Wayward Puritans: A Study in the Sociology

¶ … Wayward Puritans: A Study in the Sociology of Deviance by Kai T. Erickson. Specifically, it will contain an extra chapter to "Wayward Puritans" demonstrating how the study illustrates the social control approach to deviance. The Puritan society of early New England is an excellent example of how a small society carefully controlled deviant behavior that frightened them.

The Social Control Approach

The sociological and historical study of the Puritans and their approach to deviance in their society indicated just how these early Americans controlled their society, and thus controlled deviant behavior in their society. This social control approach is still the most common method of societal behavioral control, because it works in many applications. For example, today, social controls can be seen in the war on drugs, and on drinking and driving. For most of society, these behaviors are not acceptable, and so, there are laws against them, but there is also societal disapproval against those who participate in these activities. Author Erickson notes, "A man may disinherit his son for conduct that violates old family traditions or ostracize a neighbor for conduct that violates some local custom, but he is not expected to employ either of these standards when he serves as a juror in a court of law."

Some types of deviant behavior if left uncontrolled can tear apart a society, and so in many instances, control of the behavior is especially significant if the society is to survive and thrive. However, as author Erickson continues, "Behavior which qualifies one man for prison may qualify another for sainthood."

In Puritan New England, deviant behavior of any sort was not tolerated, and the people operated on a very strict set of moral and behavioral guidelines. Thus, their lives were completely given over to social control.

Especially important to the Puritans were the deviant behaviors of witchcraft and possession. Clearly, these were the behaviors that frightened the Puritans the most because of their strict religious nature and these behaviors were those under the most societal control. As noted in the handout, smaller societies tend to display less tolerance, and this is completely true of the small, closed society of the early New England Puritans. There are many examples of societal control over deviant behavior in the book "Wayward Puritans."

The Puritans had been persecuted for their religious beliefs in England, and this is a major reason they chose to relocate to the New World. Strict in their morals and their ethics, they believed they must live their entire lives as detailed in the Bible, and so it is not surprising that they were so very concerned with Good vs. Evil, God vs. The Devil and all that entailed. Evil represented the worst form of social deviance to them, and so, witchcraft and possession were at the top of their list of fears. The author states, "The Bible told him [the Puritan] the difference between right and wrong, and in his efforts to shape the world to those clear moralities he could be positively ferocious."

In early Puritan society, the ministers acted as the lawmakers, and so, societal control was based on the Bible's rules, and the minister's interpretations of those rules. To begin with, to be admitted as a member of Puritan society, one had to be a member of the church. Here is an example of societal control before the member could even join the society. Indeed, as the society thrived and new laws were enacted, they persecuted Quakers in much the same way they had been persecuted in England, and they suffered several "crime waves" of witchcraft and possession. The trial and banishment of Mrs. Anne Hutchinson, and the persecution of the Quakers indicated society in New England was becoming even more conservative, and certainly more controlling of "deviant" members. Fearful of witches and the black arts, the society encouraged members to turn on each other in the name of "confession." Erickson writes, "As they [the possessed girls] became caught up in the enthusiasm of their new work, then, the girls began to reach into every corner of the community in a search for likely suspects."

The community encouraged this behavior in their maniacal search for deviants in league with the Devil, and this shows how the community's beliefs and fears controlled the deviant behavior. Anyone could be accused, and so, the rest of the community had to strictly adhere to every Puritan policy, or become suspect themselves. The mores were so strict that the slightest infraction could place a person in jeopardy, and this indicates just how controlling the society was, and how fearful it was of any deviant behavior, which is why they created so many controls.