Puritanism Today

After reading articles and essays on the views of whether or not America still exhibits signs of early Puritanism, I have decided that there are some aspects of our society that are similar to Puritan views, and others that are not. I believe that the basis of our views today came from the Puritans; however, our lifestyles have shaped those views into something new.

I think the aspects that the article written by Matthew Hudson, titled Still Puritan After All These Years, explored brought forth some very compelling arguments. The first one that caught my attention was the study he referenced that involved students solving puzzles and being primed to words related to salvation. The study concluded that students primed with salvation-related words were able to solve more anagrams. I do not know the specifics of this study, but I agreed with what was presented in the article. I think when the students were primed with those words, they had the mind set that God was watching them, and that they needed to set forth a good example. I also connected the study the article presented about judging people who act/dress more promiscuous back to Puritan views. The Salem witch trials provide a good example on how Puritans did not agree with some of the lifestyles chosen by certain groups of people. This idea also connects with one we studied in the Minister’s Black Veil. This essay was about a minister who wore a black veil over his face, but nobody knew why. We, as a class, concluded that he used that veil to show he admitted committing to sins and/or secrets of his life. However, we never find out quite what the sins are. I think this is similar to how Americans act nowadays because most people are afraid to admit to their sins. On the other hand, some people today feel that admitting your sins is necessary for moving on with your life. Other people talk about their sins in order to get help and fix their wrongdoing. In the end, I think the Puritans provided us with a solid foundation in which to build our believes from.

Some aspects of the Puritan way of life are not so prominent in today’s society. For example, in Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, Jonathan Edwards stated that people who have sinned have no way to redeem themselves. Their fate was left up to God, and if God didn’t think you belonged in heaven, he sure wasn’t going to let you in. Calvinists like Edwards believed strongly in Predestination which is when you know if you’re going to heaven or hell the day you were born and there was no way to change your fate. In today’s society, I think people are more forgiving of others and willing to work towards making a right from a wrong. People commit their lives to helping others turn wrong into right, and I think this a big step for our society. The article on Puritanism in America today also mentioned how the Protestant Ethics Scale showed how much more racially unaccepting people in America are today compared to other parts of the world. I don’t think it is fair to judge just by your ethnicity or religion how racist or judgemental a person is. Other factors like immigration, family values, and personal experiences also build hatred towards other ethnic groups.

To say that everybody in a country is the same is not fair. To say that everybody in America acts just like their ancestors did 400 years ago is also not fair. I think that people are looking for a way to place blame for the actions of our country, and our ancestors were an easy target. I believe that our ancestors played a role in providing a basis for our moral values, but I also believe that other factors play a role. I do not think it is right to jump to conclusions without about our society as a whole.