As I was going through this week’s readings, I realized that religion and education were prominent and essential aspects of Puritan life. I found this intriguing, because as stated in class, Puritanism started out as a minority religion, and rapidly grew in popularity. As strong as religion and education are in our society today, they were even more essential for Puritans because they would often go hand-in-hand. Nowadays however, teaching religion is controversial and frowned upon.
While reading, I was engrossed with the Puritan correlation between religion and education. For the Puritans, they not only went hand-in-hand, but they “viewed education as a means of promoting religious orthodoxy and social stability”(100). I found this interesting because much like today, as one increases their capacity for education, they are more likely to feel social stability. In the 1600s however, education was an instant variable to be more proficient in religion: “they placed great emphasis on the ability of individuals to read and interpret the Bible”(99). The Puritans had an incentive to learn because it would bring them closer to God, as well as being able to interpret the Bible.
Keep in mind that mass public education did not become a reality in the US until the 1800s, so education took place (if it took place at all) at home, unless you were born into wealth or the upper class. The Puritan commitment to education was remarkable for social reasons as well.
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