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Native American Religion

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If life is flowing river Native American society is the calming smooth rolling river, and the 3Puritans are the jagged rocks that spring up to shatter that even flow. While the Natives views were unbound, the Puritans were sharp, strict, and set in their cultural ways. Through many varies readings of the cultures we see their differences. The Native Americans and Puritans use their literature to convey their views on Religion, evil, and the land and the difference between the two.
The puritans and Native Americans views on religion as told through stories show the natives God or Gods are often nature-based, where the puritans worship a set God and their religion dominates their daily life. In most cases the Native American god was a divine …show more content…

The natives saw the land as supernatural and something to be respected. “Nature is alive and endowed with spiritual forces;”(Early American). Part of their religion was dedicated to the land. Also the closer to the land you were the better, the land held special powers to them. “Animals were thought to possess special powers because they adapted more readily to the environment than man.”(Traditional Native Poetry). The puritans as said before religion was vital to their daily lives, just as they thanked god for everything they think him for the land. "Being thus arrived in a good harbour, and brought safe to the land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the god of heaven who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean.”(Plymouth Plantation)
The Native American literature shows evil as a necessity in life and completely natural. The Puritans viewed evil as influence from the devil and punishable for all eternally. religion and evil have always gone hand in hand. Religion labelled the bad in their culture. As Native Americans view of their Gods belongs to nature their views of evil are just as natural. the believe that evil; is not only completely natural but …show more content…

From these subjects, we can tell the puritans culture is formatted around God. They centered their lives around him, credited the world to him and accepted their fate from him. Alternatively, the Native Americans were easy going with their views. They worshipped nature and all the great it did for them. This nature based religion transferred to their views of the spiritual earth, and the natural being of evil that resided in humans. These different views show us how each group was different and the ways these choices shaped their

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