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Effects of Religion in Society
Impact on religion in society
How religion affects the values of society
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An eerie quiet filled the neighborhood as families walked side by side, focused, emotionless, affectionless, toward their silent destination. They sat, face forward, eyes forward, alert, silent and anxious, but very emotionless. Sermons filled the void caused by the silence, and every attendee of the church service that morning became engulfed in the religion they learned to value over anything else. Everything depended on their attendance, and those who did not show in silence faced brutal but inevitable consequences. The life of Puritans in 1692 Salem Villages was very different than a life led by an individual in present day. Values were placed heavily upon religion, and lifestyles were based around the church. After coming to the New World to become free from oppression in England, many Puritans found themselves faced with more challenges, moral and beyond, that heavily influenced their lifestyles from childhood to adulthood. …show more content…
Salem Village was much poorer than Salem Town, and was consistently trying to gain its independence due to overbearing rules on taxes and prices of crops. The division between the two was cause for tension, and may have played a role in the severity of the witch trials later on. The main problems faced by puritans included many forms of oppression. Puritans were required to go to church, and if they missed a service, they would potentially be arrested, and have their crops destroyed. Entertainment was not an emphasis it was not even a portion of a life in 1692 Salem. Alongside of religion and the conflicts caused from it, Puritans could not be self expressive; affection was unheard of, emotions were rare in public and every day was about fulfilling their duties and nothing
In the provocative article, Were the Puritans Puritanical?, Carl Degler seeks to clarify the many misconceptions surrounding the Puritan lifestyle. He reveals his opinions on this seventeenth century living style, arguing that the Puritans were not dull and ultra-conservative, but rather enjoyed things in moderation. They had pleasures, but not in excess. The Puritans could engage in many pleasurable and leisurely activities so long as they did not lead to sin. According to the article, the Puritans believed that too much of anything is a sin. Degler writes about the misconceptions of Puritan dress, saying that it was the “opposite of severe”, and describing it as rather the English Renaissance style. Not all members of Puritan society
In Salem’s isolated colonial community, religion was the most important factor of life. Everyone in Salem would travel to the church
Analysis and Comparison of the Witch Trials In modern times, the most infamous witch trials are the one that occurred in Salem. These specific witch trials are known for the unjust killings of several accused women and men. The Salem witch trials of 1692, is a big portion of what people refer to, when they want to analyze how Puritan life was during the colonial period. According to ‘Salem Witch Trials’, “The witch trials are often taken as a lens to view the whole Puritan period in New England and to serve as an example of religious prejudice…”
The economy was based on fishing, lumber, whaling, boat building, craftsmen, merchants, and small farms- the region utilized its natural resources (including the valuable Atlantic Ocean), which was shown by the presence of small villages and farms throughout New England. This allowed for life to revolve around the village community and the Church, since each family received several parcels of land for agricultural purposes. Under Puritanism, which controlled many aspects of the colonists’ daily life (including the economy), the Salem Witch Trials began in 1692. Several older women were accused of being witches by some young girls and, during the witch hunt, nineteen people were hanged and one was crushed to death under a rock. This occurred due to intensifying social conditions, inflicted by the Church and the Puritans in Massachusetts, and it created more of a distinction between classes, especially economically. It also should be noted that many of the economically prosperous colonists in Salem were accused of witchcraft- yet another example of economic stratification found in the New England
Edmund S. Morgan's The Puritan Family displays a multifaceted view of the various aspects of Puritan life. In this book, we, the audience, see into the Puritans' lives and are thereby forced to reflect upon our own. The Puritan beliefs and practices were complicated and rather "snobbish," as seen in The Puritan Family.
Being isolated from any other group of people with different beliefs created a church led Puritan society that was not able to accept a lot of change. The church was against the devil, at the same time it was against such things as dancing and other premature acts. The reputation of the family was very important to the members of the community. When the girls were caught dancing in the woods, they lied to protect not just themselves but the reputation of their families. They claimed that the devil took them over and influenced them to dance. The girls also said that they saw members of the town standing with the devil. A community living in a puritan society like Salem could easily go into a chaotic state and have a difficult time dealing with what they consider to be the largest form of evil.
During the time of the Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692, more than twenty people died an innocent death. All of those innocent people were accused of one thing, witchcraft. During 1692, in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts many terrible events happened. A group of Puritans lived in Salem during this time. They had come from England, where they were prosecuted because of their religious beliefs. They chose to come live in America and choose their own way to live. They were very strict people, who did not like to act different from others. They were also very simple people who devoted most of their lives to God. Men hunted for food and were ministers. Women worked at home doing chores like sewing, cooking, cleaning, and making clothes. The Puritans were also very superstitious. They believed that the devil would cause people to do bad things on earth by using the people who worshiped him. Witches sent out their specters and harmed others. Puritans believed by putting heavy chains on a witch, that it would hold down their specter. Puritans also believed that by hanging a witch, all the people the witch cast a spell on would be healed. Hysteria took over the town and caused them to believe that their neighbors were practicing witchcraft. If there was a wind storm and a fence was knocked down, people believed that their neighbors used witchcraft to do it. Everyone from ordinary people to the governor’s wife was accused of witchcraft. Even a pregnant woman and the most perfect puritan woman were accused. No one in the small town was safe. As one can see, the chaotic Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692 were caused by superstition, the strict puritan lifestyle, religious beliefs, and hysteria.
