Zbornik Radova Pravnog Fakulteta u Nišu (Jan 2019)
The political system of the United States of America and congregationalism (puritanism)
Abstract
The political system of the United States of America has derived from a variant (faction) of Protestant Christianity, Congregationalism or Puritanism, which emphasizes the importance of the Old Testament Judaism and the doctrine of predestination (pre-determination). As such, Puritanism played an essential role in the emergence of the American type of democracy and the cruel colonization of the present-day territory of the United States. The first English colonists of the present-day United States territories were the Puritans. In line with their precept of Christianity, the Puritans considered themselves to be "the chosen people of God," perceiving the state, church and economics as institutions based on the covenant between the members of the specific nation. By contrast, the non-Christian Native American Indians were considered to be "the devil's children," whom God had doomed to failure. The act of dropping atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as the engagement in the Cold War with the Soviet Union, are the expression of such religious and moral perceptions. Yet, Puritanism still features a strong trait of Christian Love embodied in the New Testament. This trait came to the fore in the Marshall Plan, the American recovery program aimed at reviving European economies after the Second World War. Similarly, in the early years of Tito's regime, when the Serbian agricultural production was almost completely extinguished in 1946 by introducing "peasant co-operatives" and forced purchase of grain products, which put Serbian children at risk of dying from famine, the American President Truman saved Serbia from famine by delivering food, money and medicines.
