清教的起源

Ⅰ.The Puritanism’s Origin

Puritanism began in last sixteenth Century. Actually, it is one of the Christian denominations, and the faction made Calvin theory as the basis to reform the Church of England. After the rupture between the Henry VIII and the Church of Rome, the Church of England became the king’s tool that maintains the control of the king and led by the king, the church interior still is corrupt. In late sixteenth Century, the clean and ungodly believers in the church part demand that clear away the residual factors of Catholic country, then their ideas are called “Puritanism”, the people are called the “puritan”. They require a belief in the New Testament as the only criterion, rather than put the church or the so-called traditional system as believers’pursuant authority. They laid special stress on the church must be a true religion that has the conditions in the Bible and the true church that is holy and defended. Puritanism is a widely and uncertain name, including many different groups and factions. However, they have a common feature. They put forward the new doctrine, ritual and different organizational principles unlike the Church of England. Then, Puritanism formed two main factions, the Presbyterian and Independent. The former represents the interests of the bourgeois and new aristocratic upper, advocated the establishment of a national Presbyterian Church affiliated organization. The latter represents the interests of the middle bourgeoisie and the new nobility, thought that every parish should stand on one's own and against the national church principles.

Ⅱ.The Puritanism’s Religious Doctrines

The puritan only made the Bible as the only authoritative faith, they stressed that all believers whether civilians or king in front of God are equal. They believe in the Calvin’s predestinarianism, "things in God, the doctrine of predestination Man proposes". They advocated that establish the church that has no ecclesiastical hierarchy and democratic republic, against the king and bishop despotism. They accepted the Garr educational doctrine, called for the abolition of episcopacy and the

worship of idols, reduced the religious festivals, advocated diligent and thrifty, against the luxurious indulgence. Because its requirements is failed to achieve in the Anglican Church, since the 70's, they began to stay away the Anglican Church, establish the independent church and elect elders to manage the religious affairs. They approved of earthly wealth accumulation, thrift, hardworking and enterprising spirits. These views also reflected the emerging bourgeoisie wish and will.

Ⅲ. The Puritanism’s Influence

Due to the puritan made the Bible as the only authoritative faith, they paid attention to propagate the puritans’spirits. In the aspect of literature, they mainly described the life of puritans that has intense religious emotion and revolution rebellions spirit. So it usually based on the Bible, used the middle ages technique of the dreamlike and meaningful to show the persistent pursuit of belief and ideal. The outstanding writers are John Bunyan and John Milton, their main works are The Pilgrim Progress and Paradise Lost.

The Puritanism’s played an important role in the British colonies in North America. After the seventeenth Century, they gave profound influence in all aspects of Britain and the United States’ politic s, economy, ideology, culture, religion and so on. The P uritanism’s area of origin is Britain, but it had development in North American colonies. Many of their core concepts consisted of the elements of the religious behavior, made the mainline church’s traditional function of clearing up people’s forbidden thoughts and behaviors, and promoted the progress of social secularism. What’s more, that pushed forward the individual liberation, facilitated to establish modern viewpoint of labor, profession and wealth, and worked out the country’s future goal by religious ideas.