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Puritans during the enlightenment
Cause and effects of the English civil war
Puritans during the enlightenment
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The letter dated September 1643 which was sent from Lady Brilliana Harley from Brampton Bryan, located in Herefordshire, to her husband Lord Robert Harley, who is currently in London one can guess taking his part in the ensuing conflict, provides a lot of details about the time. The British Civil War, which had started the previous year, seemed to have affected the country much more than it affected the city of London. This can be seen in Lady Harley’s letter when she tells her Lord “I hope…that the Lord has been gracious to us, and has sent our enemies away from before Brampton” (Gowing, 152). With her husband a part of the Parliamentarians, it would be natural of the time for Lady Harley to also support Parliament in the current conflict. Therefore the enemy that she is writing her husband about which had been “before Brampton” can be construed as Royalists or even Royalist supporters hoping to gain another country manor. Most puritans at this time would have been in support of the Parliamentary cause; they were a facet of Protestantism which was dissatisfied with the Catholic Church and the episcopacy system of the Church of England. They believed in paying attention to the scriptures without using other books, thus they did not agree with the Church of England’s use of the Book of Common Prayer, they also wanted to adhere to a strict “godly” moral with a distinct lack of ceremony (Bucholz, 222). As a result of these beliefs, the Puritans were in support of a “godly reform” which they thought the King and his evil advisors were preventing, they also wanted to rid religion of anything that relates to Catholicism, including the clergy, the tithe system, and the Book of Common Prayer (Rosenheim, 2/24/2014). As such, the Puritans... ... middle of paper ... ...asking him to not think her afraid but to see that she is doing what is best for him and as any wife of the time would states that “I must be most pleased when you are pleased” (Gowing 153). So after everything she has asked for in her letter she is still looking to her husband for guidance on what actions to take. She even adds a note reminding her Lord for a new gown that she has asked for. Clearly she is an opinionated woman who will question her Lord but she is one who knows her role and does not overstep her place. Works Cited 1. Bucholz, Robert and Key, Newton. Early Modern England 1485-1714 (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2004). Print. 2. Gowing, Laura. Gender Relations in Early Modern England (Harlow, Essex: Pearson Education Limited, 2012), pp. 152-154. 3. Rosenheim, James. Lecture. History 436. Texas A&M University. College Station, February 24, 2014
Puritan practices didn’t dominate over the colonies in the way that they used to. Many people grew tired of the old-fashioned, strict thinking of the Puritans. Some people even went so far as to say that humans were not all destined to go to hell, which was a pretty outrageous change in thought for this time. Most people who believed this were of the new faith known as Arminianism, which was founded by Jacobus Arminius. Arminianism had a rather large following, making it a definite threat towards the Puritans. This is just one of many examples in which people of this time began moving towards liberalism.
The puritans had many religious beliefs. The religious beliefs they held were strong and they were extremely devoted to serving their Lord. Puritans believed that people of God had a teetotal lifestyle, worked hard and were responsible. They also believed that anything and everything that happens on earth is already predestined by God. People would not earn salvation with works of righteousness but through God’s grace. The congregation would make all of the decisions in the church and they would not acknowledge any other religions. When Puritans worshipped, it was very simple and only focused on God. There was no music, stained glass windows or art.
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.”( Douglas 4). 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 considered to go against this code was considered a sin and deserved to be punished. In Puritan theology, God h...
Cott, Nancy F. The Bonds of Womanhood: "Woman's Sphere" in New England, 1780-1835. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1977.
Hunt, Margaret R. The Middling Sort: Commerce, Gender, and Family in England, 1680-1780. London: University of California Press, 1996
Puritans believed in strict religious dedications, by trying to follow the holy commandment. “The discipline of the family, in those days, was of a far more rigid kind than now.”(Hawthorne 9). They wanted to be considered the holiest of all people because they try to reflect a world of perfection in the sight of God. While they where trying to portray a holy life; however, they where also living a sinful life because they have been judgmental, slandering, uncompassionate, resentment, and forbearing, which are all sinful acts of the bible.
