Puritan Freedom

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Arub Akram Research Paper America is often proud to call itself the “land of the free,” particularly when it comes to the concept of freedom of religion, but where did our strong affinity for freedom originate? One can look to the turmoil in 16th century England. Under the reign of Elizabeth I of England arose a denomination of Protestants known as the Puritans who not only shaped the course of England but the history of the United States as well. They were a resilient group who truly believed in what they were doing and survived by adapting to a society that rejected them. The Puritans held their own set of Christian beliefs, faced both suppression and strength in England and set out on a journey to begin the history of the New World. Starting…show more content…
According to an article written by Randall, one of these beliefs was that, despite the reformation of the English Church, Puritans remained unsatisfied and felt that more change was needed to make the Church truly “pure”. In the article, “The Puritans”, one of these changes included the need to rid the Church of its “Catholic influence” that the Puritans claimed still held a strong hold on the Anglican Church. In their article, Kenneth claims that one Catholic tradition that the Puritans deemed unnecessary was the Catholic hierarchy. Puritans believed that “salvation was a matter between the individual and God” (Kenneth 1). Therefore, they reasoned that there was no need for church figures to help citizens communicate with God (Kenneth 1). The second aspect of Catholicism Puritans disregarded, was the need for “formal attire” during church services that the Catholics often wore, as mentioned in the article, “Protestantism”. The puritans claimed that “Catholic…show more content…
Firstly, the settlements started with many Puritans holding stock in the Massachusetts Bay colony in hopes of creating a “free world” (“The Puritans”). In addition, as stated in the article, “Massachusetts Bay Colony”, the Puritans were finally able to achieve the goal of having a government and society based on their church. One of their laws limited voting rights and influential government positions to church members only, effectively excluding those in the communities who did not share their faith (“Massachusetts Bay Colony”). In fact, discrimination against other denominations, including Quakers, Anglicans, and Baptists, was rather common (Delbanco 6). In the end, the colony lost its charter in 1684 do to tensions with the English Crown (“Massachusetts”). However, the colony, along with the Puritans, played a big role in shaping
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