Reading response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 6

Reading response - Essay Example In my opinion, the text reveals a number interesting religious notions that were commonplace at that time in the society. The text reveals that the established religious norms of the society were close or similar to the protestant faith. It was for this reason that Mrs. Hutchinson was repeatedly asked about this aspect. As was common in most of the older societies, opposing or questioning religious beliefs was not an option for the ordinary people. The religion appears to be the property of Church or the ruling class and it was molded as and when needed. I strongly feel that Mrs. Hutchinson’s stand against the status quo was itself sufficient to stand apart; since no one in the society was willing to accept or talk about the reality. Mrs. Hutchinson’s ideology can be equated to antinomianism – an idea that was unacceptable for the ruling class. The primary reason for unacceptability appears to be the control that this class intended to exert on the other classes of the society. I feel that religion and justice have always been used as tools to control the masses; religion acted by manipulating the people emotionally and by taking control of their belief system, whereas judicial system provided the authority that was required to control those who failed to align with the religious teachings or controls. I am forced to think critically about the role of judicial system that was functioning at the time of Mrs. Hutchinson. At various points in the text, it appears that there is a single person in the court who is defending her case; there is no attorney to assist her about the legalities of her case or to assist her in taking a solid defense. Instead, it appears that a couple of men, who are inclined towards taking punitive action against the lady are surrounding her from all sides and as soon as she leaves one of them ‘answerless’, the other jumps in, to divert her attention or to