The Puritan Religion’s Influence on Children Essay

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

Erikson explains that to most English people of the 16th century, Puritans became an annoying sect of rebels. Overbearing and unrelenting, many detested the exaggeration of conventional values that the Puritans displayed. Feeling restricted by the formalities of the Church, Puritans quickly became deviant in the eyes of society. By moving to Massachusetts Bay, Puritans hoped to create their own ideas of what is “right” and “wrong”, much like any community attempting to set boundaries. However, problems arose when laws were to be mandated in a Biblical sense. God could not sit at a pulpit in a courtroom, so then how would a strictly religious group maintain itself? As Erikson states, “one of the surest ways to confirm an identity, for communities as well as individuals, is to find some way of measuring what one is not”. From this, they developed a keen sense of Devil distinction – that is, ways in which the Devil presented himself through the behaviors of individuals.

The Puritans arrived in the New World in the hopes of “purifying” the Church of England. They practiced certain principles that they believed in and that centered around the idea of God. The main purpose of their journey to New England was to set an example to others how the Church should be, and so their motive for settlement was solely related to religion. The Puritans positively influenced the political, economic, and social development of the New England colonies from 1630 through the 1660s because they were a “city upon a hill” that served as an example to other parts of the world as a result of their strong belief in God.

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.

In New England, the Puritans had a strong belief in frugality, believing money spent on entertainment or anything unprofitable was wasted. This directly affected the economy because of the large population of Puritans in New England; they were constantly working and rarely rested. Their work ethic influenced other groups in the area because they had to keep up with the business that the Puritans were doing. In Document I, Robert Keayne writes “…many spare hours to spend unprofitably away or to refreshe myself with recreations…but have rather stuyded and endeavored to redeeme my time as a thing most deare and precious to me…” This excerpt shows how a Puritan would do business. The Puritans made very humble livings in the early days of America. They typically made livings by being farmers and ministers. Others were merchants and sold goods. The merchants were the wealthier of the puritan people. Many of the women in Puritan society helped to make a living in society by creating clothing and food to sell to other villagers.

When the Puritans first came to America, they settled in Salem, Massachusetts. In Salem there was a village and a town. The richer would live in the town, as the less fortunate would live in the village. In the village … in the town… Since the Puritans governed themselves, they chose the laws and how to run the government. In the village and town going to church was one of the most important things to Puritans. It was so important, that they would go to Church every single day. Anybody that would not attend church was frowned upon and was in fact illegal. Having a church membership, however did have its benefits. The citizens of Salem that did attend church were able to vote. This caused for church members to have a considerable amount of power and influence, they would practically run the church and decide everything. Since the Puritans established Salem they decide all the rules, because they saw it as their “responsibility toward God” (Marlowe 29). This explains why they were so strict with their lives and church. The government the Puritans ran had no religious freedom,

The Puritan people migrated to what is now present-day America due to their persecution in Europe. Their religion observed many beliefs that did not agree with other European Christians. These ideals stayed with the Puritans as they settled in America to build their idealistic, utopian society. Even though Puritan society was largely unsuccessful in meeting their expectations, several of their fundamental values are still exemplified by Americans today. These beliefs included the dislike of anything dull, an intense hatred of tyranny, and the idea that America is a shining example for the rest of the world to follow.

The church and Christian beliefs had a very large impact on the Puritan religion and lifestyle. According to discovery education, “Church was the cornerstone of the mainly Puritan society of the 17th century.” Puritan laws were intensively rigid and people in society were expected to follow a moral strict code. And because of Puritans and their strict moral codes, any act that was

The Puritans’ greatest lasting impact was on education. They believed that education was important in order to understand the Bible, and therefore stressed the education of all persons. Religious zeal was the main drive for establishing a system of education. As stated in Puritanism in Early American History, “Puritan leaders

The puritans go create the Massachusetts Bay Colony. They didn’t have strict rules like England, people were not forced to go to church, it all seems great. However, there were many issues. Puritans believed in Calvinism, or predestination. This was the idea that everything is preset by God and nothing you do can change your fate. “Nothing a person did in his or her lifetime could alter God’s choice or provide assurance that the person was predestined for salvation with the elect or damned to hell with the doomed multitude.” (The American

The Puritans raised their families to be very reliable on themselves instead of others. As Puritan children got older throughout their life they got taught to be dependable and to take care of themselves to prepare them for their future of being responsible adults. Throughout the young puritan boys’ and girls’ lives, they were expected to take on many hardworking tasks to help their parents and other family members in and outside the house. Puritan women were in charge of the household but were thought of as irrational because they were emotional, but men were thought of as sane and reasonable (Dunklee et al.). Men may have had a lot of power, but “Women exercised considerable power within their families, including the authority to divorce their husbands by setting their belongings outside the longhouse entrance” (Lapsansky). The Puritan boys were accompanied to do outside chores such as hunting, crafting, and also learning carpentry. The girls were to do inside the house chores such as cleaning, cooking, and helping their mothers in the house. The Puritan parents held their children to high standards to prepare them to be proper husbands and

The Puritans belief set is simple: If you commit a sin, you are guilty and punished by execution. The Patriarchy, which is a system, society or government in which the father or eldest male is head of the family and descent is traced through the male line, is the foundation of this religion. Women could be guilty of almost anything if a man accused her of it. The governing council is only made up of men and they keep a strict hold on everyone in the community. Their harsh laws are based off of the Old Testament. “In Hawthorne's story Governor Bellingham and his fellow magistrates used this vision not only to unite the community, but to control, by humiliation, banishment, or death, any wayward member” (Hodges 5). This way of thinking ensued fear into women. They were taught to never speak out or act in any unholy manner. So, when Hester gave birth to a child who did not belong to her husband, she was no longer treated with any respect. “Thus the young and pure would be taught to look at her, with the

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

Puritans are colonists who had left England seeking religious tolerance. The life of the Puritans was mainly influenced by Christian beliefs and the church. Their laws were harsh and every Puritan needed to follow a moral code. Anyone or anything that went against the code was punished because going against the code was considered as a sin. According to Religious Aspects, “The Puritans also believed strongly in the wrath of God and did everything they could to prevent themselves from receiving it. This is why the witch scare was taken so seriously and the accused were punished harshly. The first

In their society the Puritans based their lives, beliefs, and communities on what they deemed as God's law and true word, the bible (Barger). Reading the bible was expected for the members of society, this included women and children, which was often unheard of (Foner 66) at that time. With their lives being restricted to the word of the bible this left very little leeway for anything other than what was deemed acceptable, and this rigid way of life was another straw that led to the eventual troubles and fervor that took over.