Valenta ENGL 227 Project
nataliev2007
Religion is the foundation of most people’s lives. It drives them to live, act, say, and do. A person’s religion is prominent in every aspect of his or her life, including the writings he or she produces. Since the early Native American writings, people in America have been writing documentaries and fictional stories. Each has the religious ideology of the author and his or her culture embedded into its pages. The religious beliefs of Native Americans, early Spanish and English settlers, our founding fathers, African Americans, and early fictional writers, are eminent in each of these society’s writings.
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When the settlers came to America, they found people already settled in the new world. These Native Americans were strangely different from the Europeans own “civilized” culture. They worshiped pagan gods and personified the earth in stories they told orally. American Indians felt the earth had feelings, and everything came from somewhere. They told stories of the beginnings of the earth and the origins of different diseases. These people were very spiritual in everything they did and had rituals and gave thanks for the smallest every day processes. This was to ensure that they would be blessed with good fortune in their lives. When the settlers arrived, a new outlook on religious beliefs soon followed. |
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[Untitled Review]
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The puritan ideas were brought over to America from Europe and instilled in every aspect of the settler’s lives. This review from the University of California Press explores early writing in the colonial times that were highly influenced by puritan ideas. The author depicts how Edward Taylor’s God’s Determination is a prime example of these writings. Also, he portrays how these writers and their puritan backgrounds left a legacy for future writers to come. Mentioning Hawthorne and Elliott, is a way the author shows that these puritan ideas remained and remain a platform for writers in American literature. |
![[Untitled Review]](/assets/nines/sm_site_image-185f6d1e205636b2c31820e7f5579e08.gif)
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When the Spanish settlers came to America, their idea was to do so in order to spread the word of god. Their motto was God, gold and glory. The text from the book Dawn’s Early Light shows how the Spanish brought priests to the new world, thus pre-meditating the conversion of people from whatever they were in to catholic. It was called the conquest of the new world and in early writings done by Columbus and Cortes; there is evidence in their strong religious background and beliefs. This has stayed a legacy in the writings of many people in America today. |
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[Untitled Review]
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The religious beliefs of the people of America during the time our forefathers were in charge, was the first turning point from the European ideas about religion. Before this time, religion and politics were a single entity, there was no secularization. Now people were starting to explore different ideas and thoughts. In this article, the author explains how Benjamin Franklin was a Presbyterian for the first 30 years of his life and then grew to have distain for his church and the ideas that went alongside. The author depicts the fact that religion is no longer the main priority in the everyday lives of America, and Americans are starting to want secularization. |
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Christian Violence and the Slave Narrative
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In the time of the slaves, there was confusion on both the black and white mans part as to where religion played a role in their lives. From this article, it can be concluded that Christianity is still the promenate religion in both races in America. The slaves believed that all men were created equally but the white men were trying to go against God; they enslaved them and made them call the white men master. The white men thought that the African Americans were people who basically wore their sins on their skin, thus if they were black that meant they must be terrible sinners. The author explains that the narrative she is reviewing depicts a huge misinterpretation of religion by both races of men. |
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[Untitled Review]
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In the later nineteenth century there were authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Herman Melville, to name a few. These authors wrote fictionally, but not without some religious imagery. In this review, the author discusses how Melville seems to be greatly influenced by mythology in his writings. Claiming to be from a Christian background, Melville explores the ideas of other religions such as Buddhism for example. It is as if the reviewer wonders if Melville is asking about these different forms of mythology pertaining to his own believes or if he is simply making a good story. |
In the colonial times, everything written had to be religious in some way because law and religion went hand in hand. As the years went on, the ideology of Americans moved towards politics and secularization. American literature molded more and more towards other things such as poetry, science, and mythology. The Native Americans who believed in pagan gods were forcefully turned to puritan and catholic beliefs by the early settlers of America. From there, the ideas of religion changed among people whether it is the slaves or the colonial leaders of this early country. Since the time of the early fictional writers such as Poe, Hawthorne, and Melville, the ideas of entertainment and secularization have remained. Although, many ideas and beliefs have changed in America, the legacy of the early religious influences on America lives on throughout the literature.
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