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Reflecting on Puritanism
Star7az
Professor Rodrigo
ENH241-13061
Reflection Paper
July 2, 2009
Puritanism is a helpful to reflect on because it was the basis of American culture. As the foundation of America, Puritanism was in itself founded on the promise of religious freedom. I would call this promise “freedom of worship” but, considering the Puritanical mind-set, it seems larger than just a matter of systematic religion. Everything was connected with God, so religion was not separate from state or livelihood. Rather, religion was a way of life. Material objects were meaningless, as was personal opinion, when everything was related to God, His laws, and your personal relationship with Him. Intervening in the worship process was probably seen, by a Puritan, as affecting their entire way of life…and afterlife.
Puritanical concepts created many of the American ideals and attitudes that persisted through the subsequent generations. Sometimes, as with the freedom of religion, the Puritan promise is alive today albeit in a more diverse form. Yet, however conservative, harsh, and orderly Puritanism may seem, it was its own form of rebellion. Romantics may have rebelled against their Enlightenment forefathers, and Enlightenment Reason may have pitted against Puritanical dogma, but the Puritans also resisted the existing establishment. They hoped for a better future in their own version of the American Dream. They wished for their version of honor, and salvation, through a connection with God that English institutions did not provide for them. Obedience, subservice, and conservatism were almost a form of worship that showed a loving and respectful favoritism of God over monarchies, churches, and family members (i.e. marital partners). Their righteousness, they believed, was manifested in the God-granted land of the American frontier. Through their belief in the expansion of His Word/His people, their version of the American Dream helped encourage Manifest Destiny, optimism, and native prejudice.
If it weren’t for a heightened sense of the self in relationship to God (as a sinner or a member of the saved), I would say group identity nearly dissolves the sense of self. Heretics such as Roger Williams were free thinkers and, unlike the later Enlightenment, a sense of self separate from the group was considered vain and/or sinful. There was more of a collective identity, as opposed to the individualism that began in the Enlightenment. This made people identify themselves as part of one group and not “the other.” Some Puritans considered themselves Protestants who only worshipped as they were called. Other demanded separation from the alleged corruptions of the Church of England. Nevertheless, Puritan identity was a religious identity, and not an individualistic, political, philosophical, or transcendental spiritualist one. Diversity was also discouraged, because it was viewed as heresy. This placed more emphasis on identity, and whether or not someone was in one group or another often represented the “sinner” and “saved” classification. This, in turn, led to the idea of American Dream for the “chosen” righteous in a God-given frontier land.
If I studied this period I would have been interested in Roger Williams, Anne Bradstreet, Michael Wigglesworth, and William Bradford. Bradford, as a government official, shows us the conventions of Puritan life. Williams, by contrast, was a heretic that willingly lived with the Native Americans on the frontier. Bradstreet is the first poet in America, let alone the first female poet, and she shows the conflict within everyday Puritan life. Wigglesworth gives a glimpse into Puritanical thought, belief, and teaching in the first best-seller in American history.
Which two authors and texts would I choose? First I would choose Wigglesworth and his “Day of Doom.” It is important to read because, as the first American best-seller, it shows the mind-set that was in/being ingrained in the Puritanical peoples at this time. I think it is important to know what the people believed, feared, and imagined. Even if they didn’t believe the poem word-for-word (as I think they did) the reading would still provide insight into the minds of the people. I think a familiarity with Puritanical imagination, description, and belief would help when reading other pieces from this era.
My second choice, after too much indecision, would be Anne Bradstreet’s “To My Dear and Loving Husband.” It is not her most critically acclaimed poem, but it is helpful because it shows how the personal “trials” of everyday life led to feelings of guilt and conflict under T.U.L.I.P. order. Her inner conflicts may also reveal insight into all the authors of this era, both the women and men. Puritanical beliefs, it seems, would easily place everything within a category of good or bad. This could tear apart someone, or their personal and collective identity, that is already under the strain of the frontier. Reading this poem with “Day of Doom” would provide an interesting comparison and contrast of how Puritanical ideals thought a person was supposed to act (prepare) and believe, and how they actually lived. This would provide more insight into the Puritan peoples, as individual members working together under a social order.
