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PURITANISM

PURITANISM. Puritan. A general term used for different groups of people who wanted to change and purify society in England and America in the 1600s and early 1700s. Settling in America.

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PURITANISM

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  1. PURITANISM

  2. Puritan • A general term used for different groups of people who wanted to change and purify society in England and America in the 1600s and early 1700s.

  3. Settling in America • The Congregationalists settled Plymouth in the 1620s and Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut, and Rhode Island in the 1630s. • The Presbyterians settled many communities in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania during the late 1600s and throughout the 1700s.

  4. Beliefs of the Puritans • 1. All of life’s experiences planned and controlled by God • 2.Mankind weak, guilty, and dangerously close to falling prey to the Devil • 3.One to live life as a proof of his own salvation

  5. Beliefs cont… • 4. One to be on guard constantly against sin and the Devil • 5. God considered all-powerful and feared on Earth • 6. Bible to read and obeyed literally, word for word

  6. Beliefs cont… • 7. Salvation is promise of eternal life in heaven • 8. Life predestined by God; God knows how one will turn out from the beginning of life

  7. Beliefs cont… • 9. Perfect society is a theocracy: • a. religious leaders and town leaders the same • b. religious laws and town laws the same • c. absolute order necessary in society

  8. Beliefs cont… • 10. Strict rules against drinking, gambling, sex outside marriage, work on the Sabbath (Sunday) and entertainments of most kinds • 11. Hard work owed to God on a daily basis • 12. Wealth and earned possessions seen as signs of God’s approval and one’s salvation

  9. Beliefs in the “Worlds of Wonder” • Believed in witches, the power of Satan to assume visible form, foretelling of dreams, “monstrous” births, and miraculous deliverances (from evil). • Look for this in The Crucible.

  10. Predestination • Derived from John Calvin—humans are innately sinful and conceived in sin. • God will spare a small number of “elect” from the fate of Hell that we all justly deserve • This group would at some point in life experience an inner “assurance” either suddenly or gradually…known as conversion

  11. Calvin continued • God decides who is saved or damned before the start of history—this decision not altered by how humans behave during life (good or bad) • God does not give “extra credit” or any credit for good works performed • No free will

  12. So why Puritanism? If your fate is already decided and cannot be changed, why not enjoy the moment?

  13. Realities of the time • Most people wholeheartedly embraced the idea of predestination because it gave them comfort • Why would this idea of predestination be a compelling and reassuring belief for so many people?

  14. Historical and Social Context • Tons of changes between 1400 and 1800…modern capitalism showed huge profits for merchants and landowners—at the cost of inflation and unemployment=misery for many other (the rich get richer, the poor get poorer) • Unemployment leads to beggars and petty criminals

  15. History continued… • Protestant Reformation caused violent religious wars leading to tensions between Protestants and Catholics • Europeans colonizing new parts of the world

  16. Need for Order • All these unsettling events created a need for social order and rules • Predestination answers these needs…if God has a plan for all of us, he has a plan for all of human history…everything happens for a reason and leads to the ultimate triumph of good over evil

  17. Context • Even though no free will, their lives are still meaningful and important • Their suffering will produce a perfect peaceful future…a heaven on earth • Lived Puritan life not because they tried to earn salvation, rather because if they could resist sin, they saw that as “evidence” of their being “chosen”

  18. Context continued • Living a Godly life was not the cause of a person’s salvation, rather the EFFECT of salvation

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