Tollett English 227
Josh Tollett
There is one central theme we usually think about when we talk about the puritans, and that is their Christian faith. The very definition of the word puritan from Webster's dictionary is 'one who practices or preaches a more rigorous or professedly purer moral code than that which prevails.' The very basis for the organization of a puritan movement in the Americas was from their standpoint that the Church of England was unbiblical in it's operations and dealings. Thus we can say, in a way, that the early colonies before the revolutionary war, were very much built upon a Puritan Christian faith. Though this may be true, I would argue that the United States of America as we know it is no longer based on the Christian foundations that Visionaries such as Johnathan Edwards and George Whitefield had formerly laid through great awakenings and other means. I would say that men such as Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, when given the chance, had cut away the undesireable attributes of Puritan Christian religion, turning the United States into a nation based on an American Civil Religion.
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Johnathan Edwards played a major role in the formation of the Great Awakening throughout the colonies, which had begun to move to a somewhat secular way of life. His most famous sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," is a prime example of how the puritans were calling the american colonies back to a biblical standard and away from the path leading to individualistic and ungodly living. |
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An early puritan, Roger Williams, wrote a letter to the Town of Providence. Among other things Williams takes a clear stance upon the fact that he is a Christian, but as a early political leader in his surrounding region, he also condemns the intolerance of other religions. This is a major step toward political and religious liberty and acceptance. Even though this view is not common to most puritans of that time, I thought it important to mention because his views were backed up biblically, and also helps to lead us ultimately to the origins of what I call the American Civil Religion. |
Roger Williams; the pioneer of religous liberty
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George Whitefield, a fellow puritan pastor of Johnathan Edwards during the Great Awakening, was a leading idealist in regards to the essence of puritan beliefs and ideals. He helped to bring about a restoration of christian puritanism among former religious dissenters and non-conformists. It is recorded that Whitefield spoke to tens of thousands of people at one time, many times outdoors as shown in the painting, bringing in a wide range of influence. Sermons of Whitefield and Edwards were very much geared toward teaching the supremacy of one's faith over all aspects of life; a message very different from later visionaries such as Benjamin Franklin who claimed duty as a citizen came first. |
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William Bradford in his literary work 'Of Plymouth Plantation', traces the steps of his community as it goes from collectivistic and pious in nature to individualistic and 'wicked.' A puritan himself, Bradford's text is key in noting that even in the early years of the American colonies there was a movement away from Christian puritan ideals. Bradford accounts the apparent move to less community as the younger generations, in Bradford's mind, begin to stray from the long and firmly established ways of the puritanical church and society. |
The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Six ed. Vol. A. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Company, 2009.351-370
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The autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
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Benjamin Franklin was a visionary in the fact that he was one of the first and most influential authors of early American literature, who broke away from the idea of unity of church and state. In part of his autobiography, Franklin reveals to his son that the most important thing to him is to strive to be the best citizen possible. Franklin is breaking away from the common view of the puritans that faith comes absolutely first, he is saying instead that it is our duty to be good citizens first and religion comes somewhere in second. This view is part of what our nation was founded upon.
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Notes on the State of Virginia
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Thomas Jefferson takes this American civil religion a step further from puritan thought. In his Notes to Virginia, Jefferson says, "Reason and free enquiry are the only effectual agents against error." Jefferson, as we know, created his own version of bible by tearing out numerous pages that did not fit his idea of God, obviously a far cry from puritan ideals. He also refers to Pennsylvania and New York who had no official religion, and they prospered. Jefferson points out the Spanish inquisition as a result of religion and christianity. Here is one of the founding fathers, along with Franklin, who does not even believe in a christian God. How do we get about thinking that the United States is founded on the christian religion? |
Clearly the origins of the American colonies were based upon puritanical ideals and beliefs, since many of the colonists were there because of their disapproval of the Church of England. But as we have seen, the attempts of the puritans to maintain political and social dominance were clearly not successful. We see Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson at the forefront of the movement of religious tolerance as well as an acceptable American Civil Religion which leaves no room for a puritan christian God.
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