Puritan marriage was a highly influential and important aspect of Puritan society in early colonial America. The Puritans were a religious group that sought to purify the Church of England and establish a society based on strict religious principles. They believed that marriage was a sacred and divine institution, ordained by God and intended to be a lifelong commitment between one man and one woman.
Puritan marriage was based on the belief that the husband was the head of the household and was responsible for the spiritual and financial well-being of his family. The wife was expected to be submissive to her husband and to help him fulfill his responsibilities as the head of the household. Marriage was not seen as a partnership or a romantic relationship, but rather as a means of fulfilling God's will and establishing a stable, godly household.
Puritan marriage ceremonies were typically brief and simple, with the couple exchanging vows before God and their community. The husband and wife were expected to be faithful to each other and to remain together until death. Divorce was not common among the Puritans, as it was seen as a failure to fulfill the vows made before God.
Puritan society placed a high value on the family unit and on the role of the husband and wife in raising and educating children. Both parents were expected to teach their children about God and to instill in them the values and beliefs of Puritanism. The family was seen as the foundation of the community and was expected to contribute to the greater good of society.
Puritan marriage and family life was not without its challenges, however. The strict gender roles and expectations placed upon husbands and wives could be difficult to navigate, and the high value placed on children and the family unit could also be a source of pressure and stress. Despite these challenges, the Puritans believed that marriage and family were important for the health and well-being of both the individual and society as a whole.
In conclusion, Puritan marriage was a sacred and important institution in early colonial America. It was based on the belief that marriage was a divine institution ordained by God and intended to be a lifelong commitment between one man and one woman. Puritan society placed a high value on the family unit and on the role of the husband and wife in raising and educating children, and saw the family as the foundation of the community. Despite its challenges, Puritan marriage and family life played a central role in shaping the values and beliefs of early colonial America.
The Mutual Duties Of Husbands and Wives
Reprove everything in one another, which would be an unwelcome memory at death. Fighting chills love, fighting makes your spouse undesirable to you in your mind. Sproul writes in his book, Yes, God love us fiercely. Church organs were commonly damaged or destroyed in the Civil War period, such as when an axe was taken to the organ of Worcester Cathedral in 1642. Card playing and gambling were banned in England and the colonies but card playing by itself was generally considered acceptable , as was mixed dancing involving men and women because it was thought to lead to fornication. Col 3:16; Heb 3:13; Heb 10:24 30. The World Turned Upside Down: Radical Ideas During the English Revolution.
It is a sinful and unfaithful practice of many, both husbands and wives, who among their friends are discussing the faults of each other, which they are required in tenderness to cover up. This English-speaking population in America did not all consist of original colonists, since many returned to England shortly after arriving on the continent, but it produced more than 16 million descendants. Be yourself, what you desire your husband or wife should be; excel in meekness, and humility, and charity, and dutifulness, and diligence, and self¬-denial, and patience. But they that live together as the heirs of heaven, and converse on earth as fellow travellers to the land of promise, may help and encourage the souls of one another, and joyfully part at death, as expecting quickly to meet again in life eternal. The other forms of social relation had to be filled by the voluntary action of individuals. Johns Hopkins University Press. I am indebted to Packer, A Quest for Godliness, 265, for the last two quotations.
Secondly, that they bring up the children which the Lord shall give them, in the true knowledge and fear of God, to His glory, and their salvation. Therefore, they concluded, the courts could grant a Puritan divorce. While card playing by itself was generally considered acceptable, card playing and Puritans condemned the The Actors remonstrance or complaint for the silencing of their profession, and banishment from their severall play-houses. Family Life Families were larger among the Puritans than any other group. During the vestments controversy, church authorities attempted and failed to enforce the use of clerical vestments. They carried this new marriage concept to the New World where marriage was performed by a justice of the peace, not a minister. You must pray and labour for a humble, meek, and quiet spirit.
The Puritans View on Sex: Enjoy it Inside Marriage
It was no small grief to me, but I could not desire it, when she said it would make both their lives miserable. Therefore if your love does not help one another in this which is your main concern, it is of little worth, and of little use. Puritanism: A Very Short Introduction. Whately and Gouge emphasized other mutual duties in marriage. MANY peevish persons will aggravate all the faults of their spouse behind their backs. In the 1570s, the primary dispute between Puritans and the authorities was over the appropriate form of church government.
Massachusetts Marriage Ways: The Puritan Idea of Marriage as a Contract
So of marriage he is the author and the witness; yet hence will not follow any divine astriction more then what is subordinate to the glory of God and the main good of either party. Excuse them as far as is right in the Lord. London: Peter Cole, 1659 , 137. A woman was to love, obey and further the interests and will of her husband. Just as parents were expected to uphold Puritan religious values in the home, masters assumed the parental responsibility of housing and educating young servants. According to the Book of Common Prayer, the purposes of marriage are: 1 the procreation of children, 2 the restraint and remedy of sin, and 3 mutual society, help, and comfort.
In addition, historians such as A debate continues on the definition of "Puritanism". Keep up your love to one another, do not grow distant. I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold, Or all the riches that the East doth hold. In 1635, they established the Boston Latin School to educate their sons, the first and oldest formal education institution in the English speaking New World. She has taught elementary, middle and high school students in both inner-city and rural schools.
THE PURITAN VIEW OF MARRIAGE SEX DIVORCE AND FAMILY
Stanley Cavell on Aesthetic Understanding. Paradise Postponed: Johann Heinrich Alsted and the Birth of Calvinist Millenarianism. Married women were not allowed to possess property, sign contracts, or conduct business. . The Puritan husband and his wife understood that, prior to her submission, his duty was to submit to God first.
The Puritan View Of Marriage: The Nature Of The Husband/Wife Relationship In Puritan England As Taught And Experienced By A Representative Puritan Pastor, Richard Baxter
Do not waste your time on light, weak, milk-toast ministries and books. The initial conflict between Puritans and the authorities included instances of nonconformity such as omitting parts of the liturgy to allow more time for the sermon and singing of metrical psalms. The large-scale Puritan immigration to New England ceased by 1641, with around 21,000 having moved across the Atlantic. University of Chicago, p. This paper will examine the Puritan teaching on marriage through the eyes of Richard.
