Living With Religion In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

Living With Religion Religion has been a large part of the human experience ever since our ancestors migrated out of what is now known as Africa. Today there are roughly over 4,200 religions, 5 of which are considered to be the majorities. Looking at the evidence shows how religion may be a part of culture, constitute culture, include and transcend culture, be influenced by culture, shape culture, or interact with culture by influencing cognitions, emotions, and actions (Saroglou 1309-1310). Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, “Young Goodman Brown”, gives many examples of how a religiously influenced culture can affect an individual 's actions. If the story were to have taken place in the 21st century, the outcome would have been much different …show more content…
Brown tries to reassure Faith that everything will be alright. The story, taking place in a Puritan town, gives Faith all the reason to be worried, for Brown could be ridiculed for leaving his newly wedded wife, or he may be judged and scrutinized for leaving his home mysteriously after dark. Symbolically, Faith’s name represents Brown’s faith in the Puritan religion, thus meaning that he is stepping away from his religion, something that was frowned upon during this time. If this were to have happened today many individuals may have applaud Brown for trying something new or many could ignore the idea because lots of people leave their homes at night. Maybe Brown would be more open with his wife because her religion allows differences, and he would talk to her about his idea. She may convince him to stay and end the story before it begins, or she may decide to go with him on his journey. Perhaps Brown metaphorically decided to leave his religion due to the idea that there is no afterlife, and this idea would have no negative impact of Brown because Atheism is a growing belief that can be observed throughout all cultures, yet Atheism still has a very negative reputation to many people who are religious (Nugent). If that were the case during the actual setting of the story, Brown would surely be cast away, or …show more content…
Brown severely struggled with the rejection of his community. The idea that his Puritan peers would have no problem casting him away, or relentlessly burning him at the stake, do to him wanting to be different, is a horrible issue to live with. As claimed by George Barnes, “Religion should not be used as a tool of hate” (Barnes). Today it is important to understand how religion shapes the culture we live in, whether it be positive or negative. Today’s religious freedom allows us to make many decisions without facing the rejection that Brown