The Crucible

In the 17th century, religion had a major influence on authority. Religion and authority went hand and hand. An authority figure is someone whom has control, at least to a certain extent. My analysis of 17th century North American Calvinists and Puritanists display a shift of faith and assurance in religious authorities. This is evident in Mary Rowlandson’s “The Narrative of the captivity and the restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson”, Anne Bradstreet’s poem “Verses upon the Burning of our house” and Arthur Miller book titled “The Crucible”.

In the 17th century religion was a big thing in North America. There were two major religions, Calvinism and Puritanism. Both religions were sets of Christianity; one was more extreme than the other. Calvinists had 5 tenets or beliefs. The tenets are Total depravity, unconditionally elected, Limited atonement, Irresistible grace and Preserve. Based on those tenets as a Calvinist, being chosen you have a chance to escape your life of sin. They believe that they were born into sin and you can’t escape your sinful nature. Once you are chosen, you must do the work of God and teach despite suffering. On the other hand, Puritanists were more extreme than Calvinists. In the word “Puritanism”, the base word is pure. Pure basically means clean or without sin in this context. Puritanists must sleep, think and breathe God. Doing anything else is sinful. There is no one above the almighty God. Materialistic things have no value, especially when compared to God.

Mary Rowlandson author of “The Narrative of the captivity and the restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson” believes that her God is the supreme authority. In the 17th century the husbands were seen as their lords. She didn’t call on her husband during the invasion, she called upon God. This shows that she is devoted to God and her belief system. In Addition, she thinks everything happens for a reason. She thinks that the Indian invasion is a test of faith from her God. In the text