Secularization
In 1620 the first settlers came to North America to gain religious freedom. This group is known as the Puritans. Following the teachings of John Calvin, the Puritans wanted to purify the official Protestant church of England, or the Anglican church. Included in the beliefs of the Puritans are the ideas of original sin and predestination. Settled in the area later known as New England, the Puritans led their lives with strong faith in their religion and a society based around their beliefs. However, over time these values faded to reveal a more secular and materialistic society. This change was most likely due to two things. Firstly, the immigration of non-Puritans brought people with very different and less religion based ideals than the Puritans. Also, with those born into the Puritan society in New England, these new generations were never forced to fight for their religion and therefore probably didn't see it so much as a freedom and privilege as their elders had. As with many cultural changes, the shift from a religious to a secular society can be seen in the writings of that time period. Some authors whose works reflect this change in the colonial times are William Bradford, Samuel Sewall, and St. Jean de Crevecoeur.
An example of this, related to more recent changes in society over time, is the change in the amount of obscenity in movies, music, writing, etc, as well as the lack of modesty attached to the reaction of the people. In the midst of the transitional period of change from a religious to a secular society, events were reflected in the work of the colonial writer, Samuel Sewall. This is seen in "The Diary of Samuel Sewall" when he speaks of the storm. Although not in direct correlation with Puritan cultural changes of secularization, it shows that society is forever changing. The reader can see signs throughout Sewall's works that society is moving very much away from religion and deeper into becoming a materialistic community. This shows the sorrowful lives of men. In congruence with the ideas of John Calvin, Bradford wrote about things such as depravity of man, God's providence, vale of tears, and predestination. He believes that, due to the amount of labor man puts into getting a comfortable life, man ought to be able to keep all that he earns for himself. He says (of Cotton Mather), "He had just been mentioning that more Ministers Houses than others proportionably had been smitten with Lightening. No matter what these changes are, as with Bradford, Sewall and Crevecoeur, the events are somehow reflected in the literature or actions of the people of that time. An example of the "vale of tears" seen often in Bradford's work is from the same piece in the lines: ".
Common topics in this essay:
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Acceptance Essays
