The Truth Behind Puritanism Belief System

When King Henry VIII broke ties with the Roman Catholic Church in the 1530’s, he proclaimed himself head of the Church of England. This occurred only a few years after Martin Luther nailed his 91 theses on the Church of Wittenberg and another religious reformer, John Calvin, brought new ideas to the forefront. Calvin proclaimed that one was pre-destined to be eternally blessed or damned from birth. One had no control over this, and works could not put you in to heaven. The unknowing is what drove the Puritans to such great lengths. In the excerpt from Document A from John Winthrop’s A Model of Christian Society, predestination and the basic ideals of the Puritans are laid out. The Protestant Reformation was thus in full swing as the Church

I. The Puritans had been strongly against the Catholic Church A.They wanted the Church of England to become pure by getting rid of Catholic practices. B.The Puritan wanted to make reforms or changes. C. Accordingly the Puritans wanted religious freedom.

The book Anne Hutchinson: Puritan Prophet, by Timothy D. Hall, tells the story of a strong-willed woman whose faith and intellect brought her about to play a major role in early New England Puritan life. Hall tries to answer many questions surrounding Hutchinson throughout the book to try and bring clarity to a powerful historic event.

Puritans may have tried to give themselves the appearance of a perfect society, but it was really just as corrupt and full of sinners as any society today. In the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Crucible by Arthur Miller and “To My Dear and Loving Husband” by Anne Bradstreet, there is evidence for this. In Puritan literature, although they try to hide it, sin is very common, in that Puritans do the opposite of what they preach, but still harshly punish those who sin.

This mentality of a Puritan was very important back then because that was the work ethic they had. Eventhough this mentality existed thousands of years ago, it is still relevant today and seen in today’s society. Successful people will talk about how they worked hard to get to reach their dreams. In addition, throughout my years in school, teachers have taught me the importance of hard work and I’ve been able to experience my effort pay off and have great rewards to it.

I defend the statement “Puritanism is a repressive and intolerant moral and religious code,” because the entirety of Puritan belief was based on the devolution of women and women’s rights, being more biased towards male power. Puritans believe in a dominant sex, and majorly favor male supremacy over women, and focus their entire economy on religion. This quote by Milton shows how intolerant and repressive they were to females back in the 1800’s… “God's universal law gave to man despotic power, Over his female in due awe (Milton).” They repressed women and their individualness so much that women had come to believe that this role was meant for them, to be born into a life much like slavery and forced to follow the rules made by the ignorant

I have always believed that modern women were discreet about subjects, such as wanting more money, sex, and exercise; however, prior to reading Cosmopolitan I was unaware that this content was available for males to purchase and gain more insight on women. My initial perception of Cosmopolitan was that I would be bombarded by articles on clothing, make up, and celebrities; instead, I stumbled upon articles about emergency funds, cycling, and the best sex toy in the market. Upon analyzing women’s magazine Octobers Cosmopolitan I was able to examine articles that went against my expectations and views on the opposite sex because I discovered women are concerned with their finances, lust, and bodily improvement.

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

Puritan believers are taught to live a strict lifestyle and to adhere to the word of God. This is why the ramifications of sinful behavior are punished by God.

The Puritans were a religious group of people who came from England to America in the 1600’s. As Protestants, they relied heavily on the Bible as the guide for every part of their lives. They used these biblical principles as the basis for their laws and marriage. The Puritans had very strict rules about how men and women should act in a marriage and had very harsh penalties for those who broke these rules. According to Matthew Glass and Edward Queen, “During the Colonial Period, Protestant Americans viewed sex as a fundamental feature of married life, enabling reproduction as well as providing an outlet for feelings.” Because they felt this was an important part of marriage, the Puritan laws were meant to be followed. As society gained more people, sex became more widespread which made the officials of the church look for more ways to stop the desire to do anything. Overall, the Puritans had meticulous standards for individuals, immoderate laws and punishments, habits and daily life which were strictly formed by decisive ways.

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.

[H]e which would have suer peace and joye in Christianitye, must not ayme at a condition retyred from the world and free from temptations, but to knowe that the life which is most exercised with tryalls and temptations is the sweetest, and will prove the safeste. For such tryalls as fall within compasse of our callinges, it is better to arme and withstande them than to avoide and shunne them. -John Winthrop

The Puritans goal in New England was to create the perfect pure society where nobody sinned and God ruled completely. They attempted this by making laws about and regulating every aspect of life in the colony. To achieve this, the church needed to rule the colony. And if the church ruled the colony, only the real Puritans could be part of the church. They believed only a minority of the population pure enough to be a part of the church. In reality very few people were ever able to give enough evidence that they had completed their part. As a result, two-thirds of the population failed to qualify as church members. The Puritans enacted many laws to keep the non-Puritans living religious lives. They created an official whose only job was to check up on ten families daily to see if anything out of the ordinary was happening and to make sure everyone who was able went to church. Their idea was that everybody, even if they weren’t part of the church, should be very religious. Therefore they created their laws with principles based on the Old Testament. They dreamed of a society where everybody followed the laws and lived a peaceful, god-fearing existence. To make this dream realizable, the Puritans created severe penalties for breaking the laws. These ranged from whipping and being thrown in the stocks for minor offenses, to banishment and death by hanging for serious ones. To be a good Puritan one had to work hard all

There are three different aspects of a state that determine if it is a success or failure: society, politics, and economics. Some are able to thrive in all three areas but others can only find triumph in one or two. The Puritans appeared to prosper in all of these, especially since many in that time saw them to be a beacon to humanity. While they did experience instances of defeat, overall they were a model society in the American Colonies during the 17th and 18th centuries.

Miller never missed a chance to illustrate how these characters are angry to aid the reader to have contact with their psychological state. He is always present shedding the light on how each statement is a result of inner looming anger. Direct descriptions about anger were used for instance" there is blood in his eyes" (48), and how some talked "with burning fury" (68). So anger was a part of the feelings expressed through the language. Miller's description helps in putting the speeches in their full circumstances whether the social context or the emotional side.