The Cambridge Platform describes Congregationalist politics as practiced by the Puritans in the 17th century. Each congregation was founded on a federation of churches, a written agreement signed by all members, in which they pledged to uphold the principles of the congregation, to be guided by the sola scriptura in their decision-making, and to submit to church discipline. The right of each municipality to elect its own ministers and manage its own affairs was maintained. [14] [15] The decline of Puritans and Congregational churches was caused first by practices such as the mid-term alliance and then by the rise of deviant Baptists, Quakers, Anglicans, and Presbyterians in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. [83] New Jersey remained in the shadow of New York and Pennsylvania for most of the colonial period. Part of the territory ceded by the English crown to the Duke of York in 1664 was in what would become a colony of New Jersey. The Duke of York, in turn, transferred this part of his lands to John Berkeley and George Carteret, two close friends and allies of the king. In 1665, Berkeley and Carteret established an owner government under their own leadership. However, there were constant disputes between the owners in New Jersey and New York over the exact nature of the New Jersey subsidy. New Jersey`s legal status became even more complicated when Berkeley sold half of its stake in the colony to two Quakers, who in turn placed the administration of the colony in the hands of three administrators, including Penn.
The area was later divided into East Jersey, controlled by Carteret, and West Jersey, controlled by Penn and the other Quaker administrators. In 1682, the Quakers bought East Jersey. A variety of owners and administrative insecurity led to settlers and colonizers being dissatisfied with the property agreement, and in 1702 the Crown united the two Jerseys into a single royal province. Over time, and different perspectives emerge within the science of witchcraft and its involvement in Puritan New England, many scholars have come forward to contribute to what we know about this topic. For example, different perspectives related to witch trials have been discussed, which concern the gender, race, economy, religion, and social oppression that Puritans suffered, which explains more deeply how Puritanism contributed to trials and executions. Puritan fears, beliefs, and institutions were the perfect storm that fueled witches` madness in cities like Salem from an interdisciplinary and anthropological approach. [78] Based on a sexist approach proposed by Carol Karlsen and Elizabeth Reis, the question of why witches were primarily women only arose after the second wave of feminism in the 1980s. Some believe that women who have gained economic or social power, including in the form of landings, have been exposed to a higher risk of being brought to justice than witches. [79] Others claim that women were more vulnerable to being witches, because the Puritans believed that the weak body was a path to the soul for which God and the devil were fighting. Because of the Puritan belief that female bodies “lacked strength and vitality” compared to male bodies, women were more likely to make the decision to make a covenant with Satan because their fragile bodies could not protect their souls. [80] From a racial point of view, The Puritans believed that African Americans and Native Americans living in the colonies were considered “true witches” from an anthropological point of view, since blacks were considered “inherently evil creatures unable to control their connection to satanic wickedness.” [81] Another contribution to science is the religious perspective that historians try to understand its impact on witch trials.
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