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The influence of Puritans on America
The influence of Puritans on America
The influence of Puritans on America
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A comparison that I can make with this reading is from Richard Godbeer, The Devil’s Dominion: Magic and Religion in Early New England, which illustrates magical beliefs and practices that the colonists brought with them from England. Puritan preachers condemned magic as ungodly and diabolical. Magic and occultism was rejected by the preachers of New England and so they were shocked to learn that colonists used magic themselves. New Englanders used magic to manipulate time and space, clairvoyance, and travel
In document F it says “There is confined unto the atmosphere of our air a vast power or army of evil spirits under the government of a Prince (Satan) who employs them in a continual opposition to the designs of God.” They believed in God and that the evil spirits and witches are under the influence of Satan. The Puritans believed that the bible was true. In Document H says “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” The Puritans were
LEQ prompt 1 During the period between 1607 and 1754, the British had established colonies in North America, inspired by the riches and wealth gained by the Spanish upon the conquest of the Aztecs and Incas in the 16th century, the early British settlements had hoped for the same riches and discoveries in the northern Americas. The first successful permanent settlement was established in Jamestown Virginia, and as time advances the English established thirteen colonies divided geographically into three regions: new England, middle and southern colonies. Socially the English colonists were similar by the means that they shared an English heritage but differed greatly in lifestyle, politically and economically the colonies had many differences,
Those who did not like religious freedom were not welcome to settle there. Puritans in particular were not tolerant to those who had views other than theirs. People that wanted to reform the Anglican religious beliefs in order to purify the church were called Puritans. These puritans
The Puritans in Massachusetts were very intolerant of other religious beliefs, regardless of the fact that they had been persecuted in England for what they believed. Puritans insisted that regular church attendance was mandatory in order to receive voting privileges. This meant that in order to have a say in anything you had to be a devout Puritan. They often argued about discrepancies within their own religion, such as whether or not sainthood was passed down from generation to generation. Puritans even went as far as to exile other Puritans the did not conform to the standard version of Puritanism.
Puritans thought that the Devil was about as real as God is. It is said that they believed Satan would select the weakest out of them all, which was mostly women, children, the insane and punish them. The ones that followed Satan were considered witches. This was one of the greatest crimes say the Puritans. These kind of things truly shape how the religion is now.
He did not believe doing good works or buying indulgences could win salvation, a practice of the Catholic church at the time. The Puritans also disagreed with the Catholic church on that matter. The English Puritans embraced Martin Luther's doctrines rather
Religion had a role in every part of the region whether it be big or small. Another time when religion had impacted a colony or country was when Henry VIII had impacted Europe by creating an unstable connection between the church. He cut his connection with the church in order to divorce his wife Catherine. Now at this point in time whoever was the ruler of England would be able to change the main religion. This caused rebellions between religions on which is more important and which should be the main religion of England.
Religion played a great role in the establishment of the English colonies. The main reason the English traveled to North America was to escape religious persecution. Once the English settled in they created colonies, and established rules for a religious society. They would also try to convert Natives into Christianity, and they established universities to practice ministry. Once the English settlers got to North America, the House of Burgesses in 1619 said they would try to convert Native children specifically boys into a “ true religion”, then eventually teach them how teach them how to be Christian civil people.
Religion played an immense part in the colonies, socially, economically and politically. In the colonies there was a lot of event the took place relating to religion and how things where being enforced within that colonies. Religion influence the trades, communication, and social hierarchy, mainly one religion would be in control of a place for instance, The Dutch was in control of the Netherlands and was ruling it under Christianity. Socially religion played a tremendous part because In new Netherland there was lots of people emigrating and tried to fit into what was already assembled. Even through the diverse population in the New Netherlands, The Dutch prided themselves being uniquely tolerant in religion.
They believed that Church should follow their beliefs which were often very strict and left no room for leeway. Many Puritans came to the Americas to form communities where they were free to practice
Religion in the Southern colonies wasn’t as big of a deal like it was in the Middle, and Northern colonies. The main religion in the south was, Anglican. The economy in the south was like no other. The South has warm weather and a good amount of rainfall. The two main crops included: tobacco and rice.
What you believed depended largely on where you lived. As mentioned, the Puritans controlled a large area of New England and were predominantly Protestant. The middle colonies which included New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, attracted people of all religious groups consisting of Catholics, Lutherans, Amish, Jews, Presbyterians, and Cutch Mennonites among others. The middle colonies accepted all religions and tolerance was practiced by all as you were guaranteed freedom of religion.
Religious ideas played a central role in the way people understood and reacted to the world around them in colonial America. The colonies were founded by various religious groups seeking freedom to practice their faith without persecution. Religion influenced many aspects of colonial people's daily life, from politics and social order to economic practices and daily life. Religious ideas were not only important but often the cause of antagonism and violence in colonial America. One example of religious antagonism in colonial America can be seen in the Salem witch trials of 1692 (American YAWP, 3.5).
Like most things that are society based, religion has evolved alongside our own culture. America is a melting pot of different ethnic backgrounds and cultures making it a perfect place for religion to adapt and flourish. For this analysis, I am drawing from “Civil Religion in America” by Robert N. Bellah (1967) on his ideas of American civil religion. In the text Bellah (1967) argues that civil religion is an important dimension that needs to be recognized in sociology. While Bellah focuses specifically on the United States of America, he still gives a valuable perspective on civil religion and how it plays a part in religion as a whole.
