The Cambridge Companion To Puritanism

Book Summary

'Puritan' was originally a term of contempt, and 'Puritanism' has often been stereotyped by critics and admirers alike. As a distinctive and particularly intense variety of early modern Reformed Protestantism, it was a product of acute tensions within the post-Reformation Church of England. But it was never monolithic or purely oppositional, and its impact reverberated far beyond seventeenth-century England and New England. This Companion broadens our understanding of Puritanism, showing how students and scholars might engage with it from new angles and uncover the surprising diversity that fermented beneath its surface. The book explores issues of gender, literature, politics and popular culture in addition to addressing the Puritans' core concerns such as theology and devotional praxis, and coverage extends to Irish, Welsh, Scottish and European versions of Puritanism as well as to English and American practice. It challenges readers to re-evaluate this crucial tradition within its wider social, cultural, political and religious contexts. 'Puritan' was originally a term of contempt, and Puritanism is still often interpreted as a uniform, primarily religious phenomenon, confined to seventeenth-century England and colonial America. This Companion offers a much broader approach, and shows how students and scholars might engage with Puritanism from new angles and uncover the surprising diversity that fermented beneath its surface. The book addresses the Puritans' socio-cultural concerns including gender, literature and popular culture in addition to core topics such as theology, devotional praxis and the political dimensions of Puritanism, and coverage extends to Irish, Scottish, Welsh and European varieties of Puritanism as well as English and American practice. It challenges students of the seventeenth century to re-evaluate this crucial tradition within its wider social, cultural, political and religious contexts.

Book Details