Puritans

One central theme of Puritan thought was the belief in predestination, while another was the emphasis on personal piety and moral behavior. A theme not central to Puritan thought was belief in the separation of church and state, as Puritans sought to create a society where church and state were closely intertwined.

Throughout the novel, the Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne criticized the Puritans' moral upstanding. He criticized their moral upstanding because it was kind of messed up. They were expected to be 'perfect' and not sin; in reality, nobody can go without sinning their whole life-everybody sins at least once in their life. However, Puritans were expected not to. If the Puritans were to sin, they would either get in trouble or live with the guilt of their sin eating them from the inside, out. The mess up part about their religion is that it lacked confession. So, if they were to have a big secret or sin, they would have to keep it to themselves.

~Tajza Hodges

Puritans considered activities such as drinking alcohol, dancing, playing games, and celebrating holidays like Christmas to be taboo. They also frowned upon behaviors such as gambling, theater-going, and engaging in extravagant displays of wealth.

Some Puritan symbols include the Bible, which represented the foundation of their faith and the Word of God; the bonnet or cap worn by Puritan women to symbolize modesty and piety; and the color black, which was associated with somberness and seriousness in Puritan clothing and décor.

1. Protestant - against ornateness; reverence for the Bible.

2. Purposiveness - there was a purpose to Puritan writing - described in Part II above.

3. Puritan writing reflected the character and scope of the reading public, which was literate and well-grounded in religion.

Puritan Plain Style was the Puritan way of writing. Their theory of literary style was a belief in a plain style of writing, in which the highest goal are clear statements. They believed one should write this way because a clever or ornate style would be a sign of vanity, which would not agree with God's will.

fighting

It was important to the Puritains to learn how to read The Bible and learn how to write. The Puritans believed that the individual should not be dependant on clergy, see Catholic Church at time, for knowledge of The Bible's content. Each person should read it for themselves, study it themselves...

They had both disagreed with the Church of England. It was said that the wanted to "purify" the church.

The Puritans didn't control anything by 1775, but they did found the city of Philadelphia in 1620. There is 150 years between the two events and by 1775 Philadelphia was a major colonial city.

Some famous Puritan women include Anne Hutchinson, a religious leader in Massachusetts Bay Colony who challenged Puritan beliefs, Anne Bradstreet, a prominent poet of the colonial era, and Mary Dyer, a Quaker who was executed for her beliefs in Massachusetts.

In Puritan communities, women were often viewed through a lens of strict religious and societal expectations. Their primary roles were as wives and mothers, responsible for maintaining the household and nurturing children, which was seen as a reflection of their moral and spiritual duty. While some women could own property and engage in limited forms of business, they were generally subordinate to men, with limited rights and participation in religious and political life. Overall, their treatment was shaped by a patriarchal structure that emphasized obedience and piety.

Puritans looked to the Bible primarily as their source of morality. There are traditionally 5 Puritan "tenets" or values.
1. Original Sin - as consequence of Original Sin, the Sin of Adam and Eve in eating the Apple of Knowledge of Good and Evil, all mankind is vile, unredeemed.
2. Grace - Sine the Puritan thought of God as the universal cause of good in the world, human success was a result of God's love; failure was the result of a lack of it.
3. Predestination - If God loved some and didn't love others (since God was all-knowing) he must have known from all eternity whom he would love and whom not.
4. The Elect - if you were a Puritan you were the saving remnant, chosen by God from all the world of sinners.
5. Good Works - Doing good, succoring the poor, needy, and weak, was a possible sign of election, but could not be a cause of it.

In the 1600s, Puritan influence in New England was characterized by a strict adherence to religious orthodoxy and a theocratic governance structure, where church leaders held significant power. However, by the 1700s, the rise of Enlightenment ideas and increased religious pluralism led to a gradual decline in Puritan dominance. Many Puritans began to adopt a more liberal interpretation of their faith, while the Great Awakening introduced new evangelical movements that challenged traditional Puritan beliefs. This shift marked a transition towards a more diverse and less rigid religious landscape in New England.

John Winthrop

Yes, the Puritans believed in education for all, including both boys and girls. They believed that education was essential for individuals to read and understand the Bible, which was at the center of their religious beliefs. As a result, the Puritans established schools and made efforts to ensure that children received a basic education.

Education was important to the Puritans because they believed that studying the Bible was essential to their religious and moral development. They also placed a strong emphasis on literacy and education in order to ensure that individuals could read and interpret scripture for themselves. Additionally, education was seen as a means to strengthen their communities and maintain their religious beliefs.

so children could learn to read The Bible

The Puritans believed in strict discipline and punishment for moral offenses. They utilized public humiliation, fines, imprisonment, and in extreme cases, capital punishment for crimes they considered to be severe. The purpose was to maintain social order and enforce religious adherence.