What Is The Role Of Religion In Colonial American Culture
Cassie Huerta
Instructor Amelia Boan
LIT 255
15 March 2015
Religion in Colonial American Literature
Religion played a leading role in the works of colonial authors. It was the theme that radiated through most of the documented texts from this era in American history. Ideological views appeared to shape literary styles as well as the interpretations of historical and political events. Authors such as Anne Bradstreet, William Bradford, and John Winthrop were amongst the many who contributed to the portrayal of a God led life during this time period. Their communities and lives functioned based on the primary position in which they held their religious beliefs. A collection of colonial works edited by Nina Bayam entitled The Norton Anthology …show more content…
of American Literature 8th Ed. Vol. A: Beginnings to 1820, displays evidence of how religion was centered in everyday activities, writings, and the principles they upheld in their communities.
Anne Bradstreet was an American poet who wrote on humankind, the seasons, family, and the pleasures she took in everyday life.
Her poems express how God’s presence gave her the gift of profound sight. She attributes her talents to this gift and proclaims it is by God, “that I see the vast frame, the heaven and the earth, the order of all things, night and day, summer and winter, spring and autumn, the daily providing for this great household upon earth, the preserving and directing of all to its proper end,” (Bayam, P. 207).
She wrote an account to her children that outlined the way in which she grew up, how she had come to be who she was, and when she accepted a life led by God. Bradstreet. Letters to them told of how to overcome the times they would become stricken with misfortune, and of when she herself mistrusted in God, felt unguided, and how she came to get over this hurdle. “She tells us in one of the “Meditations” written for her children that she was troubled many times about the truth of the Scriptures,” (Bayam, p. …show more content…
207).
She aimed to send messages of wisdom and hoped insight would be received from her words.
Many of her accounts were intended to support others through hardships and doubt by instilling the ideological values she had learned throughout her own life. Her writings enabled her to mentor and ease the hearts of others if they had fallen while striving to live in faith. Although theology was not always the main consolation in Bradford’s writing, it set the course for the ethics she lived by, the topics and lessons she wrote about, and the elegant way she used words to express “the examination of her conscience,” (Bayam, p.207).
John Winthrop was a notable author and lawyer who was convoluted by the debates brought about concerning the hierarchies of church. He had substantial involvements in the affairs of the Christian church and wanted to reform Roman styles of worship. His writings proposed a variety of questions and answers based on Gospel, and expressed his beliefs that the body of man should walk in the light of Christ. Most of the considerations in his writings were about love, man, and God. He writes of communities that “should come together to rejoice, mourn, suffer, and help others,” (Bayam, p.
168).
Winthrop represented unity and peace in his literary contributions. There were endless entries in his journals where he spoke of the bond and covenant between a man 's faith and God. He wrote of liberty, moral laws and God’s authority as if they were a part of his domain. His ideal of “a perfectly selfless community” was guided by his faith as his writings commonly contained a lesson about “a model of Christian charity,” (Bayam, p. 166).
William Bradford was a journalistic writer in the colonial period and is responsible for introducing America to the pilgrims. He writes of the New World where he prays to discover a life for the colony when they may have their own land governed by Christian faith and law. Bradford’s and Winslow’s Journal contains accounts of the trials, tribulations, and encounters of this group of pilgrims who traveled to America in order to escape religious persecution. The role of religion not only encompassed the content of Bradford’s literary contributions, but the everyday life of the people he was elected to governed. Entries tell how they looked for signs given by God in everything they did. They gave thanks, used prayer, and put their faith in the Bible. Bradford writes in a passage “so after we had given God thanks for our deliverance, we took our shallop and went on our journey,” (p. 1). His colony had believed God protected and guarded them against attacks by Native American tribes. Bradford writes of a battle with the natives in an entry called “The First Encounter” where he attributes their safety assured “by the especial providence of God, none of them either hit or hurt us, though many came close by us and on every side of us, and some coats which hung up in our barricade were shot through and through,” (p.1). His religious beliefs supported those that allowed people to worship without the role of a king. His unfaltering devotion to God inspired his writings, his will to find freedom, and his faith in survival in a new world. Ultimately, it was William Bradford’s accounts that provided detailed evidence of the pilgrim’s voyage to America, how they chose to live and worship, and the peace they wished to bring to others.
Colonial American literature took on the collective theme of lives being guided by religious scripture. These authors held moral standards that were taught to them by the Bible. They were able to express their interpretations in poems, political stances, and journals. Their documentations of life, and the teachings they lived by were able to be passed on to generations of early American readers. Colonial literature was grounded by the roles religion played in communities and households. The expressions made during this time were in the nature of this common cause.
Works Cited
Bayam, Nina. The Norton Anthology of American Literature 8th Ed. Vol. A: Beginnings to 1820.
New York: W. W. Norton & Company Inc., 2011. Print.
Bradford. W. Bradford’s And Winslow’s Journal. Britannica. Liberty of the Future 4th Ed. Ver. 5.0. Irvine,
CA: World Library, Inc., 1996.
