To put it simply, Mormons are a group of people who follow the religion of Mormonism. Mormonism is classified as a subcategory of Christianity, but they differ in significant ways (i.e. the first Mormons followed the Young [pun intended if italics wasn't enough of a hint] American Moses to Sal Tlay Ka Siti, Utah in 1844). Their Broadway representation portrayed them as wholly faithful people with traditions and beliefs as cemented and varied and strange as the next sector of Christianity.
But then I started thinking, and before long, I realized that hey, wait, aren't a lot of religions in some way restrictive on their believers and, to some degree, intolerant of other beliefs or ideas? Aside from the friendly, do-gooding Mormons, certain churches (read: Westboro Baptist) come to mind when the word "intolerant" is brought to the table.
But then I kept thinking, and after a little while, my head started going around in fuzzy circles, which is when I know I need to take a step back and take a clearer look at the heart of my problem: the idea of the modern Puritan. Okay, well, what was a Puritan? What defined them?
The most general, all-around description off of the top of my head is, "group of people exiled due to their extreme religious beliefs".
Okay, well, the word "extreme" is subjective, so how about just "group of people exiled due to their religious beliefs"? And, well, that kind of phrasing reminds me an awful lot of the Holocaust. And if the 1930s and '40s were only about seventy or so years ago, then that's moderately recent, right?
Right, maybe not, since smartphones didn't exist back then and any time before an iPhone is practically prehistoric.
Maybe there are countries or areas in the world right now in the year 2013 A.D. persecuting people due to their religious beliefs, but none are turning up in my mind, so what else can I do but go to Google?
According to an article on Rome Reports, Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world thanks to the intolerant governments and citizens of China, Cuba, North Korea, and the like.
...Right, so we're back to the Christianity bit.
But how about taking the idea of the Puritans beyond just persecution? How about just "oppressed people"? After all, the Puritans oppressed themselves in many ways due to their own traditions and beliefs.
And that is when the stork delivered my epiphany.
In a very liberal way of interpreting the phrase, we are all "modern Puritans" in just about every aspect of life. We are all oppressed and held fast by laws, authority, physical and mental capabilities, and/or morality. Kids must be educated, I can't sparkle naturally in the sun like Edward Cullen, and none of us should beat people to death with a sledgehammer somehow made from the critically endangered Sumatran orangutan while high on crystal meth while in the United States of America.
To be perfectly honest, for a while, I thought that I had nothing in common with the Puritans in The Crucible. However, I realize now that I do, and despite how "well, duh" it is, the fact is that we are all simply human.
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ReplyDeleteMaybe what you actually said is true, that we may be all Puritans. But in the beginning you said "group of people exiled due to their religious beliefs". Well, we don't have that now, we don't have such land to boot people onto. You should compare the beliefs and laws of church groups. By the way, I like the diction of this passage.
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