Premium Essay

Puritan Society and Exclusion

In:

Submitted By laureg
Words 1137
Pages 5
Essay

Octavio Paz, among others, has called Puritan society a culture based on the principle of exclusion. With particular references to Winthrop, Edwards and historical events, discuss the evidence of this principle in Puritan life and culture.

______________________________________________

One may hear or read that the people who founded the early United States of America came to the “New World” in order to practice their religious convictions in peace and freedom, without being persecuted. They are often cited as examples. John Winthrop for instance, who was the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, has been quoted as a source of inspiration by numerous US presidents such as John Fitzgerald Kennedy or Ronald Reagan. Yet, one may consider that John Winthrop and Puritans in general are far from representing a tradition of tolerance and freedom. Looking at history and core principles of Puritanism, it cannot be denied that the puritans’ “city upon a hill” had more in common with a totalitarian regime than with the spirit of the Bill of Rights passed in 1789, which embodies far better the values of the United States of America. Puritans were definitely not tolerant. Their culture was based on the principle of exclusion as they did not accept any religious belief that differed from theirs, and rejected and even persecuted people who dared think and act differently from them.

The Puritans’ texts available today can make one understand how intolerant Puritans were. In his famous sermon called A Model of Christian Charity, John Winthrop said:
“So a mother loves her child, because she thoroughly conceives a resemblance of herself in it. Thus it is between the members of Christ; each discerns, by the work of the Spirit, his own Image and resemblance in another, and therefore cannot but love him as he loves himself”. This passage

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

The Unambiguous Letter A In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

...The Unambiguous Letter A Throughout the Scarlet Letter there are several different ways that the A is seen by the community. In Puritan society the letter A was quite plainly defined as adulterer. Hester’s attitude about the A is what gives it so many different meanings. After working with the Sisters of Mercy group, the puritan people begin to see the A standing for more than adultery, but her ability to help others. The night that Governor Winthrop died and Dimmesdale stood upon the scaffold, it was said that a faint A could be seen lighting the sky. Finally, as Hester lives out her final days in her cottage so many women look to her for advisory help. Starting on the scaffold so many years ago, stood a woman clutching a baby close to her with a bright letter distinctly upon her breast. Hester withstood this punishment as well as her scarlet A, she was grateful they had not put her to death. The scarlet letter representing her sin and the evil within, she raised her child to be a free thinking spirit. As men decided if she should keep her child, she pleaded that her daughter was a living reminder of her sin and a constant punishment. Meanwhile her companion of sin, Dimmesdale, was keeping quiet with a secret all his own. He did not find public penitence due to his cowardliness but he soon...

Words: 707 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

The Wordy Shipmates Rhetorical Analysis

...In Sarah Vowell’s novel “The Wordy Shipmates,” Vowell often shows bias towards more liberal thinking and she uses several writing methods to persuade readers to agree with her. One instance that displays this is when she claims immigration legislation throughout history “exposes a people’s deepest fears.” (218). The Massachusetts Bay Colony’s court issued an order to keep out people who may be dangerous to the commonwealth, after people like Anne Hutchinson voiced unpopular opinion. Throughout the history of the United States, there have been immigration laws, such as the Anarchist Exclusion Act of 1903 and the Patriot Act of 2001, that parallel the colonists fears of people who may be dangerous. Throughout American history there have been...

Words: 1549 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Oppression Of Women In The Scarlet Letter And Toni Morrison's

...cannot remain oppressed forever,” says Martin Luther King Jr. In any form, oppression—a process of maintaining one’s dominance over another by enforcing limitations— ignites women’s deep-seeded need for equality. Through this internal struggle, women fight against a society that stifles them into a given mold. From Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and Toni Morrison’s A Mercy to Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, these authors tackle the notion of women fighting back against their oppressors. Women mitigate society’s marginalization to gain maximum freedom by exerting their power in unconventional ways. Society encourages women to fit into their ideal standard. Attempting to relegate women to where they...

Words: 997 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Circle Imagery in the Scarlet Letter

...characters of the novel and bringing them to life. Some of the most significant are seen throughout the novel, from start to finish, even contributing to the resolution of the novel. One of these is the use of circular or spherical imagery, and although not specifically stated, the way in which this image is used alludes to the sense of belonging and at times isolation or exclusion, as it is meant to be an enclosed space. The use of spheres and circles mostly signifies a characters belonging or connection to a society or another person. In the novel, the reader sees the relationship between characters in the novel as well as their role in the main situation of the novel which was caused by Hester’s act of adultery. This is because the sphere kind of represents the situation that was a result of the sin committed in the beginning of the novel; the sin of adultery and how the characters can and cannot escape from the situation or rather consequences of this act. In the beginning, Hester is very much isolated from society because of her ‘sin’ of adultery. In many ways, this resulted in her having to sacrifice her place in society. Hawthorne states “Every gesture, every word, and even the silence of those with whom she came in contact, implied, and often expressed, that she was banished, and as much alone as if she inhabited another sphere, or communicated with the common nature by other organs and senses than the rest of human kind [81]” and “Children, too young to comprehend wherefore this...

