The Relationship Between The Enlightenment And The Old Puritan Society

The Enlightenment period, also known as The Age of Reason, was a period of social, religious, and political revolution throughout the 18th century which changed the thoughts of man during this “awakening” time. It was a liberation of ignorant thoughts, ideas, and actions that had broken away from the ignorant perception of how society was to be kept and obeyed thus giving little room for new ideas about the world. Puritan society found these new ideas of thought to be extremely radical in comparison to what they believed which was a belief of strong rational religion and morality. Enlightened society believed that the use of reason would be a catalyst of social change and had a demand of political representation thus resulting in a

The Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason, was the root of many ideas of the American expansion; it was an era of intellectual ferment and prosperity that brought reasoning and political science over superstition and blind faith. Benjamin Franklin’s contrast in ideas from that of the puritans are a clear indication of morality and how it is being redefined. Enlightenment thinkers such as Franklin addressed acknowledged information and spread new thoughts regarding transparency, investigation and self-exploration that will create a major turning point in western advancement, an age of light replacing the age of the blind.

Disapproving the thought of the essential immorality of human nature, the Enlightenment highlighted the growth of knowledge through logic and reason. This movement encouraged the introduction of science, math, law, and medicine into college curriculums, which had been mainly focused upon ancient languages and theology during the 1720s. Importance upon political developments, economic achievement, and rational thought forestalled concerns for the soul and introduced a confidence in salvation in spite of a laxity of morals. Individual morals weakened as Puritans in the community turned gradually to Arminianism, the belief that preparation for heaven was easily achieved and therefore less important, to defend their contribution in nonspiritual affairs. The followers of the Awakening pointed to the outward collapse of Puritan morals to explain the necessity for revival. Many sincere church members thought the Great Awakening was essential to fight nonspiritual influences in the lives of the Puritans and reestablish the authority of the Congregational

The Enlightment originated in Europe and spread to the colonies. The Enlightment celebrated rational inquiry, scientific research, and individual freedom. This resulted in America being especially receptive to the new science. Isaac Newton led people to believe that Reason could improve society. Benjamin Franklin, a descendant of the puritans, believed that God created a universe animated by natural laws, laws that inquisitive people could discern through the use of reason. The eighteenth – century Enlightment made people think that God, the church didn’t control everything. The Enlightment period set in motion intellectual forces that resisted the orthodox way of thinking.

The Enlightenment was a “movement to prioritize the human capacity for reason as the highest form of human attainment” (Schultz, 2016). The American Enlightenment occurred after the occurrence of the European Enlightenment. “During the 1600s most people from the Western world believed the unquestioned primacy of rulers (spiritual and secular), humans incapacity for social change, and our time here on earth is a temporary interlude on our journey toward either eternal salvation and damnation” (Schultz, 2016). Throughout this time, everyone had different religious beliefs and values. “In the 1500s, European scientists, Copernicus, who argued that the earth revolved around the sun, not the other way around, began to question these foundational beliefs” (Schultz, 2016).

have made gigantic advancements in technology, in medicine, and in civil rights. Humanity as a whole has progressed significantly, yet we still have many of the same issues that we did hundreds of years ago. Yes, we may not have slavery or the Jim Crow Laws, but we still have institutionalized racism that allows the shooting of unarmed black men by police officers to go virtually unpunished. Yes, women are allowed to vote, but they still get paid less than their male counterparts. America has made many advancements and one might say is doing better than it had been in the past, but doing better doesn’t mean doing good. One part of American history that we still unfortunately share many similarities with is the Puritan society of colonial America. Although America as a whole has made many advances since the 1600s, we still hold many of the same flaws that the Puritans did.

Both the Enlightenment and the Great awakening caused the colonists to alter their views about government, the role of government, as well as society at large which ultimately and collectively helped to motivate the colonists to revolt against England. The Enlightenment was vital in almost every part of the founding of America, which included everything from government, to politics itself, as well as religion. Many of the ideas from the Enlightenment and the Great Awakening shaped our country as a whole in its seminal years, inspiring everything from the American Revolution, to the Constitution, and even electricity and stoves. Without the central ideas and figures of both the Great Awakening and the Enlightenment era, the United States

The Enlightenment challenges definition of the human condition. It as said that man are born sinful and most likely to do wrong. But sometimes, humans can have some sort of rational thinking in their minds.

