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Female independence in the awakening
Oppressions of women in the awakening
Oppressions of women in the awakening
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Mary Dyer was born in England in 1611. She married William Dyer and went to Massachusetts in 1635. She was a good friend with Anne Hutchinson and shared the same views; they were Quakers. She was the mother of 8 children, two died shortly after birth. Mary had a stillborn daughter that was deformed and they buried in secret, because it was believer that either if a women preached or listen to a woman preacher their child would be deformed or that the deformed child was consequences of the parents sins.
Mary Dyer had not agreed with the Puritan religion. She believed that God spoke to everyone through the urgings of his or her conscience; Puritans thought God only spoke to authorities of the church. Dyer also did not believe that the church should govern all aspects of life in the colony. At first, she kept an uneasy silence. But once a woman, Anne Hutchinson, began publically opposing the church, Dyer decided to step in as well.
Besides English settlers there were numerous other representatives of the European countries settling in the new land. And as the Puritans came to practice their own believes so did other nationalities, as explained in the study material. In my own interpretation America represents change and the believe system as well as the way religion was previously practiced was now changing. This change was greatly influenced by the intellectual movement called Enlightenment, which started in Europe and this influence had bearing on the Great Awakening. Besides Puritans now there were Catholics in Maryland, Quakers in Pennsylvania and the Episcopal Church in the southern states.
The change she was trying to represent was women becoming more powerful in the society. The Puritans were afraid of her. They didn’t want her to get any more powerful. Besides Anne’s meetings being seen as unorthodox by some of the colony's ministers, differing religious opinions within the colony eventually became public debates. The resulting religious tension erupted into what has traditionally been called the Antinomian Controversy, but has more recently been labelled the Free Grace Controversy.
For those who did not share their same religious approach were not welcomed at all. What made it more difficult for people who were not welcomed was the lines between church and state were very blurred. The citizens of these colonies would often take matters into their own hands such as taxes and even consequences for people who did not fit their way of life. These punishments included civil penalties, exile, disqualification of voting and even death. Puritans also believed in witches and demonic possession which fueled the fire for what we know as the Salem Witch Trials which lead to many imprisonments and executions of people accused of witchcraft.
New England’s founders were strict Puritans who did not have much tolerance for any religion except their own. Over time, as more and more immigrants came with increasingly diverse beliefs, the once stable foundation began to crack. Conflicts broke out and certain religious groups were banished which led to the development of other nearby colonies, for example Rhode Island and Connecticut. In the Chesapeake region, it was easier and there was not as much controversy over religion. The area started out as a refuge for Catholics, but over time many Protestants immigrated there and soon became the majority.
The American Enlightenment and the Great Awakening were two very important motivators that changed the colonial society in America through religious beliefs, educational values, and the right to live one’s life according to each individual’s preference. The Great Awakening and the American Enlightenment movements were two events in history that signaled a grand distinction to the teachings among religious believers. New beliefs of how a person should worship in order to be considered in “God’s good graces” soon became an enormous discussion among colonists across the land. “Men of the cloth,” such as George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards were well respected and closely followed when preaching about the love of God and damnation.
“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” & Puritan Beliefs The Great Awakening was a revival movement that occurred during the 1730’s that made people strive for religious seriousness. It was a time of spiritual and religious rediscovery, which was the cause for many sermons. For example, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” delivered by Jonathon Edwards. His sermons spoke with pure urgency, and with the purpose of driving in the thought of his audience not to underestimate the power and majesty of a holy God.
The heresy of Anne Hutchinson of Massachusetts expounded in 1634. Anne Hutchinson was forty-five and a mother of fifteen children. later following the Puritan leader John Cotton to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1634. She brought attention to Cotton’s theology through her way with words. This attracted people to meetings at her home, on Mondays to talk about Cotton’s Sunday sermon.
Despite the intricate positions on abolition, the Second Great Awakening influenced many leaders and developed new principles that radiated throughout the country. Christianity was the one unifying factor that most Americans could identify with at the time. The Enlightenment Era challenged old ideas of divine authority and stimulated a more progressive church aiming for equality. With leaders in the church declaring that slavery was a sin, and promoting the idea of a forgiving God, many northerners began to reach out and spread the word of God and secure their eternal salvation. These values were preached to most Americans from a very young age through song and childrens books.
In New England, there was no such thing as religious tolerance. Everyone was required to be part of the Church of England whether they believed or not. This led to a disagreement among those who believed that those who were not “visible saints” should not be allowed to worship in the same place as those who were. These colonists were referred to as the Separatists because they eventually separated from the Church of England. Those who chose to stay with the church were called Puritans, although that term could technically be used to describe both.
Religious freedom and toleration in the English North American colonies provided little room for those who did not practice the exact same form of government and religion. Although a similarity to America today is that the Puritan "court" provided a ruling to determine the punishment of an individual, however, the similarities stop there. When people came outright to declare their individual practices, such as Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson, they were denounced and, in certain cases, sent into
Therefore, they were seen as very close-minded and harsh to people not in the community. Anne Bradstreet chose to move into the Puritan life with her husband, and brought out that complex view. Not only that, but to keep writing she had a balance with the free thinking aspect and strict beliefs. Since before her time the Puritans showed a harsher side with Anne Hutchinson who tried to teach her interpretations of the Puritan doctrine, along with meetings with other women. This made her seem like a leader, which did not help her in the community, since men thought that women’s minds were too weak to handle the information she was telling everyone about (Warn).
Ye shall not take her! I will die first!’”(Hawthorne 101). Mary Dyer also made a very important life decision that went against the churches rules. Mary was the only member of the community to leave in 1638 when Anne Hutchinson was excommunicated and banished from the colony because her religious views differed from the rest of the colonies (National Women's History Museum). Mary was also then excommunicated from the colony because she went against the ways of the church.
In today’s culture, a main topic of controversy is abortion. Abortion has been around since the late 1800s and has become more popular through the years. There are two sides that associate with abortion, pro-life and pro-choice. These two sides show women the reasons they should or should not have abortions. Because of abortions, the debate between the pro-choice and pro-life advocates has progressed in the sense of intensity and has affected many women in this generation.
