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The influence of religion on American literature
Religion and society
Religion and society
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The power of religion has greatly affected they way American literature was philosophized and written in the 1700s. It has greatly motivated and influenced the actions and mentalities of many travelers, as well as Native Americans. The enforcement of religion mainly arises from foreigners that travel from other countries to America. People such as William Bradford and Mary Rowlandson lived their lives and made decisions accordingly to their Christian religion. Overall, religion has shaped American literature by affecting earlier people’s actions, mentality, and the views people had on Native Americans . These narratives have helped us to better understand earlier civilization and their mindsets. A person religious beliefs or traditions can …show more content…
This proves that religion has an influence on people’s actions. The actions that resulted from following faith has altered how literature pieces are developed. The purpose of Rowlandson’s narrative was to keep her reputation as a Christian women. If she didn’t have faith in God at the time and decided to deal with captivity herself she most likely wouldn’t have published the story because it would show her lack of faith. In addition, considering she was set free by the Natives, it also could help spread Christianity because her dedication in God could persuade other people that prayer works. Religion is a powerful force that can lead people to follow guidelines of their …show more content…
When a person follows a religion, they have religious beliefs. For example, one of the beliefs of Christianity is to not steal. The concept applies to the recent readings of American literature. To explain, John Winthrop preached a sermon called “A Model of Christian Charity” and in this sermon, he spoke about different “rules” and ideologies that a true Christian should follow. For example, one of the demands was that “…the rich and mighty should not eat up the poor, nor the poor and despised rise up against their superiors and shake off their yoke” (Winthrop 91) Winthrop is saying that everyone should be seen as equal but not try to disturb the peace of the different social classes. Religion has affected the way of living for people in the early years. Winthrop believed that if one were to not follow these rules then they would go to hell and suffer. Religion was a particularly serious concept for these people because it was so heavily enforced. The fact that Winthrop wrote an entire sermon about the way a person should think and live based on religious factors can prove that religion has definitely influenced their mindsets and
The English took their land and disrupted their traditional systems of trade and agriculture. As a result, the power of native religious leaders was corrupted. The Indians we...
Miller Edwards,Hawthorne and korning each show how religion was a sin in puritan cultures and affected many people’s lives that punishment will come when you have disgraced your religion that good is against the devil there is a strict form of puritan. Puritans were dedicated to work to save themselves from the sins in the world. Guilt was a great force in the puritans belief. The people in the story are Puritans a religion often depicted because of its rules and severe punishments to those who sin. The puritans left england to avoid religious persecution they established a society in America founded upon religion intolerance, Up surprising result the church dominates the Puritan culture.
The Indigenous people of America are called Native Americans or often referred to as “Indians”. They make up about two percent of the population in the United States and some of them still live in reservations. They once lived freely in the wilderness without any sort of influence or exposure from the Europeans who later came in the year of 1492, and therefore their culture is very different from ours.. In the following essay we will discover some differences between the religious beliefs of the Native American Iroquois and Christianity to see if the culture and ways of living have an effect on the view of religion, but we will also get to know some similarities between them. I am going to be focusing on the Iroquois, which are the northeastern Native Americans who are historically important and powerful.
Many times throughout history, a specific individual or a group comes along and shapes a society. Religious groups often arrive and settle on a new piece of land, and happen to shape that society, around their beliefs and religion. The New England Puritans and the Chesapeake Catholics are prime examples to show how religion shaped the development of a colonial society.
Religion of the protestant church was an important factor in the pre-war timeline culture. The Second great awakening, which occurred in the 19th century, greatly impacted American society. This new point of view in terms and matters of faith led northerners to cherish the theory of Christian perfection, a theory that in fact was applied to society in an attempt to eliminate social imperfection. On the other hand, southerners reacted by cherishing a faith of personal piety, which focused mainly on a reading of the Bible; however, it expressed very little concern in addressing society’s problems.1
Even with its high entertainment value, religion had much more significant impact on colonial America: it was directly responsible for the Great Awakening. Arguably the single most important movement leadings towards the Revolutionary War, the Great Awakening fractured religion as the colonies knew it and set in motion a dissenting mentality that would ultimately culminate in conflict (Bonomi, 2003). Perhaps even more important than the dissenting mindset was the role it elevated the church to. With a new found rebellious attitude ever present, churches utilized their influence and propagated revolutionary political positions to their members (Bonomi). Religion shaped colonial America in a way that no other factor could have. Under the Cope of Heaven provides the reader a chance to fully comprehend this often misconstrued
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...
