Thursday, April 21, 2011

Anne Hutchinson






Anne Hutchinson believed in antinomianism which is the belief that the individual could communicate directly with God without the need of involvement of church officials. This was a crazy concept during her time because the leaders controlled the way people thought and used the church as a means for control. Anne refused to be controlled by other prominent figures of the Puritan community at the time; such as, John Winthrop. As a result, she was later tried for vocalizing her beliefs. http://womenshistory.about.com/od/earlyamerica/a/anne_hutchinson.htm


Freedom of religion is an important part of my identity. Raised in a nondenominational Christian church, growing up I was not allowed to participate in Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, and Easter. My parents raised me Christian but also held some of their own personal beliefs surrounding holidays and their origins. As a result, much of my childhood, and every school year I had to explain to friends and teachers why I didn't participate in certain festivities. Now that I'm older, I appreciate being able to form my own conclusions on what I hold to be my religion. Many of my friends have different religious beliefs than mine including: Rastafarianism, Islam, Christianity, and Atheism. I enjoy that each of us is allowed to practice our religions in our own way and can vocalize our beliefs. Often times, I have conversations with them surrounding the differences and similarities and I think its good to sometimes distance yourself from a biased viewpoint favorable to what you believe and learn from someone with views different than your own.








6 comments:

  1. what was the eventual outcome of her being tried by John Winthrop? do you believe that his decision to try her and exile her was popular among the puritan community?

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  2. i think that this crazy concept was inflamed by her gender. The clergy was even more upset that a women was speaking against them.

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  3. I think thats really cool how you over came not being able to participate in holidays even though your friends were and now you really appreciate it!

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  4. As crazy as it seems to us today, back in the day people were killed for saying these things. I personally am amazed she got away with her head still attached. And yes her being a women didn't help the matter.

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  5. With the freedom of religion you CAN discuss those things with your friends. imagine how different your friend group would be if you weren't allowed to be different or even discuss your beliefs.

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  6. I like how you relate to this in your own personal way. Definitely gives readers a sense of how powerful Anne Hutchinson's efforts were.

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