In the Life of a Puritan (Post 3)

The Puritans were a religious group. They followed religious standards and expected others to follow the same standards they did. The two biggest things that showed who the Puritans were, were their break away from the Catholic church and also the Salem Witch Trials. Both of these things greatly impacted the Puritans and the society in which they lived.

The way Puritans even came about was through the English Reformation (Roark 93). Henry the 8th started a reformation to break away from the catholic church, but really only got halfway there (93). Instead of completely breaking away, he was a head of the church in England, but was still following religious beliefs and practices of orthodox catholics (93). Some English people wanted to throw out the reformation and go back under the power of the pope, but others wanted an on-going of the reformation...and they became Puritans (93).

One of the biggest things the Puritans wanted to get away from in the Catholic Church were the "offensive features" from the Catholics (Roark 93). For one, they wanted hierarchy to be taken out of the church, they saw no need for a monarchy to be head of the church (93). Another change they wanted to make is that they wanted christians to have more control over their own religious life, it should not have to go through another person (93). The Puritans wanted more of a focus on an individual relationship with God and greater time of Bible study and prayer (93). Over time, problems arose in England with the monarchy and the reformation, so many Puritans made way to America from England (94).


(Linder))
Another widely known thing about the Puritans is that they were the ones who were part of the Salem Witch Trials. The Puritans believed that the devil was in pursuit and would attack anyone he could (National Geographic). Along with this belief, they had also heard about a case in Boston where a case of witch craft had been observed (National Geographic). The Puritans believed it to be heresy if anyone was practicing witchcraft, and the punishment for heresy was brutal (Linder). Punishments like hanging and being crushed under rocks were used (Linder). As professor Holden talked about in class, "The Puritans went on witch hunts." They wanted to find the accused and punish them (Linder). A grand total of 25 people were killed during the Witch Trials, one of which was infant born in a prison, and many others spent months in prison waiting for a trial or to be let go (Linder).

(National Geographic)


Roark, James L. ., Michael P. . Johnson, and Cohen Patricia. Cline. The American Promise. Boston: Bedford, 2003. Print.

Linder, Douglas. The Witchcraft Trials in Salem: a Commentary.

"National Geographic: Salem Witch-Hunt--Interactive." National Geographic: Salem Witch-Hunt--Interactive. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2013.