PURITANS
The Puritans were a group of people who grew discontent in the Church of England and worked towards religious, moral and societal reforms. The writings and ideas of John Calvin, a leader in the Reformation, gave rise to Protestantism and were pivotal to the Christian revolt. They contended that The Church of England had become a product of political struggles and man-made doctrines. The Puritans were one branch of dissenters who decided that the Church of England was beyond reform. Escaping persecution from church leadership and the King, they came to America.
The Puritans believed that the Bible was God's true law, and that it provided a plan for living. The established church of the day described access to God as monastic and possible only within the confines of "church authority". Puritans stripped away the traditional trappings and formalities of Christianity which had been slowly building throughout the previous 1500 years. Theirs was an attempt to "purify" the church and their own lives.
What many of us remember about the Puritans is reflective of the modern definition of the term and not of the historical account. Point one, they were not a small group of people. In England many of their persuasion sat in Parliament. So great was the struggle that England's Civil War pitted the Puritans against the Crown Forces. Though the Puritans won the fight with Oliver Cromwell's leadership, their victory was short-lived; hence their displacement to America. Point two, the witchcraft trials did not appropriately define their methods of living for the 100+ years that they formed successful communities. What it did show was the danger that their self-imposed isolation had put them in.
Most of the Puritans settled in the New England area. As they immigrated and formed individual colonies, their numbers rose from 17,800 in 1640 to 106,000 in 1700. Religious exclusiveness was the foremost principle of their society. The spiritual beliefs that they held were strong. This strength held over to include community laws and customs. Since God was at the forefront of their minds, He was to motivate all of their actions. This premise worked both for them and against them.
The common unity strengthened the community. In a foreign land surrounded with the hardships of pioneer life, their spiritual bond made them sympathetic to each other's needs. Their overall survival techniques permeated the colonies and on the whole made them more successful in several areas beyond that of the colonies established to their south.
The puritans traveled from England on the Arabella in January of 1630 to escape to a place where they could instill their own religious and political values into their society; Stephen Foster writes about the puritans in the narrative entitled Puritanism and Democracy: A mixed Legacy. Stephen grants the puritans with creating a society based off of religious freedom and reformation of the English church. Their social constructs consisted of hierarchies and accepted inequality. The puritans are credited with laying the foundation to the democratic system of America along with early aspects of political and social constructs found in current day America.
8.Puritans— ‘Followers' of Puritanism, a movement for reform in the Church of England that had a profound influence on the social, political, ethical, and theological ideas in England and America. In America the early New England settlements were Puritan in origin and theocratic in nature. The spirit of Puritanism long persisted there, and the idea of congregational democratic government was carried into the political life of the state as one source of modern democracy.
The Puritans were "Christians," in that they believed in Jesus Christ yet some may argue that they did not lead "Christian" lives. These fanatics seemed to obssess over a major tenet of their religion, that being "Pre Destination." That is, God Himself chose those destined for eternal salvation in the beginning of time, long before our conception and birth. This pre-ordained number is considerably miniscule, which, at times, the Puritans seemed to ignore.
A series of events occurred leading up to, and during the Salem Witch Trials making the situation far detrimental than it should have been. Salem, Massachusetts became the main focus in 1692 when over one hundred people were falsely accused of practicing witchcraft. Twenty were executed by being hanged, one by being pressed, and one-hundred and fifty-six jailed. Women played a big role in the trials. Most of them were the accusers, and the unlucky ones were the accused. The Puritans of this town had just recently moved from their old homes, so living in a new environment may have had an effect on the outrageous hysteria. People were not good with change. With that being said, Individualism began to conquer the principles of Puritanism while trying to protect oneself. Humanity was in a panic from trying to deal with new economic expansion. “The Puritan inhabitants were always alert to the “signs” that
The puritans were very religious. They wanted to show everyone what happens if you are good and believe in god and the heavens. If you do bad things you would be punished or be killed. If you do good things you can be hand chosen to go to heaven.
I think this goes to show how deeply Puritans analyzed and practiced their faith. The fact that they were able to accuse people of witchcraft and convince people that they were possessed by the devil also shows how powerful the church was at the time in order for these trials to occur. In his work, Wonders of the Invisible World, the Puritan minister Cotton Mather goes in to detail what the proceedings and times of the Salem Witch Trials were like. Mather believes that these works of the devil were planning attacks on the people of the time. I think that some of these beliefs are similar to what we see around the world today. I think that this ideology is similar to what we think of terrorism at the time. With the recent terror attacks in Paris, many people are living with great fear. I think that the Salem Witch Trials are similar to what the world is doing to chase down terrorists. I think that this is similar because our country and the rest of the world is spending countless time and resources to hunt down terrorists in order to make our world better and free of
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 believed in the devil and his role as strong as they believed in God and his role. For many centuries, Puritans had the idea that the weakest individuals in society often committed diabolical acts and sins. Furthermore, Satan selected the most vulnerable individuals to do his bidding, among these individuals, women were often held responsible for many sins, including witchcraft. (Godbeer 12). According to Richard Godbeer, in his book, The Salem Witch Hunt, “it was Eve who first gave away to Satan and seduced Adam.” (Godbeer 12). In 1692, witchcraft became a panic among Puritan society. Even though both men and women were accused of witchcraft, women were seventy-six percent more likely to be accused in Salem than men. (Godbeer 12). Puritan society was a male dominate society and men looked down upon women. There were two particular reasons to why women were often accused of being witches. The first reason, was in due to the Puritan belief that women were the source of evil. The second reason was because of certain events that associated with accusations. These events were being of relatively low social status and income, being rich or financially independent and being a midwife or nurse.
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).
The Puritans were Englishmen who chose to separate from the Church of England. Puritans believed that the Anglican Church or Church of England resembled the Roman Catholic Church too closely and was in dire need of reform. Furthermore, they were not free to follow their own religious beliefs without punishment. In the sixteenth century the Puritans settled in the New England area with the idea of regaining their principles of the Christi...
The Puritans believed in the idea of predestination. Predestination is the concept that God elects those who will go to Heaven and Hell by the time they are born into this world. So with this idea that was founded by the Puritans themselves, I think they would shun those who appeared unnatural or different to them. In their eyes, to be elected by God and stay away from the snare of the devil, they would constantly stay at work. Only resting for went they went to bed. So naturally, the Puritans came up with the concept that the Devil overcame the body of someone with weak will and transformed them into a witch. One fact of concern that I found to be interesting was that there was an abundance of more killings in puritan colonies associated to witchcraft as opposed to England. Why were there more killings of civilians in colonies in America as opposed to civilians who lived in England during the witch trials? Was this because of religious differences? Or was this resulting from a need to be accepted ...
The Puritans were, in their view, an “elite” subgroup of the Protestants, thus their goal in England was to halt Roman Catholic worship.
Imagine having to leave your home because you cannot practice your religion freely. This was reality for the Puritans in England before they took a long journey to an unknown land in Salem, Massachusetts. There, they struggled to settle into a strict, religious lifestyle. They followed their Bible and went to Church. They also had harsh punishments for treason as well as other forms of crime. The Puritans were people with a strong belief system that led to irrational fears and a confined lifestyle.
Puritan ideas on religion and Native Americans. The Puritan belief structure was built around the idea of treating one another as brothers, loving one another and having compassion. The Puritans also believed everyone should be virtuous to one another. The Puritans themselves did not treat the Native Americans this way.
This witchcraft hysteria was known as the Salem witch trial. During this time, many puritans went back to their religion. One of the big ways they were hypocritical was that they disobeyed many of the ten commandments. The main ones where: A- Thou shall not murder,