Puritans & Sex
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Puritans and Sex by Edmund S. Morgan was a very informative read, and attention grabbing starting from the title itself. I truly appreciated Mr. Morgans readiness to show the reader to not always conform to stereotypes. I have always had an oversimplified conception that the Puritans were very reticent when it came to sex. It seemed to me like it was a subject that they preferred to keep very quiet about. However, Edmund S. Morgan helps me change my views on this subject. It now seems to me that the Puritans thought of sex as many other religions do today in the 21st century.
The Puritans had only a few rules about sexual intercourse. Mainly they were that the participants had to be married to one another, and then that sex should not interfere with religion. Some of these rules are still included in modern-day teachings of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. When adultery or rape occurred it was not spoken in hushed terms as one might suppose. It was not a matter that was kept quiet or not spoken of. The Puritans understood that although the were rules from god, it was only natural for human beings to break them. In fact I was really surprised to find out that the Puritans became used to sexual offenses because there was so many. One of the reasons there was so many illicit sexual intercourse going on was because there was tons of men were unable to satisfy their sexual desires through marriage because many of there wives were not with them in the New World but still back home in England. Another, really surprising detail was that in order for a servant to get married he must have permission from their master. Unfortunately, in which countless times they refused unless both the bride and groom worked for the same household. The Puritans, however did not just sit there waiting for things to happen. They took measures to avoid things like adultery before they happened by returning couples to each other when one left the other.
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