Puritan casuistry is a genre of British religious literature, in the general area of

moral theology Ethics involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior.''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy''"Ethics"/ref> A central aspect of ethics is "the good life", the life worth living or life that is simply sati ...

, and recognised as founded about 1600. The work ''A Case of Conscience'' (1592) of William Perkins is considered foundational for the genre. So-called "case divinity" has been described as fundamental to Puritan culture. The underlying theological trend is said to be visible in George Gifford: evidence from life accentuated as "proof of election", to be obtained reflectively, and matching "biblically promised effects". In line with the tenets of

Reformed theology Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Calv ...

, the assurance of

salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

could produce dilemmas on a spiritual level, and Puritan casuistry in part was a response to the need to address these issues as practical problems. Perkins,

Richard Greenham Richard Greenham (also Grenham) (1535?–1594?) was an English clergyman of Puritan views, well known for his strong Puritan doctrine of the Sabbath. His many sermons and theological treatises had a significant influence on the Puritan movemen ...

William Ames William Ames (; Latin: ''Guilielmus Amesius''; 157614 November 1633) was an English Puritan minister, philosopher, and controversialist. He spent much time in the Netherlands, and is noted for his involvement in the controversy between the Cal ...

and

Joseph Alleine Joseph Alleine (baptised 8 April 1634 – 17 November 1668) was an English Nonconformist pastor and author of many religious works. Life Alleine belonged to a family that had originally settled in Suffolk. As early as 1430, some of the descendant ...

were noted as authors who wrote in this area. From Ames, it was considered that

reprobation Reprobation, in Christian theology, is a doctrine which teaches that a person can reject the gospel to a point where God in turn rejects them and curses their conscience. The English word ''reprobate'' is from the Latin root ''probare'' (''Engl ...

can almost never know itself. More accurately, the issue is

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

, and the assurance of it, and Perkins addressed it as a preoccupation. Otherwise, the content of "Puritan casuistry" is still somewhat contested by scholars, because the element of

casuistry In ethics, casuistry ( ) is a process of reasoning that seeks to resolve moral problems by extracting or extending theoretical rules from a particular case, and reapplying those rules to new instances. This method occurs in applied ethics and ju ...

is apparently lower than would be expected, if it were simply the casuistry of

Puritanism The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. P ...

. One explanation lies in a transformed,

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

, meaning of "casuistry", as the "sifting of the

conscience Conscience is a cognitive process that elicits emotion and rational associations based on an individual's moral philosophy or value system. Conscience stands in contrast to elicited emotion or thought due to associations based on immediate sens ...

". Some of the content of

confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information th ...

is therefore implied, and so of devotional life. In terms of genre,

devotional literature Christian devotional literature (also called devotionals or Christian living literature) is religious writing that Christianity, Christian individuals read for their personal growth and spiritual formation. Such literature often takes the form of C ...

can be closer to the mark, than moral literature. It has been argued by a

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

author that "casuistry" here is a misnomer, and "practical divinity" more accurate.

Background in Early Modern casuistry

The medieval tradition in casuistry went under the name ''casus conscientiae'', "cases of conscience". It took the form of

moral principle Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and Social actions, actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from ...

s shown as applied to particular situations. It was taken up by 17th century writers, both Catholic and Protestant. When Reformed theologians adopted casuistry, it was in a distinctive style: concise and biblical, and largely denying the separation of

moral philosophy Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ma ...

from theology. In the early 17th century the term "practical theology" was coming in, to cover "cases of conscience", though its scope could be wider than that.

Notes

{{reflist Puritanism in England Ethics literature Salvation in Protestantism British literature