Honors Theses
Date of Award
2010
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
Journalism
First Advisor
Sheila Skemp
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
As devout Calvinists, the Puritans’ first loyalty to their interpretation of the Bible put them at odds with the English Crown and the Anglican Church, which demanded obedience to religious and secular authority above all else. Unwilling to recant, the Puritans found themselves in a “divine dilemma” with two equally unacceptable options: continued persecution or open rebellion. The flight to New England temporarily solved the Puritans’ dilemma by removing them from the immediate reach of the king and his bishops. Upon their amval in Massachusetts, the Puritans began constructing a “City on a Hill,” a religiously homogenous society based upon the principles of Congregationalism. Eventually, however, the king and the bishops followed the Puritans across the ocean and resumed their persecution. The controversy between the Puritans and the Anglicans in America continued for more than a century and prepared the Puritan (and eventually Congregational) clergy for the American Revolution. To the Congregational mind, the American Revolution was the final resolution of the Puritans’ original dilemma. In it the descendants of the Puritans at last accepted the political ramifications of their initial denial of absolutism: if the king does not reign absolutely in religious affairs, neither does he reign absolutely in political affairs. The IV Massachusetts Congregational clergy therefore embraced the revolutionary cause, and their influence contributed greatly to its success. In post-Re volutionary Massachusetts, the Congregationalists enjoyed for the first time the absolute freedom to create their Congregational polity as they saw fit. By then, however, a number of other factions had already tainted their “pristine wilderness.” The Congregationalists did manage to maintain their status as the established church under the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780, but the original Puritan vision was lost forever. In the Puritans’ eyes, their mission failed. Yet their response to their unique dilemma showed remarkable historical continuity. As that response developed, it contributed significantly to the development of limited government and religious toleration in American society. In that light, the legacy of the Puritans continues today.
Recommended Citation
Clemons, John Tyler, "The Divine Dilemma: The Development of Puritan Thought Concerning Church and State in New England, 1630-1780." (2010). Honors Theses. 1968.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/1968
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