Anne Hutchinson challenged the traditional role of women in the Puritan society through her opposing religious beliefs. Anne Hutchinson was most likely not the first woman to have her own thoughts. She was simply the first to act on them. Anne Hutchinson was born on or about July17, 1591 of Anne Marbury in Alford, England.
Anne's father was a deacon at Christ Church, Cambridge. Her father spoke his beliefs about the church constantly. For this act of defiance, he was put in jail for one year. Undaunted, Francis Marbury continued to voice his radical opinions, including that many ministers were appointed haphazardly by high church officials to preach in any manner they wanted. Being educated at home, Anne read many of her father's books on theology and religion. Much of Anne's later independence and willingness to speak out was because of her father's example. Anne admired her father for his defiance of traditional church principles. She was always fascinated with questions such as the fate of people that had no faith or beliefs in God. Her childhood was a definite factor in the development of the strong, self-assured woman she grew up to be. .
At the time of Anne's youth in England, the official religion was Protestantism under the Church of England. Puritanism developed in the late Sixteenth Century from the split in Protestantism between those who were satisfied with traditional methods and those who thought the way of worship needed purification. This second group, the Puritans, thought that worship needed to be simpler with fewer sacraments and rites. The people's views clashed, and the Puritan Revolution in England began. The puritan Revolution was the first chance that people like Anne got to think for themselves and develop their own opinions instead of blindly believing what the church taught them. .
Anne's faith grew, and she began to study the bible. She believed that faith alone could save you, and once said, "I feel that nothing important ever happens that is not revealed to me beforehand.
