Puritans

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==Political and sociological usage==
 
==Political and sociological usage==
The term "puritan" became popular during the [[sexual revolution]] as a general perjorative synonymous with "prude", along with the explanation that lingering Puritanism in American culture was largely to blame for lack of openness about sexual matters and nudity, in contrast to the openness in countries like France and Sweden.  This usage was common in the 1960s-1980s but not so much today.  Puritanism is often viewed as one of the roots of the modern [[religious right]].
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The term "puritan" became popular during the [[sexual revolution]] as a general pejorative synonymous with "prude", along with the explanation that lingering Puritanism in American culture was largely to blame for lack of openness about sexual matters and nudity, in contrast to the openness in countries like France and Sweden.  This usage was common in the 1960s-1980s but not so much today.  Puritanism is often viewed as one of the roots of the modern [[religious right]].
  
 
Puritanism has conversely also been viewed as a source of modern political progressivism, inasmuch as the original Puritans who settled in New England were utopian and desired to stamp out various social evils.  The Puritan influence in the northeast along with the Quaker influence in the mid-Atlantic region led the northern U.S. to become strongly anti-[[slavery]], in contrast to the pro-slavery English Cavalier culture which took hold in the coastal Southeast which is seen as the root of modern [[conservatism]], and the Scots-Irish who settled in Appalachia who had quasi-[[libertarian]] attitudes and weren't inclined to side with either side in the slavery debate.  ''Albion's Seed'' (1989) by David Hackett Fischer is a popular book on the subject attempting to trace modern political divisions in the U.S. to these four migrations from England.   
 
Puritanism has conversely also been viewed as a source of modern political progressivism, inasmuch as the original Puritans who settled in New England were utopian and desired to stamp out various social evils.  The Puritan influence in the northeast along with the Quaker influence in the mid-Atlantic region led the northern U.S. to become strongly anti-[[slavery]], in contrast to the pro-slavery English Cavalier culture which took hold in the coastal Southeast which is seen as the root of modern [[conservatism]], and the Scots-Irish who settled in Appalachia who had quasi-[[libertarian]] attitudes and weren't inclined to side with either side in the slavery debate.  ''Albion's Seed'' (1989) by David Hackett Fischer is a popular book on the subject attempting to trace modern political divisions in the U.S. to these four migrations from England.   

Revision as of 16:40, 26 September 2009

'Puritan' was a term most common in the seventeenth century, although still occasionally used, to refer to various staunch Protestant movements throughout Europe and the New World, but most popular in England, New England and the Netherlands.

Examples of Puritans include the theologian John Calvin, the French Huguenots, the Pilgrim Fathers who founded the Plymouth Colony in 1620, Oliver Cromwell's 'Commonwealth' government of England (1649-1660), and the poet John Milton, who wrote Paradise Lost.

Although the term is now usually used to describe historical Puritans, the theology and values of Puritanism live on in some of the denominations founded during this era, including Presbyterians, Baptists and Quakers. Also founded by Puritans who settled in New England was the Congregational Church, which is today known as the United Church of Christ, one of the most liberal Protestant denominations.

Among the most infamous incidents associated with the Puritans was a moral panic over witchcraft in 1692-1693, leading to the Salem Witch Trials.

Beliefs

Puritans believed that the Roman Catholic Church had polluted true Christianity, and that the Protestant Reformation in Europe had not gone far enough in rejecting the vestiges of Catholicism. Some Puritans wished to 'purify' national churches (such as the Church of England) from within, while others (separatists or nonconformists), such as the Pilgrims, sought to practise their religion in separate congregations.

Puritanism did not consist of a single set of beliefs and practices, but generally included the following:

  • Belief in the Bible as the only true path to Christianity, and rejection of non-Biblical theologies (purgatory, absolution, transubstantiation, etc.)
  • Belief in a direct and personal relationship with God ("the priesthood of all believers") through prayer, personal conscience and confession to God (not to a priest).
  • Rejection of the mysticism surrounding ordained priests. Puritans had preachers instead.
  • Emphasis on preaching, prayer and Bible study rather than ritual.
  • Rejection of religious imagery and other artworks as "idolatrous". This sometimes extended to iconoclasm - breaking statues, pictures and church windows.
  • Emphasis on modesty and humility. Puritans usually wore dour, functional clothing.
  • Viewing contemporary society as decadent and sinful, and extreme disapproval of "worldly" activities such as dancing, drunkenness, gambling and the theatre.
  • Use of the pejorative "papist" to describe Catholics, or anyone or anything which did not fit the Puritans' own view of true Christianity.

Political and sociological usage

The term "puritan" became popular during the sexual revolution as a general pejorative synonymous with "prude", along with the explanation that lingering Puritanism in American culture was largely to blame for lack of openness about sexual matters and nudity, in contrast to the openness in countries like France and Sweden. This usage was common in the 1960s-1980s but not so much today. Puritanism is often viewed as one of the roots of the modern religious right.

Puritanism has conversely also been viewed as a source of modern political progressivism, inasmuch as the original Puritans who settled in New England were utopian and desired to stamp out various social evils. The Puritan influence in the northeast along with the Quaker influence in the mid-Atlantic region led the northern U.S. to become strongly anti-slavery, in contrast to the pro-slavery English Cavalier culture which took hold in the coastal Southeast which is seen as the root of modern conservatism, and the Scots-Irish who settled in Appalachia who had quasi-libertarian attitudes and weren't inclined to side with either side in the slavery debate. Albion's Seed (1989) by David Hackett Fischer is a popular book on the subject attempting to trace modern political divisions in the U.S. to these four migrations from England.

According to this view, as the strict Puritan religion waned, the utopian leanings remained and the desire to stamp out social ills shifted from things like dancing and theater to slavery, alcohol, and poverty (indeed, the early prohibitionist and socialist movements often involved the same people, who also took up causes ranging from the necessary and long overdue - women's suffrage - to the misguided - eugenics). The first compulsory public education laws were passed in Connecticut (1849) and Massachusetts (1852). A number of utopian experiments and writers flourished in the New England region during the 1800s (e.g. Edward Bellamy's Looking Backward, the Transcendentalism of Emerson and Thoreau, the early anarchism of Josiah Warren and Benjamin Tucker) that would become primary influences on progressivism and socialism alike. (The Marxist brand of socialism, in contrast to the homegrown utopian American kind, first came to the U.S. with the formation of the Workingmen's Party in 1876 and was more a product of industrialization rather than regional culture, on the other hand). This is not the only regional influence as other movements feeding into modern progressivism had their roots in the Midwest (the Greenback Party, the New Harmony community, the battles over abolitionism in Kansas), the West (the debate over land use policy between Gifford Pinchot and John Muir), and the South (the Peoples Party and Agrarianism).

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