Puritanism Influence On American Society

Modern society views Puritan society during the early periods of American history as strict and religious. It views itself as ‘progressive’ and ‘removed’ from the influence of old Puritan values and ideals. While society in America has progressed in certain ways, the influence of puritanical values shows in America’s slow trend toward secularism, ‘intolerance for intolerance’, and heavy emphasis on education. The American belief in the importance of religion for moral and ethical behavior acts as an example of the continued influence of Puritan values in Modern America. A poll report by the Pew Research Centers shows that the higher a country’s GDP per capita is, the more likely citizens believe in God’s essentiality to morality. The United …show more content…
While certainly the way America’s puritanism has changed from the earlier years of the United States, the traits of puritanism such as the belief in the essentiality of god, the intolerance towards those who do not follow accepted ideals, and the emphasis on education still underlies modern American society. The extent in which society emphasizes these ideas has also changed, with more lenient enforcements. However, does America’s Puritanical nature act as beneficial or detrimental force to the identity of the country as a whole? Puritanism’s effect on American society has certainly wrought certain benefits. The emphasis on education for example has enabled the United States to produce brilliant scientists and entrepreneurs. But underneath these benefits underlies a dark side to Puritanism. If compared to other first world countries “the U.S has consistently been late to introduce public welfare programs such as nationalized health Care” (Hutson). Infamous for their exorbitant prices, medical debts accrued from hospitals in the United States have led to the phenomenon of medical tourism in which possible patients head to other countries in order to get medical treatments for cheaper prices. Americans “value equality of opportunity over quality of outcome” (Hutson) and as such everyone regardless of their situation receives a similar price for their health care. In addition to this the unforgiving nature of American society and the rejection of blue-collar jobs mentioned earlier still plagues the United States. So while there exists certain benefits for puritanism in America it acts largely as a detrimental