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Flimzy
Flimzy
1:07 AM
@Spork My answer does not claim that Puritans were (or even are) prudes. My answer claims that they (and other religious immigrants) were, on average, more socially (and particularly sexually) conservative than the average European. Until I see evidence to the contrary, I do stand by that.
There are, of course, many far more complicated matters that went into the present-day "prudish" views of American culture toward sexuality (and other "vices"). I don't think that changes the underlying reality (as I perceive it) that this heritage of religiosity is the core cause of modern day prudishness.
 
 
1 hour later…
Double U
Double U
2:31 AM
@Flimzy I have read before that modern-day immigrants and their children in the United States may find themselves sharing a lot in common with other immigrants as opposed to people from their native countries. A running gag of the immigrant parent seems to be that the parent is very economical, resourceful, having a strong emphasis on education and jobs, and being very socially conservative.
@Flimzy Do you think that immigration may have something to do with the U.S. social and sexual views? I mean, the U.S. seems to be a very popular place for many immigrants looking for a better life - for Mexicans and Chinese. They may be keeping Christianity alive.
 
Flimzy
Flimzy
3:08 AM
@DoubleU I don't have a feeling one way or another on that.
 
 
5 hours later…
Spork
Spork
7:41 AM
@Flimzy it's a coherent story, but I definitely do not buy it as an historic description of reality. But, if topless puritanical parties don't convince you, I don't know what will (see the history.SE question)
Regardless, it's only one part of the answer. Those same rigorous 'morals' were upheld in many places throughout Europe. There is so much more to human culture than religion, that I feel it's pretty ridiculous to say you think 4 paragraphs of explanation is enough to describe the differences between two randomly selected (tell me Austria had anything to do with Sweden when Columbus sailed the ocean blue), enormous groups of people separated by an ocean for a period of centuries.

Chances seem quite a bit higher that religious views would've been close to what would be accepted publicly, esp…
 
 
7 hours later…
Flimzy
Flimzy
2:42 PM
@Spork You're distorting my answer, and reading your own preconceptions into it.
@Spork: In modern America, it is predominantly religious ideologies that influence social sexual norms (even, perhaps especially, among the decidedly non-religious, and those fighting against those norms). The question isn't whether these religious ideologies changed over the last 500 years; the question is where did the religious influence come from?
And I believe that is answered, in large part, by the way North America was colonized by a self-selected sample of Europeans who were, on average, more religious, or more religiously "hard core" than the average Europeans.
 
 
2 hours later…
Spork
Spork
4:46 PM
I severely doubt that it is answered in large part with the myth of the puritanical house on a hill Cration story of the United States. It's also untenable to state that no region in Europe had similarly rigorous -if not more so- religious suppression.
It's a bit like explaining the drinking problem of modern day Australians by citing the myth of them stemming from English lowlifes.
 

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