Summary Of The Puritans: Orthodox Or Diversity

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In the chapter “The Puritans: Orthodox or Diversity?” Perry Miller and Thomas H. Johnson share a disparate view of Puritanism compared to Philip F. Gura. Miller and Johnson argue that Puritanism is a creed that opposes the humanizing of religion, and one that imposes this belief into all aspects of life, both emotionally and intellectually, with no tolerance to those who stem from this. Therefore, they view Puritanism as an Orthodoxy. They contend that despite the commemorations of Puritans for their contribution as the pioneers of religious liberty, forerunners of democracy, and creators of economic philosophy of free competition and laissez-faire, they did quite the opposite; these contributions were only inadvertently produced as by-products…show more content…
These many aspects culminate towards the Puritan’s goal of reorganizing society. This view contrasts with that of Miller and Johnson, who saw the Puritan objective as only bolstering the education of ministry, embracing the glory of God, and prolonging the traditional societal organization. They even assert that Puritanism brought “leadership by the learned and dutiful subordination of the unlearned” [50], demanding learned ministers rather than the equality of men. Therefore, Gura’s argument of the widespread influence of the promulgation of Puritanism throughout the communities is combated by Miller’s assertion that “such developments...only affected ‘lesser areas of church’...did not cause any significant alterations in the doctrinal frame of reference” [52] in…show more content…
Therefore, I believe that Gura has the stronger argument on perceiving the diversity that Puritanism brought. Puritans were revolutionary in pioneering religious liberty in their attempt at reforming the Church of England. This includes their inception of the new ideological community defined by a divine self-justification rather than a rigid integrity that was imposed by the Church of England. Varied sects of Puritanism developed and a heterogeneous quality characterized Puritan society. The Puritans took a large step in forming an innovative paradigm of the Church of England by eliminating the need of followers to share a fixed ideology or commitment to an agreed-upon ecclesiastical program. Their intentions in establishing their creed are clearly one that promotes

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