Words: 825 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Examples Of Unalienable Rights During The Age Of The Enlightenment

...During the Age of the Enlightenment, the phrase “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” was written into the United States Declaration of Independence and served as a goal to which Americans could reach for and expect when living in the country. The phrase contains three “unalienable rights” which all human beings have access too, given to them by their “Creator.” However, the year the Declaration of Independence was written, 1776, all three of these “unalienable rights” would only have pertained to white males. Even more specifically, white Anglo-Saxon Puritan males. To be able to aspire to a life of liberty and the pursuit of happiness, you must not be African-American, an indentured servant or a woman. Twelve out of the first eighteen president’s owned slaves and even Thomas Jefferson, who wrote the Declaration of Independence is quoted to believe in abolishing slavery, although he owned slaves himself. “It took 87 more years – and the Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the 13th Amendment to end slavery” (monticello). During the Age of Enlightenment, Philadelphia...

Words: 1141 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Teenage Pregnancy

...pregnant. In the underdeveloped countries the practice of having teenage pregnancies is not unique but rather is usual since most women are expected to be married and have children before they turn 20. The problem for the society with teenage pregnancies is that teenagers are believed not to be ready emotionally and financially to raise their children even though they are indeed physiologically capable of producing offspring. Teenage girls when getting pregnant typically are involved in some form of school education and do depend on their parents and relatives at least to a certain degree. In most cases the father of the baby in teenage pregnancy is of similar age and thus is also financially and emotionally unprepared to raise a baby. Dependence on his parents is also the fact. Body Teenage pregnancy rates have gone up over the years. This is due to our exposure to sexual content on television and our lack of sexual orientation we give our kids or our parents give us. Teenage pregnancy has been labeled as a major social and health problem and has become a key policy area in several industrialized countries. In England, current policy aims to have teenage pregnancy rates for under-18s by 2010, and to reduce teenage parents’ risk of social exclusion by supporting their participation in education, training and employment (Shaw, M., & Lawlor, D., 2007). Some research show that early teenage pregnancy is influenced because of loneliness, rejection, stigma and not being...

Words: 1896 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Racial Democracy

...The myths of “racial democracy,” the “the melting pot,” and “salad bowl” theories. The myths of “racial democracy,” the “melting pot,” and “Salad bowl” theories This paper will examine the theories of the “melting pot” and “salad bowl” and also look at “racial democracy” in Brazil. Secondly, this paper will look at cultural assimilation using these theories. Finally it will look at the myths of these theories and how they have affected the American and world societies. Have Americans really reached either the “melting pot” or “salad bowl” theories of cultural assimilation? Is Brazil really a “racial democracy” or is this also a myth and how does this differ with America? The United States of America is one of the most culturally diverse nations on earth. In 2009, Michael C. Lemay states, “the United States of America is arguably the most ethnically and racially diverse nation on earth”. Who is an American, I am using the term Americans to be defined as individuals who were native born, naturalized citizens, and individuals who consider themselves Americans from the United States of America. Generally speaking most Americans grow up, in ethnically homogeneous communities (Putnam, 2007) vice the differing theories of “melting pot” or “salad bowl.” While Americans live and work in communities that are ethnically and culturally diverse the issues of intolerance and prejudice against various ethnic and racial backgrounds has been a plague throughout...

Words: 4684 - Pages: 19

Premium Essay

Evaluate the View That Religion Is an Important Source of Moral Values in Contemporary Socities

...“Evaluate the view that religion is an important source of moral values in contemporary societies” The debate as to whether religion is a vital source of moral values in contemporary society is continuous. Sociologists aim to know and understand exactly how and if religion plays any role in current society. This leads us to ask what exactly religion is. According to sociologists, there are three main ways of defining religion: substantive, functional and social constructionist. Max Weber (1905) describes substantive religion as a belief in a superior or supernatural power that is above nature and cannot be explained scientifically. Substantive definitions are exclusive – they draw a clear line between religious and non-religious beliefs. To be a religion, a set of beliefs must include beliefs in God or the supernatural. Functional definitions, however, are inclusive – allowing sociologists to include a wide range of beliefs and practices. Emile Durkheim (1915) defines it in terms of contribution it makes to social integration rather than specific belief in a higher being. Milton Yinger (1970) identifies functions that religion performs for individuals, such as answering ‘ultimate questions’. Whereas, the final definition is social constructionist takes an interpretivist approach focusing how religion is defined by the individual. This definition believes that it is impossible to produce a single universal definition of religion to cover all cases since in reality different individuals...

