Puritains

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says that if this occurs, “the fiddle will be out of tune, and the strings will crack” meaning that if people aren’t faithful to their religion, then the Puritan society will break down and not work.

Document J is very significant to the theory that religion was the biggest influence on Puritan society. John Higginson says, “...Remember that worldly gain was not the end and [design] of the people of New England, but Religion.” Higginson is saying that although the economy is very prosperous due to trade, it was originally settled with an idea based around religion, not economic or political values. This proves that religious concepts were the main focus even though trade was flourishing.

Although many of the documents point towards religion being the base of New England development, some of the documents suggest that political values were also very influential. In Document B, the town hall is also in the center of the map, indicating that political needs were also very important and needed to be discussed and solved easily. Document H also advocates for politics. John Cotton mentions government and its limitations. He talks about how the church and commonwealth should not be able to limit the government because they are not directly related. He also talks about only giving people liberty and authority that they can use and manage. Both of these documents support the theory that politics impacted the development of the New England colonies the most.

Religious beliefs held a major role in the Puritans’ lives and shaped the development of their societies immensely. Many of the documents support this theory, especially Document J. However, some documents advocate for the political values but they do not outweigh those of the social values.