Puritan Beliefs Essay

According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, a Puritan is a member of a Protestant group in England and New England in the 16th and 17th centuries that opposed many customs of the Church of England. These Puritans broke off from the Church of England and started a new church after the Church of England disagreed to the Puritans’ requests. The Puritans held multiple beliefs and were very serious about religion. Puritans believed the community had a responsibility to punish sinners harshly for the good of the individual. These beliefs are highly debated by some individuals on rather the Puritans were right or wrong. During this time, the church leaders made up the government and enforced the laws the church set forth. The colonies of New England
This gave the men of the church permission to vote for elected officials and some input in the colony’s laws. Men who were not part of the church or the Puritans’ beliefs were not allowed to vote and often experienced problems with owning property and business interests in the colonies (Clark). This not only affected non-Puritans, but it affected other members of the colony
By not allowing men who were not part of the church to vote, this limited the amount of votes individuals and laws received and basically eliminated the opinions of the people who were considered unimportant in the colony (Campbell). Members of the colony were often upset about not getting a say in these decisions, which, once again caused tension due to being neglected by the government. Members of the colony felt angry and distrust towards the government for overlooking the views of several members in the colony and the decisions the government made without everyone’s consent. If a colony is experiencing tension, the tension limits the amount or rate in which the colony can improve, grow, and