal word of God.
Puritans believed that there was one God and that God was anything and everything. In the 1660s, “
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines Feminism as the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism has become the obsession of American society in recent years while other countries like Iceland and Norway have taken legal action to guarantee gender equality. With this information, Americans constantly ask themselves, why is achieving a feminist society almost impossible for America? Unfortunately, Puritanism has altered American history and caused a diversion between the sexes in modern society. The Puritans created strict, domestic social norms that were imperative to obey. These gender roles implemented on men and women have altered American mindsets to these specific gender roles we are supposed to follow. Without the influence of Puritanism, a complete feminist society would be achievable in America’s modern day society.