Life as a Puritan

Puritan History The history of Puritans began in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The word Puritan comes from the terms “purity” or “pure.” It became a word in 1564. England broke away from Rome, the centre of Christianity, but the break was not total. The Church simply changed Rome’s wording to match their beliefs.

Puritan History After this break, The Church of England enforced several new policies: (1) The Queen/King of England would replace the Pope as Head of the Church. This was simply a change in religious figurehead.

Puritan History (2) Everyone had to go to church on Sundays and Holy days or they would be fined as much as one week’s salary. This rule carried over to the New World and extended to include poor behaviour and unacceptable activities like dancing.

Puritan History (3) Every pastor must preach from the Book of Homilies. The Book of Homilies modeled the “correct theological exposition” for Anglican Clergy and did not support the Sabbath rest.

Puritan History (4) The Church of England retained Religious garb with the Roman Catholic Church. The Puritans were against these implementations, although they did retain some in the New World. They became Separatists and separated to form their own beliefs. Without freedom as they saw it, the left England and went to Holland, and eventually the future USA. The first group came with the Pilgrims.

Puritan History Yale and Harvard were founded by the Puritans but they have since lost that link to Puritan faith. The Puritans had disagreements among themselves, especially about the church government. These disagreements eventually lead to difficulties in the communities. Break away groups started doing their own things and pursuing different beliefs.

Puritan Beliefs The Puritans believed in order, with God being the supreme ruler. They believed the poor did not believe in God—hence the poor being poor. While God is powerful, men and women are weak and full of sin. They believed the Bible to be real and historically accurate.

Puritan Beliefs They believed in Predestination--God predetermines all events. He knows who will go to heaven and who will go to hell. That means that whatever you did in your life did not affect whether or not you got into Heaven. That decision was made long before you were born.

Puritan Beliefs They valued education. They thought schools were needed to oppose Satan. Hard work was a religious duty. Because Eve was the first to sin, women were considered weaker than men.

How They Dressed You were not supposed to dress beyond your income. Women wore dark-colored, plain dresses with simple white caps. Women with money could afford fancier, more colourful clothing.

How They Dressed Men had their hair cut short and wore stiff, high hats. They wore doublets, jerkins, and dark-colored breeches. Both the men and the women wore white collars.

Puritan Entertainment Puritans were very strict. Their entertainment reflects that characteristic. Puritans enjoyed prayer, reading from the Bible, and the occasional execution. Barn raising, agricultural events, Church, and anything else that contributed to daily life provided ample opportunity for socializing. Puritans did not believe in dancing, parties, or any other physical entertainment that may lead to the Devil.

Witchcraft Every evil deed was done with or by the devil. In 1688, a laundry woman was accused of “bewitching” by four young girls. They claimed evil things were happening for attention. To keep the lies a secret, the girls lapsed into convulsions and claimed other difficult to disprove things—visions, sensations, etc.

Witchcraft By 1690, fifty people were in prison, two hundred in jail, and twenty executed, including 2 dogs. Our own Mr. Dummer’s great, great, great, great, great grandmother was Mary Warren, an accused witch that barely escaped death.