The Evolution of the Concept of Happiness in Puritan Election Sermon of the 18th Century
- Issue:
- Received: 13 May 2026
- Approved after reviewing: 18 May 2026
- Date of publication: 25 Jun. 2026
- УДК / UDK: 821.111(73).0
- Publication Type: Research Article
- DOI:
- EDN:
- Funding Sources:
The research has been supported by the grant of the Russian Science Foundation (project № 25-28-03127) «Religion as an Element of Political Discourse in the Age of Enlightenment: The Experience of Russia and the West», https://rscf.ru/project/aR4F_JqzGEZcOY9tSDFgd8zjnYKGO06tUwQLU4Lj0r7ohlUnmIPAYZkdMnmatX4bNk25Pi6kW4~/
- Abstract:
A vast collection of so-called “political” sermons, delivered in the New England colonies on the occasion of annual elections of governors, members of legislative assemblies, and local authorities, allows us to reconstruct the evolution of the Puritan concept of happiness. Influential Puritan preachers, unofficial opinion leaders, directly affected shaping of the fundamental principles and methods of political and legal thinking among the colonists. The integration of European Enlightenment discourse into the political culture of the British colonies was complex, multifaceted, and depended on the adaptation of new concepts and ideas to the sociopolitical landscape of America. The new Enlightenment glossary used in sermons generally did not imply a formalized doctrine. Rather, it served as a tool for discussing various sociopolitical issues and proving a particular point of view. The idea that virtue is the primary key to achieving happiness is the starting point for all Puritan discourses on happiness in the 18th century. Undoubtedly, the moral philosophy of antiquity, especially that of Aristotle, as well as the writings of European Enlightenment thinkers, had a profound influence on the development of such ideas. Puritan preachers in New England discussed the civic concept of happiness, the happiness of people belonging to a given political community. The happiness of New Englanders became dependent on the quality of laws, the model of government, and the moral character of the ruler and members of the magistrate. The happiness of subjects gradually came to be understood as the primary goal of any state and was interpreted primarily as the natural right of the individual to civil liberties, security, well-being, and the opportunity to engage in unimpeded trade and economic activity.
- Keywords: American thought in the 17th and 18th century, New England Puritanism, American Revolutionary War, Declaration of Independence, virtue, natural rights, pursuit of happiness, election sermon, Enlightenment, Thomas Jefferson
- For citation:
Khruleva, Irina. “The Evolution of the Concept of Happiness in Puritan Election Sermon of the 18th Century.” Literature of the Americas, no. 20 (2026): 296–313. https://doi.org/10.22455/2541-7894-2026-20-296-313
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