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The Puritans were weird and deeply religious, but describing them as the "christian taliban" is not accurate. To start, they were kicked out of England for bei

by likpok 8y ago

The Puritans were weird and deeply religious, but describing them as the "christian taliban" is not accurate. To start, they were kicked out of England for being protestant, not "too fundamentalist". The schism between the Church of England and everybody else (e.g. Scottish Presbyterians) was a longstanding source of conflict (partially because the church considered itself the arm of the state, and tithes as taxes. Non-Anglicans didn't want to pay these). And, in fact, many Puritans came back (or sent support) when Oliver Cromwell seized control. It's certainly true that the Puritans didn't come seeking religious freedom, but the ability to combine their religion and government). They were a strongly egalitarian and highly educated culture, featuring near-universal literacy both among men and women. They had a strong dedication to economic equality -- one town distributed equal-sized plots of land to it's settlers. They had harsh laws about adultery, which were enforced against men and women relatively equally. They also had laws against "novelties" (i.e. anything new) and wasting time, so don't think this is a defense of their modernity. But it's only vaguely accurate to describe them and "the taliban" as alike. They are both cultures with deep religious drives, but those drives are different and expressed very differently.

dsfyu404ed 8y ago
>but describing them as the "christian taliban" is not accurate. > It's certainly true that the Puritans didn't come seeking religious freedom, but the ability to combine their religion and government. > They are both cultures with deep religious drives, but those drives are different and expressed very differently. My comparison to the Taliban was more about the harsh way they ran their communities than their specific religious belief and social structure The puritan settled areas were highly superstitious and authoritarian communities where there is perceived (religious) justification for very harsh punishment on anyone who violates the community norms. The strictness with which the puritans ran their communities was far in excess of the norm for the time (which is why the witch trials were a big deal). In that way they're like the Taliban. It's hard to make comparisons to the current US social/political landscape without pissing everyone off. The puritans pretty much planted the seed of authoritarianism in the US and we're still fighting off that legacy today. >They were a strongly egalitarian and highly educated culture, featuring near-universal literacy both among men and women. They had a strong dedication to economic equality -- one town distributed equal-sized plots of land to it's settlers. It's a shame that 400yr later those aren't the traits that stuck around in our culture.
oskkejdjdkjd 8y ago
The fact that people actually went back is amazing to me. To make that journey you stood a very good chance of dying if I’m not mistaken. Plus it must have been super unpleasant even if you survived.

by likpok 8y ago

dsfyu404ed 8y ago

>but describing them as the "christian taliban" is not accurate. > It's certainly true that the Puritans didn't come seeking religious freedom, but the ability to combine their religion and government. > They are both cultures with deep religious drives, but those drives are different and expressed very differently. My comparison to the Taliban was more about the harsh way they ran their communities than their specific religious belief and social structure The puritan settled areas were highly superstitious and authoritarian communities where there is perceived (religious) justification for very harsh punishment on anyone who violates the community norms. The strictness with which the puritans ran their communities was far in excess of the norm for the time (which is why the witch trials were a big deal). In that way they're like the Taliban. It's hard to make comparisons to the current US social/political landscape without pissing everyone off. The puritans pretty much planted the seed of authoritarianism in the US and we're still fighting off that legacy today. >They were a strongly egalitarian and highly educated culture, featuring near-universal literacy both among men and women. They had a strong dedication to economic equality -- one town distributed equal-sized plots of land to it's settlers. It's a shame that 400yr later those aren't the traits that stuck around in our culture.

oskkejdjdkjd 8y ago

The fact that people actually went back is amazing to me. To make that journey you stood a very good chance of dying if I’m not mistaken. Plus it must have been super unpleasant even if you survived.