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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 6 page paper discusses the Puritans. It gives an overview of their society, and then gives examples of their beliefs, attitudes and behaviors as revealed by contemporary literature. Bibliography lists 4 sources.
Page Count:
6 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_HVPurBel.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
Puritans tenets were strong and even noble, others were narrow-minded, bigoted and self-serving. This paper examines Puritan America, and some of their basic beliefs, behaviors and attitudes. Overview The name
"Puritans" is given to a specific group of settlers: the English followers of John Calvin (Faragher et al, 2000). Calvin was one of a number of "reformers," such as Martin
Luther, who felt that the Catholic Church had become corrupt, but Calvin was "even more radical than Luther" (Faragher et al, 2000, p. 40). His doctrine-which is extremely unpleasant when
one considers it carefully-was known as "predestination"; he believed that "God had chosen a small number of men and women for election, or salvation, while condemning the vast majority to
eternal damnation" (Faragher et al, 2000, p. 40). He encouraged his followers to "examine themselves closely for signs of election, which were usually thought to be prominence and prosperity" (Faragher
et al, 2000, p. 40). Prosperity could be achieved if the person exhibited the virtuous characteristics of "thrift, industry, sobriety, and personal responsibility" (Faragher et al, 2000, p. 40). Calvin
thus yoked spiritual and secular values together in the service of capitalism, one of the first to have done so (Faragher et al, 2000). A moments reflection will reveal that
such a doctrine demands its adherents to examine themselves closely and constantly correct any "imperfections" so that they will be worthy of being saved. From there its a very small
step to minding everyone elses business as well. The Puritans who came to the new world were a paradox: they brought with them the Calvinist values of hard word and
individual enterprise, concepts that resulted in rapid change in economics and society in England, and at the same time condemned the "disruptive effects" of the change (Faragher et al, 2000,
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