Similarities Between Pilgrims And Pilgrims

The stories of losses and struggles, fights for religion and conquests of new land surge through the colonies of the New World in the 1600s. Puritans and Pilgrims both have struggles and successes flowing through their history that is traced to their independent motivations as well as overlapping motivators. Puritans focus on generating a purer Church of England that breaks away from the interventions of hierarchy in the England faith. The Pilgrims work to create a better life in the newly formed colony while keeping the thought of religious toleration. Both groups find it hard to view the Native Americans as equal to them, although the Pilgrims do accept Natives due to the toleration of religion that they express. A key component that …show more content…
On a ship heading to the New World it is quoted: “Now the onely way to avoyde this shipwracke, and to provide for our posterity, is to followe the counsell of Micah, to doe justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with our God” revealing the importance placed on God’s commandments. To begin, it is evident in not only Eric Foner’s Give Me Liberty but also John Winthrop’s account of A Modell of Christian Charity that religion is the centralized theme in government and family life in early New England. Winthrop gives a detailed description in his sermon of what the social vision for the Puritan society is devised of, with the thought of the rich will be rich and the poor will be poor regardless of the life lived on earth and each human’s fate already decided by an all powerful God. There is also a trace of creating a society of one family symbolizing God’s vision of all humans together. This gives the impression that the heart in the life of Puritan society beats …show more content…
When the Puritans and Pilgrims each meet the Native Americans there is some conflict between the differences of both groups as with any two groups with differences. Adaption is key for the Native Americans when the English arrived to prosper peace between the two societies; especially in Massachusetts where Puritans view the Native Americans as somewhat barbaric party due to the Native’s religion which lacks basic Christianity fundamentals. Native’s religion is highly spiritual and associates the forces of nature, whereas Christianity is the belief in one God. The Indians slowly start to adopt the faith of Christianity from the Puritans by blending their religion and Christianity together, often using their religion fill in the gaps that Christianity left. For example, when one Native American asked whether the buried in the water will rise again, the Native Americans ideology of water being an opening to the God of the dead filled this void as Christianity had no answer. Relations between the Natives and Puritans eventually become almost friendly when the Wampanoags start establishing churches and creating teachings through their ideas and terminology, becoming Congregationalists. Religion was also thought to be a saving grace for the Indians and protect them from harm. This theory of safety is put into play during King Philip’s War, where it is thought that Philip’s allies all perish