Letter Essay, Research Paper
Religion in Society
Throughout time, religion in society has played a major role in the lives of the
people. Religion has shaped people?s own morals as well as the laws for which the
government has established society?s fundamentals of living. Hawthorne links religion
and law in his book The Scarlet Letter, and shows his readers that society has shaped
their rules by their religion and beliefs. He tells how important the church is to the
people, how the view of predestination enters the lives of the people, as well as showing
society?s religious views on punishing for the breaking of laws.
During the puritan time period, a big part of the lives of most people was the
church. They believed that by going to church and by creating a society that revolved
around God that they would have a fulfilling life. Most societies held many of
community events and functions that were sponsored by the church. The church played a
very big role in setting the goal of a town to revolve around the church. This holds true
in Hawthorn?s novel. He set a society around a minister that was looked up to by the
people and was supported by the government in his decision and his actions. Most of the
people in the town attend church on a regular basis except for the ones that the people of
the town considered to be odd or weird. The people of the town set them as outcast and
consider them to be the main sinners and not sorry for their sins. What they do not know
is that their minister, Dimmsdale, carries around a secret throughout the book that tears at
his soul. He himself is too a sinner and because of his position in the community he can
not confess his sin publicly that he is the one that had the affair with Hester. If he took
responsibility for his actions, his life would have been ruined. His title as minister would
have been taken from him an he would have been condemned and judge for his behavior.
This is wrong cause the bible says that no one shall judge except for the lord, but in those
times, people did not care what the bible said unless it had to support their needs. People
went around judging people for the way that one behaved in order to have themselves
feel better about who they were. They figured that it made them seem like a more moral
and religious person than the next individual standing next to them.
Many of people during this time period believed in the process of predestination;
the belief of people being pre-destined from birth and that their souls were already
decided on descending to hell or the ascending to heaven. They believed that no matter
what happened that they were already decided if they would be good moral Christians or
if their lives were destine to hell because of their sins. If this were true then all of the
good that Dimmsdale did for the community and for his own life would have meant
nothing for his one major sin that he committed. The bible states that he who is sinless
let him cast the first stone. The people in the society would say that their lives are
perfect and sin free so therefore we can condemn everyone who commits a sin, but only
as they see fit to what was a bigger sin than another. In other words, people were
predestined to be sinners and because of their sins society would see them as unjust and
make them pay for their sins by always making them remember that they had messed up,
even if they had made amends with God themselves. This is why Hester had to wear the
?A? on her chest for the rest of her life. She never was sorry for what she had done
because to her the best thing came out of it. Her daughter Pearl meant the world to her
and because of this, she was pleased.
The punishments that the government placed on Hester was truly religiously
based. The people during the time period believed that if one confessed their sins that
then they would have to deal with god themselves on repenting and being forgiven. This
especially took place during the witch trials. They believed that if one confessed to being
a witch then they could not be killed because they would have to make amends with God
themselves. Hester was in a similar boat considering the fact that she confessed to her
sin. She claimed publicly that she had the affair and that she new it was wrong to have
had it. She never felt sorry for what she had done but new that it was not the best of
ways to approach things. Society then placed the ?A? on her as her punishment. They
new that there was nothing more that they could do and that she would have to make her
ties with God in order for her to have her eternal life in heaven. The religion came into
play in the government because the government?s punishment was nothing more than
making her wear the ?A? on her chest. They did nothing more because it would have
been over stepping the boundaries of their religious beliefs.
Religion in society still exist today, but not as heavily. You are not looked down
upon if you do not attend church. Back in the early settlements of the country you were
considered to be weird or possible devil like if you did not attend church. Through out
the book, Hawthorn?s condemning of the sinners of the community until they confessed
publicly, was the way that most of the societies in that time period would have behaved.
Religion played such a big role to the people that they did not create a system where
people can be forgiven for what they had done. They had to go around carrying their
same sin even though they had come to amends with God themselves. It should not have
been anyone else?s concern. Granted today?s jail system is somewhat operated the same
way, but those are for bigger crimes and set up to protect society from many wrong
doings. They are there for structure. Even today religion plays a role in government.
You have to swear under oath and on a bible that the facts that are stated in a court of law
are true. This is societies way of getting the truth out of criminals in today?s world.
Even the President of The United States has to swear to God to do his job in the most
prestigious way and not to break any laws while in office. All in all religion in law has
always and always will be a part of the government and the way that the society views the
governmental approach to things.