How Does the Scarlet Letter Comment on Religion in America?

Religion is the name given to a “relationship with God, and different groups of people have different Gods and belief systems” (Terhart & Schulze, 2008). Today there are 313 religions and denominations in the United States; from monotheists who believe in one God, to polytheists who believe in many Gods, to others who believe in no God, or a God as represented by animal spirits, alien groups, or psychoactive substances (ProCon.org, 2008). Christianity was the first religion that was brought to the world by European settlers and it became dominant religion of the United States throughout its history. Although Puritan practices was accepted under the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, both James I and Charles I believed that their authority had full power to enforce religious standards among their subjects and so they authorized the persecution of Puritans, who were challenging many of the most important rules of the English church. As a result, in the 1620s and 1630s a number of English Puritans decided to move to America, where they hoped to put their religious beliefs into practice unaffected by the Stuarts or the Church hierarchy. (Norton et al., 1986)
The Puritans were a group of religious reformers who arrived in Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630s under the leadership of John Winthrop. The religious sect was known for its actions to purify the Church of England by reforming to the simpler forms of worship and Church organization described in the New Testament (Norton et al., 1986). Nathaniel Hawthorne was a writer during 19th century, but he had deep bonds with his Puritan ancestors of 16th century, so he wrote the novel highlighting their weaknesses, strengths and beliefs. The novel titled, “The Scarlet Letter” also gives the detaile...

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... . This shows the issues of nepotism and favoritism in American religion. Such punishment given on the scaffold and reducing the degree of punishment openly to the public really showcase the prevalence of corruption in the American religious body.

References
1) Hawthorne, N. (1850). The Scarlet Letter. New Delhi: Peacock Books.

2) Norton, M. B, Katzman, D. M, Escort, P. D, Chudacoff, H. P, Paterson, T. G, & Jr. Tuttle, W.M.
(1986). A people and a nation. A history of the United States (2nd ed.) USA: Houghton Mifflin Company.
3) Terhart, F. & Schulze, J. (2008). World Religion, origins history practices beliefs worldview.
United Kingdom: Parragon Books Ltd.
3) CliffsNotes on The Scarlet Letter. (2014). Retrieved on 26th May, 2014 from http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/s/the-scarlet-letter/critical-essays/the-puritan-setting-of- the-scarlet-letter