Puritan Beliefs :: The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne, Literature

The prudes once held a position of power among the religious world. Their beliefs were strict and they did non compromise their morality or standards for any outside individual. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the Puritan religion reflects the attitude and values of the common man during that concomitant time period.The main belief among the Puritans was that they were paragons chosen people. In their eyes, they held supremacy over the average man. They believed in Pelagianism based on the philosophy of Elect. This was the belief that man could redeem himself through acts of charity, religious devotion, and by living an unselfish life. Many of these strict beliefs were based on John Calvins principle of predestination. Predestination was that through beau ideals grace, one would tense up heaven and that this special grace could not be earned it was influence at birth. This principle of predestination forced Puritans to truly believe that their actions did not matter and their devotion to God had no bearing over their destiny.Puritans in like manner believed in the degradation of ones self, which meant that they had to make themselves worthy to God so that he would not instill his wrath on the Puritan community. They feared God and his special power, but considered themselves Gods special elects. Basically, they matte they had the right to perform any necessary deeds that would satisfy Gods will. Sin was thought of as an unavoidable element of human nature, and since this was a natural occurrence, all sins had to be confessed.