'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.
#444557 in Books Cambridge University Press 2005-04-04 2005-06-09Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.21 x .83 x 6.14l; 1.22 #File Name: 0521600790396 pages
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