Colonial New England Ideologies And Religious Beliefs

Colonial New England ideologies were strictly religious in their puritan beliefs. Clergymen were highly educated and forced religious practices in the name of being righteous and holy. Conformity to religion was not considered a rational choice to those that were forced unto American soil and forced to live a way of life so different than their own. Enslaved Africans brought with them their own religious, marriage and funeral, and medicinal practices. These practices prompted radical puritans to fear these religious traditions that were so unlike their own, condemning blacks and the various ways they expressed hope in oppression. McMillan states, â€Å"As blacks occupied the lowest rung within society, their ability to survive the ordeals of†¦show more content†¦Creating original covert religious rituals and theologies. Many of the bewitching practices that have been historically accurate refer to Caribbean religious practices and Haitian voodoo, which is still prevalent in society today. Religious traditions associated with these general regions include celebration of marriage and funerals, for example, parading the streets with livelihood to properly bury a loved one. Today this is referred to as the second line funeral procession. White colonialists also believed funeral processions to be an act that made blacks uncontrollable. As stated in Piersen’s 1988 Notes, â€Å"In 1721†¦Boston’s selectmen limited the number of bells that could be tolled for Negro funerals to one in order to cut down on attendance; and they ordered the funeral processions to stop wending their way all over town and to take the most direct route to the grave.† Well documented manuscripts reveal a tell all of the black experience in colonial New England. This colony differed to that of many others due to the simple fact that blacks were recognized and had legal rights. Essentially, blacks were much better off in New England versus anywhere in the south . Denying religious and moral traditional rights to blacks, white colonists still insisted that blacks followed a Puritan moral code. With the inability to conform to the Puritan religion came a spike in witchcraft,