Words: 5435 - Pages: 22

Premium Essay

Term Paper

...Legal Studies Research Paper Series Research Paper No. 07 - 25 E-marriage: Breaking the Marriage Monopoly Adam Candeub Mae Kuykendall This paper can be downloaded without charge from the Social Science Research Network Electronic Paper Collection at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1491704 Candeub-Kuykendall: Draft. Do Not Cite or Quote Without Permission E-MARRIAGE: BREAKING THE MARRIAGE MONOPOLY Adam Candeub and Mae Kuykendall ∗ ABSTRACT: This Article advocates updating the law governing marriage formation to recognize the shift in social interactions from real to virtual life. We argue that couples can use internet communications not only to marry when separated by great distance but also to choose which state’s laws will authorize their marriage. In particular, same sex couples could marry under the laws of a state that permit such unions, regardless of where they exchange vows. States inadvertently have created geographic monopolies, requiring each marriage receiving the benefits of their licensing laws to be performed within their borders. This Article’s model builds upon established precedents, such as proxy marriage and choice of law for multijurisdictional and internet contracts. Using the power of internet communications, our proposal allows states to compete over marriage’s procedures and substance. Depending on a couple’s preferences for “e-ritual” and a state’s desired level of regulatory control, couples could consume the trappings of a traditional ceremony...

Words: 27161 - Pages: 109

Premium Essay

Introduction to Criminology

...this area of study ? There are a variety of answers of these questions, built around many kinds of concerns , like the anxiety, anger , and fear that are common responses to crime of the future crimes . former victims of crimes may contribute of showing the importance of studying criminology by, transferring them experience and feeling of anxiety, anger, and fear which Generated from crimes to other persons . Then the need to study criminology become at the forefront of priorities , to predict and control crime; the hope of preventing crime through individual and social reform the wish to understand and explain crime and societal reactions to it; and the simple desire to learn more about crime and what it can tell us about our society . Criminologists disagree, sometimes violently, about which of these kinds of concerns are most legitimate and important . So Criminology was the composite result of the thinking and endeavors of many people, and them desire to the understanding the individual behavior and deviation and the structuring of the social order . The study of crime has engaged the interest of many academic disciplines. Building on centuries of philosophical debate, systematic attempts to explain crime emerged from the developing biological and social sciences in the late nineteenth century. Anthropologists, statisticians, and economists have contributed to the analysis of crime, but the major theories have come from sociology, psychology, and psychiatry...

Words: 8165 - Pages: 33

Free Essay

Toni Morrison`S Zula.the Other Among the Other

...Chapter1 Introduction Feminism is not one unitary concept; it is instead diverse and multifaceted grouping of ideas and indeed, action. The basis of all strands of the concept may be stated as that it concerns itself with women’s inferior position in society sand with the discrimination encountered by women because of their sex. “Feminism is a doctrine suggesting that women are systematically disadvantaged in the modern society and advocating equal opportunities for men and women.”(The Penguin Dictionary of Sociology, second Ed). The term includes many loose like liberal feminism, Marxist and socialist feminism, radical feminism. Liberal feminists work for equal rights for women within the framework of the liberal state; they did not question the structure –economic or political-of the state but they demand the rights and privileges given by the state should be equally shared by man and women. Marxist and socialist feminists’ link gender inequality and women’s oppression to the capitalist system. Women suffer a double exploitation as women and as members of the working class. Radical feminists disregard all questions of political and economic dispensation to concentrate on the roots of the problem. The central root of the problem is the system of patriarchy which leads to all kinds of discrimination against and devaluation of women. Politico-economic questions are not the roots but only auxiliaries. The concept of gender is the real villain and has to be demolished. Lately...

