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English and Dutch Sabbatarianism and the Development of Puritan Social Theology (1600–1660)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2009

Keith L. Sprunger
Keith L. Sprunger
Affiliation:
professor of history inBethel College, North Newton, Kansas.
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Extract

Strict observance of the Lord's Day became a distinctive feature of English and Scottish society in the seventeenth century. The Sabbatarian principle touched not only British religion but many social and economic practices as well. At some times, English Puritan settlers in the Netherlands attempted to introduce their brand of Sabbatarianism into Dutch society but with disappointing results. The success or failure of Sabbatarianism often has been identified with a certain stage of capitalistic economic development. This article examines the centrality of teachings about the Sabbath in Puritan social theology and, secondarily, the Sabbatarian-capitalism connection by comparing events in England and Holland from approximately 1600 to 1660. A comparison of Puritan Sabbatarians at home in England and abroad in Holland reveals anew the extreme difficulty of transporting values from one society, where they fit, into another location.

Type
Research Article
Information
Church History , Volume 51 , Issue 1 , March 1982 , pp. 24 - 38
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of Church History 1982

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