Historical Views on Puritanism
Historical Views on Puritanism
Some historians believe that the seed of the American culture could be traced back to the Puritan society. The Puritans were a people who believed in religious freedom and peaceful coexistence. The Puritan mind adopted revisionist and new-historical values. The Puritans’ reason for migration was that they refused to accept the authority that went beyond the revealed word. They never intended to completely sever all relations with the Anglican Church, however, they were nonconformists by nature, and they sought to perfect themselves through deep understanding of their religion. The Puritans were the carriers of a heavy burden. Religion was the most paramount issue in their lives. It is said that "Puritans considered religion a very complex, subtle, and highly intellectual affair." They had highly trained scholars and religious leaders who made no distinction between lackey or lord. Thus even their sermons were conveyed in such a way that the destitute and uneducated were able to understand. They were also advocates of knowledge and education, and believed that the lack of it would not bring salvation. They built “Free Grammar Schools” and "contributed their pecks of wheat" to build Harvard College. It seems like the Puritans were, indeed, “the city upon a hill.” They did not realize, however, that when values and religious theories are taken to an extreme the moderation medium no longer exists, and the city foolishly hides behind the hill.
Puritans became inhumane extremists in their religious beliefs and started to interpret writings of providences in a most imaginative way. They started to believe in witches and the evil omens that they brought with them. No one was able to refute their existence, and some scientists in England believed that witches were the explanation of scientific phenomena. The laity were the ones who rooted witchcraft beliefs as they read books like Cotton Mather's Memorable Providences, Relating to Witchcrafts and Possessions. Soon, it was as if a conflagration erupted in the village. The Puritans had an obsession and an unbalanced fascination with the unseen world and the bad omens of witches. There were some Puritans who tried to stop the fire and fervor of witchcraft belief. However, they were not able to express themselves loudly because doing so would jeopardize their lives by the hysterical witchcraft zealots. Many people were hanged and killed by the mere accusation of being called a witch. This...