Unit 1: The Historical Text - Puritanism -

JOIN THE LIVE CONVERSATION ON THURSDAY 16/11/2023 ON GOOGLE MEET TO DISCUSS AND ANALYSE THE TEXT IN REAL-TIME WITH THE TEACHER

Puritanism, a religious reform movement in the late 16th and 17th centuries that sought to “purify” the Church of England of remnants of the Roman Catholic “popery” that the Puritans claimed had been retained after the religious settlement reached early in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Puritans became noted in the 17th century for a spirit of moral and religious earnestness that informed their whole way of life, and they sought through church reform to make their lifestyle the pattern for the whole nation. Their efforts to transform the nation contributed both to civil war in England and to the founding of colonies in America as working models of the Puritan way of life.

King Henry VIII separated the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church in 1534, and the cause of Protestantism advanced rapidly under Edward VI (reigned 1547–53). During the reign of Queen Mary (1553–58), however, England returned to Roman Catholicism, and many Protestants were forced into exile. Many of the exiles found their way to Geneva, where John Calvin’s church provided a working model of a disciplined church. Out of this experience also came the two most popular books of Elizabethan England—the Geneva Bible and John Foxe’s Book of Martyrs—which provided justification to English Protestants to view England as an elect nation chosen by God to complete the work of the Reformation. Thus, Elizabeth’s accession in 1558 was enthusiastically welcomed by these Protestants; but her early actions while reestablishing Protestantism disappointed those who sought extensive reform, and this faction was unable to achieve its objectives in the Convocation, the primary governing body of the church.

Many of these Puritans—as they came to be known during a controversy over vestments in the 1560s—sought parliamentary support for an effort to institute a special form of polity for the Church of England. Other Puritans, concerned with the long delay in reform, decided upon a “reformation without tarrying for any.” These “Separatists” repudiated the state church and formed voluntary congregations based on a covenant with God and among themselves. Both groups, but especially the Separatists, were repressed by the establishment. Denied the opportunity to reform the established church, English Puritanism turned to preaching, pamphlets, and a variety of experiments in religious expression and in social behaviour and organization. Its growth also owed much to patrons among the nobility and in Parliament and its control of colleges and professorships at Oxford and Cambridge.


Reference:
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Puritanism


Step One:

Read the text silently

Step Two:

Read the first paragraph and answer the questions below. At the end of the task, connect to the class discussion board and upload your answers to the questions below:  

  • What is the text about? 
  • What do you think of the term Puritanism?  In your opinion, what kind of reaction did the term trigger within the rulers and monarchs of the period? 
  • Read the last statement in the first paragraph, comment on the meaning of the statement. In what way is the founding of the colonies in America related to a religious group?
  • What were the main drives of the rise of Puritanism?                      
  • In line 3 of the second paragraph we learn that the protestants are forced into exile. Based on this statement, what information is implicitly provided to the reader in this line?
  • What does the concept "the elect nation of God" mean? 
  • Read the second paragraph and explain what the reformation means and what has led the protestants towards it.
  • Read the third paragraph and explain the following statement "saught parliamentary support for an effort to institute a special form of polity for the Church of England". What does the term "institute" mean in this context? What does the term "polity" mean? (Use the dictionary when you are unable to provide answers)
  • In what way are the Separatists different than the Puritans?
  • Was English Puritanism successful? Why?
  • Think about the general theme of the text and explain it in a few lines, including: The position of the author, the major argument, the significance of the theme.
  • What academic/social/educational value is provided by the text? How useful can this type of text be to learners of the English language (EFLs)?
  • How would you categorize the register (type of language) used in the text? (formal, informal, colloquial, slang, scientific, technological, religous, political, etc)
  • Make a list of the new vocabulary and pieces of information that you have learnt in this text and upload them in the first thread in the Class Discussion Board.