Religion has been a fundamental component in every colonization known to man since the Garden of Eden. In fact, one is hard pressed to find a culture where the act of utilizing the principle of religion as a cornerstone is not employed. However it was upon the virgin soil of America that Religion made one of its most indelible conquests. Religious conviction played a vital role in all of the continent’s fledgling settlements, but particularly in two colonies did religion, unequivocally, have the most radically different effect. It was religion that drove the New England colony and Middle Atlantic colony down two starkly opposite paths, but one was a religion of uniformity and government by God, and the other, a religion promising exactly the opposite. The doxology, or lack thereof, practiced in these two neighboring settlements was the basis for their entire beginnings, and the foundation for every facet of life within, the New England colonies standing united by a common faith, and the Middle Atlantic colonies in which freedom was the only common religion. These two settlements were hugely contrary but both began, and were fueled by the religion that they employed. ... In turn, driven by religion, thousands of the religious zealots immigrated to New England to worship God in the way that they saw fit. ... The Puritans held the belief that theirs was the one true religion and that it was their duty to impose it, forcibly if necessary, for the purpose of saving all souls. ... The Puritans policy sought to “break the neck” of any threat to their divine religion, and to quickly expel any rebels. In short, the victims had now become the villains, all in the name of religion. The colony itself was not simply a settlement whose basis was religion; the New England’s colony was its religion, the purpose of government was to enforce God’s laws. ... The church’s evident monopoly on the colonial life was seen during the hellish Salem witch trials. ... The towns took on a state of militarism, but with religion, religious leaders gaining almost absolute power. ... Religion influenced every single aspect of life in the New England colony. ... This led to the construction of institutions that remain today pinnacles in American society, the revered universities of Princeton, Brown, Rutgers, Harvard, Yale, and Dartmouth, originally established for the purpose of training young men to be ministers. The focus of all education was on the orthodoxy of the Puritan religion. The New England colony produced many literary works, either created by ministers or inspired by religion, and most music was also religious in nature, primarily taking the form of the singing of Psalms.
To link to this page, copy the following code to your site:
All Papers Are For Research And Reference Purposes Only!
You may not turn these papers in as your own! You must cite our web site as your source!
