Puritan Society

Puritan BeliefsThe Puritans believed the following:

- religion is a personal, inner

experience

- human beings are evil by

nature, and most were

headed for damnation

- a chosen few could be saved by the

grace of God

- God showed his grace as a reward for

hard work, success

Puritan IdealThe Puritans promoted the following as ideal:

- Grace (God’s favoritism) was the only way to escape an

eternity in hell

- People did not know for sure if they had grace, but they said

they could feel its arrival as an intense emotion

- People who had grace were among the “elect”, or “saved”

- People who didn’t were among the “damned”

- The presence of grace was demonstrated by a person’s

outward behavior

Puritan StyleThe Puritans favored a plain style of speech and dress. They stressed simplicity and avoided elaborate means of expression in both their writing and their clothes.

Puritan LegacyIn the United States, we generally value the following characteristics that were emphasized by the Puritans.

- individual rights and responsibilities

- equality of individuals

- literacy and education

- spiritual and worldly rewards for hard work

(“Puritan work ethic”)