Compare And Contrast Puritanism And Rationalism

Between the 1600s and 1800s two philosophies had control over the way Americans used to live and that was Puritanism and Rationalism. The Rationalists had many similarities and differences that made these two parts in history so important. This essay will talk about the way these two societies were governed, the religious beliefs, and the two different lifestyles they lived. In the 1500s many branches of christianity were being formed, the Puritans were one of those groups who lived a life by following the bible and hardworking labor. Rationalism being based off of all men are created equal, and people have natural born rights.

There is a lot about these two philosophies religious beliefs that separate the two by a great amount. Everyone in …show more content…
Puritans raised their citizens to become very religious and hardworking people, and base life off those two things. The Puritans would go to church every day, it was such a big deal to a point where if someone skipped they would be put in jail. After church the Puritans would finish off the rest of the day with hard work and labor. Being extremely religious caused the Puritans to have a hard working lifestyle, making everyday a bigger and bigger challenge. Rationalists lived a more realistic way of life. They were not forced of one way of living. The Puritans had freedom on what or what they did not want to do. They could chose the type of way they wanted to live, the type of job, and even their type of religious beliefs. Julian Barnes a famous English writer stated “Life is a matter of cosmic hazard and that the human species will completely disappear and not be missed, because there is nobody and nothing out there to miss us.” what Barnes is trying to say once the human existence is gone the evidence of god and life it won’t be an important factor anymore. This is how a rationalist would view life. Richard Baxter a famous well known Puritan said “Overdoing is the most ordinary to undoing.” showing that the Puritan lifestyle of working hard is the best way to fix something. Since they are constantly practice religion and the skill of being a hard worker it almost comes natural instinct to them. A human’s way is formed by how a society is being ran which is why Rationalism and Puritanism are so different from each other.

Both Rationalists and Puritans share common similarities and differences, but in the end they are both very different from each other. This paper shows the similarities and differences of these two philosophies, government and their way of life. This topic is important because i can give people a different view and mindset on how two different