In 1534, King Henry VIII formally instigated the English Reformation. He therefore passed the Act of Supremacy, which outlawed the Catholic Church and made him “the only supreme head on earth of the Church of England” (Roark, 68). Puritans were looking for a more Protestant church and received what they wanted. Along with it, came the King’s total control over the Church. This is what the Puritans didn’t want. Puritans believed that ordinary Christians, not a church hierarchy, should control religious life. They wanted a distinct line between government and the Church of England. Puritans also wanted to eliminate the customs of Catholic worship and instead focus on an individual’s relationship with God developed through Bible study, prayer, and introspection (Roark, 68).
McKeon, Michael. "Historicizing Patriarchy: The Emergence of Gender Difference in England, 1660-1760." Eighteenth-Century Studies vol. 28, no. 3, 1995: 295-322.
To understand how the Puritans viewed religion, one needs to look at how they understood their Christian God. The Puritans knew God though the bible and what their ministers preached. They did not believe that God would speak directly to mortals. The Puritan Minister Robert Cushman once stated, “Whereas God of the old [Testament] did call and summon our fathers by predictions, dreams, visions, and certain illuminations…. Now there is no such calling to be expected for any matter whatsoever.” In the Puritan’s time, if God was to speak directly with a mortal, it was thought to be the devil in disguise. One Puritan woman, Anne Hutchinson, was believed to have predictions from God. This infuriated the Puritans because they did not believe in the idea of God giving her visions and thoughts. They believed that Satan was the one giving her these visions and thoughts. Consequently, the Puritans then banished her into the wilderness outside of Massachusetts Bay. This shows that the Puritans treated anyone who did not totally agree with them as an outcast to their society.
They agreed that they weren’t going to be prudes or prohibitionist or live like drabs. Which was a great decision to do which develops the society and way of living instead of being ignorant and living by the old rules in England. They were looking forward to new things that better themselves in their community and becoming a paragon for others. Although, since they were still Puritans they had to attend church every sunday, tried to punish every sin in Massachusetts and was obligated to live with a family if you did not have any in the New World.(Morgan, 64) These rules were unneccessary to make, instead of making these rules on how to live your life, they should have shifted their focus on duties that had to be done to actually have a successful society. The Puritans had the people to run a community but weren’t brillant thinkers. They didn’t open their minds to a sense where they should have people working on different tasks such as someone working the farm, plant crops, hunting and making reasonable laws. Also, the Puritans were close minded and ignorant when it came to God. No one was allowed to worship any religion and couldn’t belive in God differently or think about God differently. Which lead to conflicts because there were several people who were smart enough to think differently than the Puritans. The people wanted to do things their way and each of them thought
They believed they must live every moment in a god fearing manner. The puritans were expected to attend church with men on one side and women on the other and if they did not read the bible it was thought that they were worshipping the devil. Puritans were intolerant of people with different views.
The Puritans didn't have all the luxuries we have today. They were told many things by preachers such as Jonathon Edwards, who lit a candle of fear in their minds. If I was alive to hear Edwards preach, I'd certainly have to question myself. He preached that God holds us in his hands and he can make or break us. If God decides it so, he will let us go and we will fall from his hands to nothing but Hell. Certainly no one wants to go to Hell. So, the Puritans tried to better their lives, and go by rules or "resolutions." They believed if they followed these resolutions, even though their fate was predetermined by God, they could live a life of good and maybe prove they are meant to go to Heaven.
Puritans attempted to reform the church in England because they oversaw their belief as an act to
Sara Mendelson and Patricia Crawford, Women in Early Modern England 1550-1720 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), pp. 37-9 Retrieved from http://muse.jhu.edu.ezproxy.lib.utah.edu/journals/parergon/v019/19.1.crawford.pdf
Ellis, Sarah Stickney. “The Women of England: Their Social Duties and Domestic Habits.” The Longman