Words: 12016 - Pages: 49

Premium Essay

Introduction to Criminology

...in this area of study ? There are a variety of answers of these questions, built around many kinds of concerns , like the anxiety, anger , and fear that are common responses to crime of the future crimes . former victims of crimes may contribute of showing the importance of studying criminology by, transferring them experience and feeling of anxiety, anger, and fear which Generated from crimes to other persons . Then the need to study criminology become at the forefront of priorities , to predict and control crime; the hope of preventing crime through individual and social reform the wish to understand and explain crime and societal reactions to it; and the simple desire to learn more about crime and what it can tell us about our society . Criminologists disagree, sometimes violently, about which of these kinds of concerns are most legitimate and important . So Criminology was the composite result of the thinking and endeavors of many people, and them desire to the understanding the individual behavior and deviation and the structuring of the social order . The study of crime has engaged the interest of many academic disciplines. Building on centuries of philosophical debate, systematic attempts to explain crime emerged from the developing biological and social sciences in the late nineteenth century. Anthropologists, statisticians, and economists have contributed to the analysis of crime, but the major theories have come from sociology, psychology, and psychiatry...

Words: 8245 - Pages: 33

Premium Essay

Journals

...Journals Student’s Name Institution Journal 1: Part 1 Work in my opinion refers to the legitimate means by which man makes a living. Every individual in life has demands that need fulfillment. Individuals have responsibilities that they have to handle. Work enables individuals to earn a living that in turn enables them to meet these responsibilities. It implies that for any normal human being to live comfortably, one must work. Besides earning a living, work enables to utilize our time well. The world today could be full of vices if everybody had nothing to do. They deem that the fiend employs of redundant minds explains this situation clearly. Individuals ought to embrace the work and take it positively rather than viewing it as a punishment. Work should be as part of us, and a means through which human beings maintain their dignity and live respectable lives (Connors and Paul, 2009). The culture of rewarding hard workers cultivated in me the culture of hard work and a positive view towards life. From my tender age, I learned that the work was the way of life and the only way through which individuals could better their lives. On academic grounds, I must state that the teachings by our teachers towards work had a lot of impact on me. They taught work as a virtue and changed my perception towards work. Family provided me with my first interaction with the work. My parents could divide the work and go ahead to reward those who did good work. It instilled in me the...

Words: 4580 - Pages: 19

Premium Essay

Church

...biblical Church Discipline 1 Mark Dever Mark Dever is pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. A graduate of Cambridge Universit y, Cambridge, England, he is the author of Nine Marks of a Healthy Church and a recent book on Richard Sibbes. He is a contributing editor to The Founders Journal. Emily Sullivan Oakey was born, educated, and then taught in Albany, New York. As with many other women of the mid-nineteenth century, she spent a good bit of time writing down her thoughts—sometimes as part of a journal, other times as part of articles, very often in poetry. She published many of her articles and poems in daily newspapers and in magazines. As a young woman of twenty-one, perhaps inspired by Jesus’ Parable of the Sower, she wrote a poem about sowing and harvesting. Some twenty-five years later, in 1875, the poem was set to music by Philip Bliss and appeared in print for the first time under the title “What Shall the Harvest Be?”2 The little group of Christians who formed what would become Capitol Hill Baptist Church selected that very song as the first song to be sung in their meetings together, in February of 1878: Sowing the seed by the daylight fair, Sowing the seed by the noonday glare, Sowing the seed by the fading light, Sowing the seed in the solemn night. O, what shall the harvest be? O, what shall the harvest be? Very appropriate words to ring off the bare walls and bare floorboards of the building they met...

Words: 9213 - Pages: 37

Premium Essay

Islam

...RLG204H5 S – Exam Review Week 3B: Denny CHAPTER 8 - Muslim creeds and theologies: Their purposes and varieties * Islamic Theology * Creed in Islam = Shahāda: simply proclaims the essential nature of God and the relation to him of his prophet, and thus implicitly all humans (if it is a creed, it is very laconic) * Kalām = theology in Islam = words, discussion, discourse * Ilm al-kalām = “science of discourse” or il al-tawhīd = “the science of (the divine) unity” * Theology only legitimate when subservient to the religious law, sharī’a * Fiqh = science of Muslim jurisprudence (‘Understanding’) is the chief Islamic science, in light of which all others are judged * Kalām is subordinate to fiqh * Majority of Muslims have given their allegiance in analysis and interpretation of doctrinal matters to the ‘ulamā’ = ‘the scholar jurists’ * THEOLOGICAL ISSUES * Khārijites = faction that seceded from Alī’s Shī’a * Had very high ideal of what Muslim community should be * Called themselves “the people of paradise” * Abandoned their leader Alī after his arbitration with Umayyad challenger, Mu’āwiya * Later also rejected the Umayyads * Now Khārijites = outlaw Muslims who zealously persisted trying to force their vision of Islam on their brothers * Strictest faction = Azraqites – Moderate faction = Najdite * Murji’ite = position that no human can discern whether sinners were...

Words: 5436 - Pages: 22