Puritanism

The Age of Faith

1600s-1750s

Where and When?

Where: New England, in the Massachusetts Bay Colony

When: about 1650-about 1750Also called: Pilgrims—they believed

they were on a journey to a holy placeWhy? To build a secular society

patterned after God’s word (New Test.)

Puritans: Beliefs and Values

#1—PredestinationAll events are foreseen and foreordained

by God

#2—ElectionGod chooses who is saved and who

is damned. Nagging fear—Am I saved?

Puritans: Beliefs and Values

#3—EducationPublicly supported schools: Harvard founded in 1636 to train

ministersEducation necessary so people can

oppose Satan.1770: 70% literacy rate in New England!

Beliefs and Values

#4—Intolerance

Dissenters must be opposed and driven out

--persecution and expulsion of Anne Hutchinson (1638), Roger Williams (1638)

Puritans: Beliefs and Values

Overall…Man is fallen and inherently evilOur futures are already destined—all

we can do is pray for salvationThose who do not agree and conform

must be expelled or destroyed

Puritan Politics

Voting is restricted to Church members only

Blurring of the line between political and religious authority—essentially, a theocracy

Puritan: style and form

In religion, Puritans reject all adornments; the same is true in their literature.

Plain style: strong, simple, logical

Thus, explanations of the Scriptures are clear to all people.

The Bible and Puritan Literature

• Foundation of all Puritan literatureFocus on Inner Events and Outer EventsInner Events: feelings, seen as stages on

the road to salvationOuter events: external events (like

travels), seen as containing messages from God

Forms

• Thus, diaries, histories, and sermons are the most common form of Puritan literature

(interpreting inner and outer events as religious experiences)

Lasting Puritan Contributions

• Self-government and community responsibility (democracy within theocracy)

• Importance of education

• Hard work and thrift demanded of all

• High moral standards

Prominent Writers

• Edward Taylor: finding spiritual truth in the natural world “Upon a Spider Catching a Fly”

• Anne Bradstreet: reconciling love for earthly things with the conviction that the ultimate value in everything is spiritual. “Some Verses Upon the Burning of my House”

Prominent Writers cont.

• Jonathan Edwards: Sermons (extremist) “Sinner in the Hands of an Angry God”

• William Bradford: “Of Plymouth Plantation”