First, the Puritan values and expectations were strict, and those who had defied their teachings would have been at a much higher chance of being accused as a witch. Second, economic struggles within Salem Town and Village had further divided the two, by crop failure and livestock death. Ultimately causing economic damages. Third, personal opinions and disputes had contributed to the trials and accusations. The law system was unfair during the trials, so when or if someone was accused the court would side with the accuser, unless of course, they were a witch themselves. In conclusion, the people who died and who were accused of witchcraft were not really witches, Salem and it’s inhabitants were under the influence of mass hysteria, personal beliefs and grudges that eventually became the chaos of the Salem witch hunts of
While I'm sitting here at my computer, in my air conditioned home, with the radio blaring and the t.v. on downstairs, I try to imagine how life was as a young Puritan. To be honest, I don't think I could live a week the way they do. I could try but it would be excruciatingly difficult.
At that time, Salem was a small town or village; it was a farming community that was only 550 of population. Their goal was that they want to be a model society on the hills. Not all of them were puritans because there were people that want a better life and want to live in a society out of England; their life in England were difficult. There were two groups in the village: those who were separatists and others that were puritans (those who believe in predetermination and follow the rules). Samuel Parris was a reverend that was the minister of the group of the separatist. He helped divide these two groups. The reverend Parris and his wife had 2 children living with them, who were Betty and Abigail. These two girls were the motive that the trials started. These girls screamed, rolled their eyes back into their heads, shook, twist...
In distinction to the early eighteenth century, the small groups of integral Puritans families dominated the economic, military, and political leadership of New England. The Puritans agreed that the church composed many families and wasn’t isolated people. The Puritan family was the major unit of production in the economic system each family member expected an economically useful benefit and the older children worked in some family industries, trending gardens, forcing animals, rotating wool, and protecting their younger brothers and sisters. Wives needed to supervise servants and apprentices to keep their financial accounts, enlightened crops, and to display goods. The Puritans had faith in the larger community that had a compelling duty to secure the families and to see their functions.
In 1630, the Massachusetts Bay Company set sail to the New World in hope of reforming the Church of England. While crossing the Atlantic, John Winthrop, the puritan leader of the great migration, delivered perhaps the most famous sermon aboard the Arbella, entitled “A Model of Christian Charity.” Winthrop’s sermon gave hope to puritan immigrants to reform the Church of England and set an example for future immigrants. The Puritan’s was a goal to get rid of the offensive features that Catholicism left behind when the Protestant Reformation took place. Under Puritanism, there was a constant strain to devote your life to God and your neighbors. Unlike the old England, they wanted to prove that New England was a community of love and individual worship to God. Therefore, they created a covenant with God and would live their lives according to the covenant. Because of the covenant, Puritans tried to abide by God’s law and got rid of anything that opposed their way of life. Between 1630 and the 18th century, the Puritans tried to create a new society in New England by creating a covenant with God and living your life according to God’s rule, but in the end failed to reform the Church of England. By the mid 1630’s, threats to the Puritans such as Roger Williams, Anne Hutchinson, and Thomas Hooker were being banned from the Puritan community for their divergent beliefs. 20 years later, another problem arose with the children of church members and if they were to be granted full membership to the church. Because of these children, a Halfway Covenant was developed to make them “halfway” church members. And even more of a threat to the Puritan society was their notion that they were failing God, because of the belief that witches existed in 1692.
...d their land confiscated, leaving families broke and homeless. During the witch trials many people in Salem left their houses unattended and didn’t do their chores. The trials also affected the planting season. All of this led to severe crop failures and epidemics in Salem in the time after the trials ended. Salem's politics were affected too. (Salem Witch trials | Define Salem Witch trials at Dictionary.com.)
...ty men and women had been accused of being witches. Of those, nineteen of them plead innocent and were hung. One man refused to acknowledge the accusation and refused to enter a plea. He was legally crushed to death. Of the ones who plead guilty and were sent to jail, many contracted illnesses and later died. The outbreak of hysteria caused many to suffer and die, families to break apart, and a society to succumb to the whims of children. In the Puritans quest to create a perfect society based on pure beliefs only created a society ripped apart by tension, anxiety and fear.
In 1692 the area of Salem town and Salem village became very vulnerable to conflict. Severe weather such as hurricanes had damaged land and crops, the effects of King Phillips War began to impact New England society, and colonists were being forced off of the frontiers by Native peoples. The Church and the government were in heavy conflict. And those residing in Salem began to grow suspicious of one another when some prospered and others hadn’t (Marcus, p13).