The Puritan Experience In New England : Its Growth And Influence

Résumé: European religious protest against Roman Catholicism began during the High Middle Ages. Catharism, Calvinism, Lollardy, Protestantism, and Puritanism were all among religious movements that agreed on two main points: the corruption of the Catholic Church and supremacy of the Bible instead that of the Pope, which should be translated into the people’s language. In fact, Puritanism, which was a sixteenth century English religious movement for the Anglican Church change, was rooted in the Middle Ages European protest, in a way that it was only historical development of the preceding movements and not a new one. The Puritans tried to purify the Anglican Church from certain Catholic practices, but they had to confront the monarchs who opposed and persecuted them. Their failure to reform the Church encouraged them to separate from the other group of Puritans who believed in the Reformation from within the Church. The Puritans emigrated in the early seventeenth century to New England to establish a community based on religious freedom and toleration. There, Puritanism had a strong impact on political, economic, social, and personal life. The way the Puritans established their Church, government, economy, education and the way they dealt with the others- including the Indians, the Africans, and religious minorities- reflected their beliefs and principles. Therefore, this research work is concerned with the origin of Puritanism in Europe and the reasons for the Puritans’ emigration to America, and with their plan for establishing “a city upon a hill,” a city viewed by the entire world. Therefore, the Puritans should be a model of good behaviour and qualities. These objectives and aims are discussed in four chapters. The first chapter analyses the birth of religious protest in Western Europe and its development to Puritanism in England, and the driving forces behind the Puritans’ departure for North America. The three other chapters examine the establishment and impact of Puritanism in New England.

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