17세기 뉴잉글랜드 청교도의 학문과 교육

Learning and Education of New England Puritans in the Seventeenth Century

The purpose of this paper is to examine intellectual back ground and tradition of New England Puritans and their learning and education in the seventeenth century. New England Puritans intellectual back ground and tradition was rooted in European Renaissance and the Reformation. They inherited Augustin s thought and Renaissance humanist s tradition and method. They developed individualism of Renaissance into religious individualism. But their individualism was related to their community. They were so called the visible saints, therefore they put emphasis on their duty for their church and community. New England Puritans were not lutheran, but calvinist so they didn t put their emphasis on how to be saved but on what to do for the society. New England Puritans thought was rooted in Renaissance humanism, so they liked newly found classical literature and they shared the spirit and mind of European literature. Harvard University s Curriculum combined classical philosophy and literature with religious teaching and protestant theology. Harvard University educated students not only for pastors but also magistrates. New England Puritans were the disciples of Elasmus and Colet. They studied not only latin, greek and hebrew but also greek, roman literature and philosophy. Even though moral of Cato, Seneca, Aristides couldn t save their soul but it was valuable for them. Puritan pastors used Purtarchos, Aristophanes, Thuchydides, Platon and Vergillius story at their sermons. Therefore we can understand that how much they were influenced by the ancient literature and philosophy. But Puritan pastors were most influenced by french protestant theologian Petrus Ramus who taught them the principle of dichotomy of Platon, for example, day and night, true and false and in and out. New England Puritans put emphasis on the learning and education. They didn t object to study classical literature and poem and science but stimulated to study them. Harvard University, founded in 1636, was the only university in America in the seventeenth century. It is was built by a community less than one thousand people in the wilderness 8 years before. They established higher education earlier than elementary education. For elementary education, Massachusetts made an education act in 1647 which regulated every town more than one hundred households should educate the children grammar school education freely and every village more than fifty households should have one teacher. Puritans intellectual contribution was to establish the basic system and values which next generations can respect them. Puritan pastors had open mind to the new scientific findings, There were 11 members of English Royal Society in New England in seventeenth century. It was really a large number. They thought that wisdom is the best of all vain things under the sun. They thought that the secular knowledge, science, history and wisdom was valuable and a part of theology. Therefore there was no battle field between science and theology in New England in seventeenth century.