Because it offers them the possibility of community and identity, many slaves find themselves strongly attached to religion. They cannot build a family structure and they cannot be identified by family name, but through the church, they can build a community and identify themselves as Christians. This comfort becomes virtually non-existent for it too is controlled by the slaveowners who “came to the conclusion that it would be well to give the slaves enough of religious instruction to keep them from murdering their masters” (57). The fact that one person could have the ability to control the amount of religion another person has and his purpose for having it diminishes any sense of community or identity that it may have initially provided.
Religion in the New World exploded into the land with the colonization of thousands of immigrants. It played an important role in the development of thought in the West. Religion was one of the first concepts to spark the desires of people from other countries to emigrate to the new lands. While many religions blossomed on the American shores of the Atlantic, a basic structure held for most of them, being predominantly derived from Puritanism. Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement, showed the link the new settlers had to God when Sir Thomas Dale said the following in 1610:
Mary Rowlandson was a Puritan. Puritans are very strict and believe in almost the same values that major monotheistic religions believe in; such as, the devil, they give God credit for everything, and look to God for answers and help. This pretty much speaks for every single voice Rowlandson brings forward in her memoir. Constantly and with much admiration she quotes the Bible and this shows the intensity of the situation she was dealing with and her steady trust in God. “The next day was the Sabbath, I then….His presence forever” (remove #2), as one might assume, Rowlandson very faithfully makes herself the culprit despite losing most of her family. The innocence and the thoughtfulness that comes out of this particular statement says every single thing about her, the fact that she is serious about her being, and the depth of her religious self. Religion immensely affected the experience she and her family had because as she continuously justifies the situation she is in, the Bible shapes her story. “I know O Lord that….hast afflicted me” (remove #11) and “Shall there be evil in a City and the Lord hath not done it?” (Remove #15). From what I understand Rowlandson is sure that she is where s...
The American version of history blames the Native people for their ‘savage ' nature, for their failure to adhere to the ‘civilized norms ' of property ownership and individual rights that Christian people hold, and for their ‘brutality ' in defending themselves against the onslaught of non-Indian settlers. The message to Native people is simple: "If only you had been more like us, things might have been different for you.”
First of all, during their time, it was recognized that one did not have a right within the choice of religion versus government. It seemed that whatever one wanted to believe was not an option when it came to following a creed, it was more than probable that one’s government had made that choice for its people. Roger Williams, having been educated by Sir Coke on religious ideals seemed to be bothered by this fact and was fervent to change this as his former master whom had spent time in a London jail for his own ideas (Humanities, 1983). Anne Hutchinson being the daughter of a dissenting puritan minister (Reuben, 2011) had ideas differing from the major religious institutions of her land, and was especially dissatisfied with not being able accept creeds differing from the main. Williams’ works touched on this subject beautifully as he logically, even through quotes in scriptures, explained why it was that if one wished to be a true follower of Christ, that religious tolerance was a must. In The Bloudy Tenet of Persecution, Williams explains that Christ ‘abhors’ the practice of forced worship and persecution of differing beliefs of even those who are not Christian. Anne Hutchinson openly practiced the freedom of conscience as part of her life. She had at one point in England, meetings where she would speak about the doctrines and treatises written by John Cotton, and she would always add in her own interpretations (Anne Hutchinson...
In this way the religion practiced by the Native Americans was taken as contradictions to Christianity. The natives were informed that Christianity was designed to be an eternal rule of significance and a means from which they could use to return to God from their religions that had deviated (Eliot par. 3). Through sermons given by Whitfield, the minds of the natives were engaged in religion and making religion the subject of most of their discussions. They embraced all the opportunities to hear what was been taught on Christianity. The Christian revivals were attended by the young and old alike (Edwards par.
In the New World Bradford and Morton were both important men of our history. The stories of both great men give us an insight into the way religion and influence affected Puritan life.
Ed Christopher Vecsey. NewYork: Syracuse University Press, 1981. - - - . Native Religions of North America: The Power of Visions and Fertility. New York: Harper & Row, 1987.