Puritanism

American Schools of Thought

American PuritanismDeists & the Age of Reason

Reuben, Paul P. “Chapter 1: Early American Literature to 1700 - A Brief Introduction.” PAL: Perspectives in American Literature - A Research and Reference Guide. <http://www.csustan.eduenglish/reuben/pal/chap1/1intro.html> 14 August 2006.

Reuben, Paul P. “Chapter 2: Colonial Period: 1700-1800 - An Introduction.” PAL: Perspectives in American Literature - A Research and Reference Guide. <http://www.csustan.eduenglish/reuben/pal/chap2/2intro.html> 14 August 2006.

America to 1700: Puritanism

The Plymouth Colony 1620 Mayflower William Bradford Pilgrims and

Separatists Mayflower Compact:

social, religious & economic freedom

Some ties to Great Britain

Massachusetts Bay Colony 1630 Arbella John Winthrop Puritans Arbella Covenant:

religious & theocratic settlement

No ties to Great Britain


Basic Puritan Beliefs Total Depravity

• Every person is born sinful Unconditional Election

• God saves only the few he wishes• Concept of predestination

Limited Atonement• Jesus died for the chosen only, not for

everyone


Puritan Beliefs Continued: Irresistible Grace

• God’s grace is freely given, cannot be earned or denied

Perseverance of the “saints”• God’s chosen can interpret the will of God

Backsliding• “saved” believers can fall into temptation• Satan particularly interested in causing this

Puritan Writers

Function To transform a

mysterious God To make God more

relevant to the universe

To glorify God

Style Protestant: not fancy,

revere the Bible Purposiveness: not

just for entertainment Reflect the public:

literate and religious

Puritan Legacy

Need for moral justification for private, public & government acts

Questing for Freedom: personal, political, economic & social

Puritan work ethic Elegiac verse: fascination with death Concept of “manifest destiny”

Colonial Period: 1700-1800

Also known as Age of Reason, Enlightenment & Naturalism

Faith in natural goodness: tabula rasa Perfectibility of a human being Sovereignty of reason Universal benevolence Outdated social institutions cause

unsociable behavior

Colonial Period: 1700-1800

Function of Writers Searching inquiry in all aspects of the world Interest in the classics as well as the Bible Interest in nature Interest in science and scientific experiments Optimism: experiments in utopian communities Sense of a person’s duty to succeed Constant search of the self - emphasis on

individualism in religion & Biblical interpretation

Deism

Basic Deist beliefs: God created the world then disassociated

himself; may intervene but unlikely One cannot access God through any organized

religion, ritual, or other practice God has not selected a chosen people Miracles do not happen The “wold operates by natural and self-

sustaining laws of the creator”

Deism

Deist beliefs continued Morality comes from reason not religion Deists pray to express appreciation not to

make requests God is discovered through Reason--which is a

lifelong intellectual journey

Education

Puritanism