Professor Rodrigo
ENH241-13061
Reflection Paper
July 2, 2009
Reflecting on Puritanism
Puritanism is a helpful to reflect on because it was the basis of American culture. As the foundation of America, Puritanism was in itself founded on the promise of religious freedom. I would call this promise “freedom of worship” but, considering the Puritanical mind-set, it seems larger than just a matter of systematic religion. Everything was connected with God, so religion was not separate from state or livelihood. Rather, religion was a way of life. Material objects were meaningless, as was personal opinion, when everything was related to God, His laws, and your personal relationship with Him. Intervening in the worship process was probably seen, by a Puritan, as affecting their entire way of life…and afterlife.
Puritanical concepts created many of the American ideals and attitudes that persisted through the subsequent generations. Sometimes, as with the freedom of religion, the Puritan promise is alive today albeit in a more diverse form. Yet, however conservative, harsh, and orderly Puritanism may seem, it was its own form of rebellion. Romantics may have rebelled against their Enlightenment forefathers, and Enlightenment Reason may have pitted against Puritanical dogma, but the Puritans also resisted the existing establishment. They hoped for a better future in their own version of the American Dream. They wished for their version of honor, and salvation, through a connection with God that English institutions did not provide for them. Obedience, subservice, and conservatism were almost a form of worship that showed a loving and respectful favoritism of God over monarchies, churches, and family members (i.e. marital partners). Their righteousness, they believed, was manifested in the God-granted land of the American frontier. Through their belief in the expansion of His Word/His people, their version of the American Dream helped encourage Manifest Destiny, optimism, and native prejudice.
If it weren’t for a heightened sense of the self in relationship to God (as a sinner or a member of the saved), I would say group identity nearly dissolves the sense of self. Heretics such as Roger Williams were free thinkers and, unlike the later Enlightenment, a sense of self separate from the group was considered vain and/or sinful. There was more of a collective identity, as opposed to the individualism that began in the Enlightenment. This made people identify themselves as part of one group and not “the other.” Some Puritans considered themselves Protestants who only worshipped as they were called. Other demanded separation from the alleged corruptions of the Church of England. Nevertheless, Puritan identity was a religious identity, and not an individualistic, political, philosophical, or transcendental spiritualist one. Diversity was also discouraged, because it was viewed as heresy. This placed more emphasis on identity, and whether or not someone was in one group or another often represented the “sinner” and “saved” classification. This, in turn, led to the idea of American Dream for the “chosen” righteous in a God-given frontier land.
If I studied this period I would have been interested in Roger Williams, Anne Bradstreet, Michael Wigglesworth, and William Bradford. Bradford, as a government official, shows us the conventions of Puritan life. Williams, by contrast, was a heretic that willingly lived with the Native Americans on the frontier. Bradstreet is the first poet in America, let alone the first female poet, and she shows the conflict within everyday Puritan life. Wigglesworth gives a glimpse into Puritanical thought, belief, and teaching in the first best-seller in American history.
Which two authors and texts would I choose? First I would choose Wigglesworth and his “Day of Doom.” It is important to read because, as the first American best-seller, it shows the mind-set that was in/being ingrained in the Puritanical peoples at this time. I think it is important to know what the people believed, feared, and imagined. Even if they didn’t believe the poem word-for-word (as I think they did) the reading would still provide insight into the minds of the people. I think a familiarity with Puritanical imagination, description, and belief would help when reading other pieces from this era.
My second choice, after too much indecision, would be Anne Bradstreet’s “To My Dear and Loving Husband.” It is not her most critically acclaimed poem, but it is helpful because it shows how the personal “trials” of everyday life led to feelings of guilt and conflict under T.U.L.I.P. order. Her inner conflicts may also reveal insight into all the authors of this era, both the women and men. Puritanical beliefs, it seems, would easily place everything within a category of good or bad. This could tear apart someone, or their personal and collective identity, that is already under the strain of the frontier. Reading this poem with “Day of Doom” would provide an interesting comparison and contrast of how Puritanical ideals thought a person was supposed to act (prepare) and believe, and how they actually lived. This would provide more insight into the Puritan peoples, as individual members working together under a social order.
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