Article 14: Education and Evangelism in The English Colonies

This paper will consider two related educational endeavors of the Massachusetts colony. The first is the colonists’ efforts to pass their religious traditions to their children. The second is the effort of missionaries to spread the Christian faith to Native Americans. In both cases, the colonists wanted their children and the American Indians to become church members; however, their theological views added obstacles to such conversions.

Although some historians think that piety, education, and family reinforced each other to make a strong Puritan community, other historians have noted that these aspects of community could work against each other. For example, education could weaken the community because it encouraged each person to think independently. Piety could weaken the secular power of church leaders because piety implied each person met God on his or her own. At the same time, the frontier and the opportunities for wealth and prosperity could lead the Puritan children to choose not to support the church.