Has it ever seemed that some people are so religious that they are too strict? Has anybody been so deeply involved with the idea of working to be morally perfect that they seem a bit self-involved and snobbish? These people would have thrived during the 1700’s, where these two extremes were quite common. The difference between Puritan and Humanist ideals would be that Puritans believed duty and heavy labor would entice the rewards from Heaven that a fierce and just God could provide, while the Humanist believed receiving immediate rewards and self-improvement for one’s self. The Puritans rose up during the 1600’s, when religious folk realized that religion was slowly dwindling throughout society, and ran until the 1750’s, when the Humanist started to express their views during the Enlightenment.

The dichotomy between a Puritan and a Rationalist seems to be very apparent. Despite the differences, the very existence of these two writers showcases the need for dissent to influence, and to always question the status-quo. Anne Bradstreet and Benjamin Franklin give a glimpse of the time period during the creation of their works. Many factors affect their writing: gender and the reason for writing, references to non-Biblical scriptures, and the presence of God.

The Enlightenment period, also known as The Age of Reason, was a period of social, religious, and political revolution throughout the 18th century which changed the thoughts of man during this “awakening” time. It was a liberation of ignorant thoughts, ideas, and actions that had broken away from the ignorant perception of how society was to be kept and obeyed thus giving little room for new ideas about the world. Puritan society found these new ideas of thought to be extremely radical in comparison to what they believed which was a belief of strong rational religion and morality. Enlightened society believed that the use of reason would be a catalyst of social change and had a demand of political representation thus resulting in a time

the claim to the Crown, and he believed that individuals held the right to revolt against a

Following the steps of the Renaissance and the Reformation, Enlightenment paved a way for liberal democratic industrial societies. It is also call the “Age of Reason” which came into the period of Western cultural movement and thought, marked by the dramatic revolution in science and philosophy. The nobility, the political power and people with authority were replaced by the ideologies of the concept of equality and freedom of the world. The Enlightenment believes the rational development of knowledge can solve the basic problems of human existential and recover the nature in the cosmic order. It emphasizes on human reason which include no authority, no ignorance and reason is universal. In addition, nature is one of the aspect, believed to be good. Noble savages, natural laws, moral laws and natural economy manifest humanity’s inborn goodness. Enlightenment is the process to think for oneself and can fix social

For a great period of time, the main source of authority in the early western world was the Bible. People lived there lives according to the bible and followed Christian tradition. “Prior to the Enlightenment, believing in God in the West was like believing in the sunrise; the answer to all the big questions of life was God” (Wade). During this time many things revolved around the bible, as did the government since the bible was the main source of knowledge. Many viewed Christianity as the centerpiece of their lives, but the view of many would soon change during the time of the Enlightenment. The enlightenment began in the early 1700’s and during this time period many people started coming up with new ideas about how the world worked.

The Enlightenment era brought about the classical theory. During the classical theory, the philosophers believed that people might perhaps learn things because of science. These theorists were to think as well as look (Bohm & Vogel, 2011). As stated by Bohm & Vogel (2011), “The Enlightenment, or the “’Age of Reason,’” was characterized by an intellectual challenge to the then-dominant theological worldview and theologically derived knowledge based on revelation and the authority of the church” (p. 13). Furthermore, the theorists of Enlightenment time throughout the universe and how it worked were valued, but modifications can take place. The “Enlightenment thinkers” did not think that individuals and the universe were ruled by God (Bohm & Vogel, 2011). According to Bohm & Vogel (2011), “Instead, they believed that people were freewilled and thus completely responsible for their actions. Human behavior was considered to be motivated by a hedonistic rationality, where individuals weighed the potential pleasure of an action against its possible pain” (p. 15).