United States History 17A
Puritans and Calvinists
In order to understand just who the Puritans
were, what they believed in and their influence on the development of American
institutions, it is necessary to understand something about the history
of Christianity in Europe before the year 1500.
Before the sixteenth century (1500 - 1600) in
western Europe, there was only one established church: the Roman Catholic
Church. The members of the Church were known as Catholics. The Catholic
Church and all of its officials (priests, bishops) were supported by almost
everyone in the form of tithes -- one tenth of peoples' yearly incomes
given to it. In return for this support, the Catholic Church promised salvation
-- eternal life in heaven -- to all of its members as long as they participated
in the services, or 'sacraments', of the Church. These sacraments could
only be administered by an official of the Church. There were seven sacraments:
baptism, confirmation, communion, pennance, marriage, holy orders and last
rites.
Perhaps the three most important sacraments
were baptism, communion and pennance. It was believed that baptism cleansed
the infant of Adam's original sin of disobeying God. Communion was the
eating and drinking of bread and wine that had been transformed miraculously
by a priest into the body and blood of Christ. To be denied the sacrament
of communion was to be 'excommunicated'. Pennance was an act of contrition
for sins confesssed to a priest. If one did not participate in the sacraments
as they were administered by a priest, one did not gain salvation. Thus
the Catholic Church had an enormous amount of power over the lives and
afterlives of its members.
Unfortunately, by the sixteenth century, there were
those within the Catholic Church who used these powers in a corrupt way.
Priests were known to sell forgiveness for sin. Called an 'indulgence',
this forgiveness was more easily obtained by someone with wealth than someone
without it. 'Simony' was also practiced at this time. It was the corrupt
practice of buying and selling priesthoods to the highest bidder.
In the sixteenth century, a movement began in
protest against these corrupt practices of the Catholic Church. Those who
were involved in the protests wanted Church officials to abandon these
corrupt practices and to minister to all of its followers equally, regardless
of their wealth or station in life. They did not want to be denied access
into heaven because of their lack of wealth or power. Those people who
protested against the Church in an effort to reform it became known as
Protestants. Their movement was known as the Protestant Reformation. Although
both Catholics and Protestants were considered to be Christians, they differed
in the fundamental way of how to achieve salvation.
One of the leaders of the Protestant Reformation
was John Calvin. He believed that people did not have to participate in
the sacraments of the Catholic Church in order to achieve salvation. He
believed that God had identified all people who would achieve salvation
before they were born. This ideas was called 'predestination'. No one could
ever know if she/he would go to heaven, (or be one of the 'elect'), because
it was impossible for people to understand God. However, Calvin believed
that if one worked hard at any honest labor, was a moral person, and then
succeeded in this world, it was probably a sign that God had singled her/him
out for salvation. One could never know for sure, of course, because one
could never understand God, but it seemed reasonable that God would not
create a decent, hard-working, successful individuals, and then send them
to hell. Surely the reward for these kinds of people would be salvation
and eternal life. For Calvinists, however, since they could never be sure
of this outcome, they would have to work hard continuously thoughout their
lives to make sure that they were among the 'elect' that would go to heaven.
The Calvinists in England eventually became
known as Puritans, and migrated to Plymouth Colony in 1620, but not without
the involvement of King Henry VIII, (1509 - 1547).
When Henry wanted to annul his marriage to Catherine
of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn, the Pope would not agree to it, so Henry
confiscated the lands and wealth of the Catholic Church in England and
declared that it would now be known as the Church of England, or the Anglican
Church, with himself, the king, as its head. Henry then appointed an official
that would grant his annulment. The Anglican Church was a Protestant Church,
but in its structure and rituals it remained very much like the Catholic
Church it had replaced. The Calvinists in England wanted to purify it --
that is, they wanted to make it reflect the beliefs of John Calvin. They
had some success under Henry's daughter, Queen Elizabeth I, (1558 - 1603),
but her successor, James I, (1603 - 1625) wanted to restore the Anglican
Church to its Catholic origins. Some Calvinists could not tolerate this
and left the country, first going to Holland and then to Plymouth in Massachusetts.
Therefore, the Puritans who came to Plymouth
in 1620, and who later spread out all over New England, were Calvinists
who wanted to purify the Anglican Church. (The first batch of Puritans
on the Mayflower were the famous Thanksgiving 'Pilgrims'.)
After all of this, what is important about these
Puritans is that they brought with them their 'work ethic', sometimes called
the 'Protestant Ethic', that is so much a part of the way Americans think
and act. Although they did not believe in democracy, these Calvinist Puritans
brought with them beliefs that would influence the growth of democracy
in America. For example, they believed that each congregation was independent
of every other, and that its members could choose their own minister and
determine the kind of services that would be conducted in their own churches.
They believed that any honest labor was good enough for God and for salvation.
And they believed that, ultimately, the relationship that existed between
people and God, was an individual one, and not dependent upon the actions
of church officials. Because of this, it was important that all children
be taught to read and write so that they could read the Bible and thus
communicate with God directly without the need for any official intermediary.
The Calvinists were only one group of Protestants
who came to America in the sixteenth century. These Protestant groups ranged
from very conservative in their approach to salvation -- like the Anglicans,
who settled mostly in the south -- to very liberal, like the Quakers who
settled mostly in Pennsylvania. Quakers believed that a person did not
need a church, a minister or even a Bible to achieve salvation since each
individual possessed an inner light bestowed by God that could lead the
way there.
Answer the following questions
5. What were tithes? What was salvation? What were the seven
sacraments and why were they important?
6. What was an 'indulgence' and what was 'simony'? What movement
rose up in protest against them?
7 What was predestination? Who were the 'elect'? How could
people find out if they were among the elect?
8. How did Catholics and Protestants differ in the most fundamental
way?
9. How was the Anglican Church created? What did Calvinists
want to do with it?
10. In what three (3) ways did Calvinism influence the growth
of democracy in America?
Return
to Study Guide #2
Revised
February 2, 2004
by Tom Gallup, e-mail address: [email protected]
West Valley College
http://www.westvalley.edu/wvc/ss/gallup/gallup.html