The Puritans were a religious group that came to North America in search of religious freedom, and, in the process, greatly impacted the North American church, government, education, social mores, and economy. Many of the things that they implemented in the first colonies are still seen today in the social and governmental structures of the United States. Their beliefs and traditions are still practiced today and many social mores are still being adhered to, even now. The Puritans first became a sect in England, where they became dissatisfied with the Church of England and sought reform. They led a civil war but their victory was short-lived and they came to North America to escape persecution. “The Puritans believed that the Bible was God’s true law and that it provided a plan for living.” They wanted to live according to this belief and that is what brought the separation between them and the Church of England. For the Puritans, God was to be the motivation of all their actions (Kizer, Kay). They believed in piousness, righteousness, and hard work. (Campbell, Douglas). One of the Puritans’ greatest impacts was on church, or religion. They taught religious exclusiveness and spiritual unity which still remain today and can be seen throughout the various denominations of Christianity, such as exclusiveness with the Seventh Day Adventists or Jehova Witnesses. The Puritans held fast to the belief of John Calvin in predestination and followed a harsh interpretation of 2 scripture. They emphasized redemptive piety and individual responsibility to God (Kizer, Kay). Many of these beliefs are still reinforced today in Christian churches in a variety of ways. Another area in which the Puritans were influentia... ... middle of paper ... ... farming (Chamber, ) (Bradford, William). The Puritans can also be held accountable for bringing in the idea of capitalism. As Max Weber quotes Gothein in his book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism “the Calvinistic movement was the basis of a capitalistic economy.” This is probably one of the ideas brought by the Puritans that can most be seen in the way the United States government runs its country and diplomatic relations with other countries around the globe. As proven throughout this paper, many of the Puritan ways of life are continuing to be seen in North America. Their ideas about religion, government, education, social mores, and economy are still woven into North Americans’ daily lives. It is interesting to observe how, even after so many decades, the United States has been able to maintain the system of thought on which it was founded.
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.
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.
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.
The American Puritans clearly understood that God's word applies to all of life. Their exemplary lives and faith, contrary to popular myths, are a highpoint of Christian thinking. Puritan legal history specifies some of their loyalties and compromises.
New England’s society was shaped by the religious beliefs of the Puritans and their determination, good and bad, to enforce their beliefs. Politically, they lived as a large theocracy, but introduced to New England the purest form of democracy, influencing not only New England, but later the United States of America, to form and live under a democracy. They also had great influences on New England and England itself economically. They became excellent fishermen and highly skilled ship craftsmen, as well as helping not only their own economic system, but also Europe’s economy through the resources they sold to England and bought back as a much more useful resource, such as the beaver furs. The Puritans also became very successful in the trading industry and because of this they were able to come by everything it was that they needed. All of these great influences still have a part in how America lives
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...
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 want to spread there faith to over people including children, other religions, non religious, and the Indians. They strongly believed in spreading Gods world and having it expressed in the state and daily lifestyle of the people. Their view on the religious tolerance is to follow both there religions and state laws.
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.
Puritanism as a religion declined, both by diluting its core beliefs and by losing its members. This phenomenon was at work even in colonial days, at the religion’s height, because it contained destructive characteristics. It devolved into something barely recognizable in the course of a few generations. We can observe that the decline of Puritanism occurred because it bore within itself the seeds of its own destruction.
They had a fait-based theocracy. The puritans where to follow the bible strictly. That was
The Puritans were an unprecedented, iconic group of people, bound together by infallible religious, educational, and familial beliefs- unsurprisingly, their beliefs and moral and ethical values had an omnipresent influence in the political, economic, and social aspects of society in the New England colonies from 1630 to the 1660s and beyond. Their harshly apprehended religious tolerance, stark aggrandizement of education, and inseparable concept of societal unity all played omnipotent parts in the development of New England. In conclusion, the Puritans were an indispensible influence in the New World, and their ideas, concepts, and beliefs will live on transcendently forevermore through the ages in the very fabric of human thinking.
...ling the Puritans to leave their families, homes and jobs in order to establish a community which was free from religious persecution and similar in its beliefs. These beliefs or distinctives included the following: an emphasis on strong moral character, the prominence of the Bible as the ultimate authority in both doctrine and practice and an uncompromising belief in the doctrines of grace. All of which set apart our Puritan forefathers from both the contemporary Christians of their day and the majority of modern Christianity today.