PuritanismIf Confucianism is the major element influencing the ideology of Chinese, Puritanism is one of the most enduring shaping influences in American thought and American literature. Without understanding Puritanism, we can never know American literature. Puritanism, rather than a fixed set of theories, is a code of values, a philosophy of life, and even a point of view.I. TerminologyLiterarily speaking, Puritan has its terminological root in “purify” and what Puritans wanted to do is to purify the church which, in their opinion, is old-fashioned and out-dated. Originally used to describe a third-century sect of strictly legalistic heretics, the word “Puritan“ has been applied unevenly to a number of Protestant churches from the late 16th century to the present. Puritans did not originally use the term for themselves. It was a term of abuse that first surfaced in the 1560s. “Precisemen“ and “Precisians“ were other early antagonistic terms for Puritans who preferred to call themselves “the godly.“The term “puritan“ is not strictly used to describe any new religious group after the 17th century, although several groups might be called “puritan“ because their origins lay in the Puritan movement. The term “puritan“ might be used by analogy (usually unfavorably) to describe any group that shares a commitment to the Puritans Anabaptist points of view.The word “Puritan“ thus always referred to a type of religious belief, rather than a particular religious sect. To reflect that the term encompasses a variety of ecclesiastical bodies and theological positions, scholars today increasingly prefer to use the term as a common noun or adjective: “puritan“ rather than “Puritan.“II. The Backgrounds of Puritanism1. Religious Background1. Although deriving mainly from Catholicism, Puritanism was 2. fundamentally anti-Catholic: Puritans felt that the Church of 3. England was still too close to Catholicism and needed to be 4. reformed further. Puritan teaching called for a commitment to 5. Jesus Christ, for greater personal holiness. (individualism) In order to escape the severe religious persecution, those Puritans were determined to find a place where they could worship in the way they thought true Christians should. Puritans who felt that the Reformation of the Church of England was not to their satisfaction but who remained within the Church of England advocating further reforms are known as non-separating Puritans (non-conformists). Those who felt that the Church of England was so corrupt that true Christians should separate from it altogether are known as separating Puritans (Dissenters). 2. Political BackgroundsWhile Queen Elisabeth I (1558-1603) was rathertolerant towards Puritans, King James I (1603-1625) began to treat them harshly. When it came to King Charles I (1625-1629), he suppressed those Puritans severely. Under such circumstances, the Mayflower departed from England in 1620 with 102 passengers, more than half of them were separating Puritans. Henrietta-Marie de BourbonThe first few months were grueling for the Pilgrims. Half of their 102 members perished: “of the 17 male heads of families, ten died during the first infection“; of the 17 wives, only three were left after three months. Having undertaken, for the Glory of God, and advancements of the Christian faith and honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the Northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents, solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God, and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic; for our better ordering, and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. - “Mayflower Compact”Mayflower MayWithout a lover Without a friend Without a saviour Without a friend Without a lover Without a friend Mayflower walked away Away towards the air And if you see her Call out her name And if you hear her Out in the rain Mayflower Maybelle It was her name Without a lover Without a friend Without a saviour Without a friend Without a lover Without a care Mayflower walked away Away towards the air And if you see her Call out her name And if you hear her Out in the rain Mayflower Maybelle It was her name Marissa Nadler 3. mythological BackgroundIn Genesis, God promises Abraham a land flowing with milk and honey, with the name “Canaan”. This Canaan is the dreaming place all Jewish people want to live in. For the Puritans, since Bible is of the extreme authority, they always embraced a dream of Canaan, with which the Mayflower departed from England and arrived at Plymouth. This mythological origin determined from the very first that Puritan