Instructor Amelia Boan
LIT 255
15 March 2015
Religion in Colonial American Literature
Religion played a leading role in the works of colonial authors. It was the theme that radiated through most of the documented texts from this era in American history. Ideological views appeared to shape literary styles as well as the interpretations of historical and political events. Authors such as Anne Bradstreet, William Bradford, and John Winthrop were amongst the many who contributed to the portrayal of a God led life during this time period. Their communities and lives functioned based on the primary position in which they held their religious beliefs. A collection of colonial works edited by Nina Bayam entitled The Norton Anthology …show more content…
of American Literature 8th Ed. Vol. A: Beginnings to 1820, displays evidence of how religion was centered in everyday activities, writings, and the principles they upheld in their communities.
Anne Bradstreet was an American poet who wrote on humankind, the seasons, family, and the pleasures she took in everyday life.
Her poems express how God’s presence gave her the gift of profound sight. She attributes her talents to this gift and proclaims it is by God, “that I see the vast frame, the heaven and the earth, the order of all things, night and day, summer and winter, spring and autumn, the daily providing for this great household upon earth, the preserving and directing of all to its proper end,” (Bayam, P. 207).
She wrote an account to her children that outlined the way in which she grew up, how she had come to be who she was, and when she accepted a life led by God. Bradstreet. Letters to them told of how to overcome the times they would become stricken with misfortune, and of when she herself mistrusted in God, felt unguided, and how she came to get over this hurdle. “She tells us in one of the “Meditations” written for her children that she was troubled many times about the truth of the Scriptures,” (Bayam, p. …show more content…
207).
She aimed to send messages of wisdom and hoped insight would be received from her words.
Many of her accounts were intended to support others through hardships and doubt by instilling the ideological values she had learned throughout her own life. Her writings enabled her to mentor and ease the hearts of others if they had fallen while striving to live in faith. Although theology was not always the main consolation in Bradford’s writing, it set the course for the ethics she lived by, the topics and lessons she wrote about, and the elegant way she used words to express “the examination of her conscience,” (Bayam, p.207).
John Winthrop was a notable author and lawyer who was convoluted by the debates brought about concerning the hierarchies of church. He had substantial involvements in the affairs of the Christian church and wanted to reform Roman styles of worship. His writings proposed a variety of questions and answers based on Gospel, and expressed his beliefs that the body of man should walk in the light of Christ. Most of the considerations in his writings were about love, man, and God. He writes of communities that “should come together to rejoice, mourn, suffer, and help others,” (Bayam, p.
168).
Winthrop represented unity and peace in his literary contributions. There were endless entries in his journals where he spoke of the bond and covenant between a man 's faith and God. He wrote of liberty, moral laws and God’s authority as if they were a part of his domain. His ideal of “a perfectly selfless community” was guided by his faith as his writings commonly contained a lesson about “a model of Christian charity,” (Bayam, p. 166).
William Bradford was a journalistic writer in the colonial period and is responsible for introducing America to the pilgrims. He writes of the New World where he prays to discover a life for the colony when they may have their own land governed by Christian faith and law. Bradford’s and Winslow’s Journal contains accounts of the trials, tribulations, and encounters of this group of pilgrims who traveled to America in order to escape religious persecution. The role of religion not only encompassed the content of Bradford’s literary contributions, but the everyday life of the people he was elected to governed. Entries tell how they looked for signs given by God in everything they did. They gave thanks, used prayer, and put their faith in the Bible. Bradford writes in a passage “so after we had given God thanks for our deliverance, we took our shallop and went on our journey,” (p. 1). His colony had believed God protected and guarded them against attacks by Native American tribes. Bradford writes of a battle with the natives in an entry called “The First Encounter” where he attributes their safety assured “by the especial providence of God, none of them either hit or hurt us, though many came close by us and on every side of us, and some coats which hung up in our barricade were shot through and through,” (p.1). His religious beliefs supported those that allowed people to worship without the role of a king. His unfaltering devotion to God inspired his writings, his will to find freedom, and his faith in survival in a new world. Ultimately, it was William Bradford’s accounts that provided detailed evidence of the pilgrim’s voyage to America, how they chose to live and worship, and the peace they wished to bring to others.
Colonial American literature took on the collective theme of lives being guided by religious scripture. These authors held moral standards that were taught to them by the Bible. They were able to express their interpretations in poems, political stances, and journals. Their documentations of life, and the teachings they lived by were able to be passed on to generations of early American readers. Colonial literature was grounded by the roles religion played in communities and households. The expressions made during this time were in the nature of this common cause.
Works Cited
Bayam, Nina. The Norton Anthology of American Literature 8th Ed. Vol. A: Beginnings to 1820.
New York: W. W. Norton & Company Inc., 2011. Print.
Bradford. W. Bradford’s And Winslow’s Journal. Britannica. Liberty of the Future 4th Ed. Ver. 5.0. Irvine,
CA: World Library, Inc., 1996.