selfish or selfless

Puritans were a group of highly religious people who fled to North America in the 17th century from Europe as a result of religious persecution from the Church of England. Although they are widely known to have lived a very strict life and were dedicated to God, they were more selfish than people think. It is true that they were very serious about their religion, but the extent to which they practiced their religion caused them to become selfish. The way Puritans treated the Native Americans, as well as the way they treated those who went against their social conventions, suggest that the Puritans were actually acting out of selfish reasons.

Puritans left England looking for religious freedom in the 1630s due to the Church's persecution. The Church of England and the Puritans weren't able to come to a point of compromise. The Puritans first arrived in Holland but moved to New England later on. The Puritans were Protestants, but they were different from other Protestant groups. The Puritans were very strict, and how they exiled people and even practiced witchcraft show their uniqueness. As a Christian, at first sight, I thought they were a good group of people. I thought they were just people who wanted religious freedom, and I was amazed by their dedication to God and thought their way of life deserved much respect. When I read the document "City Upon A Hill" by John Winthrop, I also  thought they had such an excellent leader who knew how to inspire his people. However, another document I read regarding John Cotton's sermon gave me an impression that the Puritans were more selfish than they seemed. I realized that John Winthrop had also exploited religion to take advantage of Native Americans. His mouth spoke scriptures from the Bible, but his actions were the exact opposite of the words he preached. John Cotton, another Puritan leader, even claimed they were the "inhabitants" in the new land and that there was nothing wrong with them claiming the land that he thought was rightfully theirs. However, as many people know, the land belonged to the Native Americans who have been living there long before the Europeans arrived.

Not only the Native Americans, but also those who went against the strict teachings of Puritanism were victims of selfishness shown by Puritans. For example, both Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams were kicked out of the Massachusetts Bay Colony because they had beliefs that were not supported by the society they lived in. Williams and Hutchinson both opposed what they considered to be wrong within the Puritan society. Furthermore, Anne  Hutchinson was the first women to stand up and argue against the Puritans. As a result, Anne Hutchison and her entire family had to flee but was later captured and executed in front of other Puritans. The execution was done to show what would happen to them if they did not follow the rules and went against their teachings. It is ironic that the people who themselves faced persecution and had to flee to another continent persecuted their own people for challenging the Puritan authority. The Puritans seem to be into religion too deeply that they went off track, thinking that this is the type of religion that God was asking them to follow.