Puritans arrived in New England in the fall of 1620. When William Bradford and his fellow pilgrims first experienced the enormity of the forest and the reality of the climate, they doubted the wisdom of their immigration. The land and weather conspired to instill fear and suggest the presence of Satan A little more than a century later Jonathan Edwards, arguably New England's last Puritan, walked through these same woods, only further west, and sensually enjoyed the presence of God. This dissertation attempts to illustrate and give reasons for the trajectory of Puritan attitudes towards the New England landscape. This trajectory began with fear and ended with communion. Further, this evolution of thought incorporates an awareness of the natural world that almost four hundred years later might be called an environmental theology.

Puritan ideas of the natural world in New England are revealed by a close reading of selected texts. Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation begins the study by presenting Puritan ambivalence. They were unsure if New England was part of their figurative wilderness wandering or if it was the Promised Land. Bradford's text additionally illustrates how the Puritans were able to adapt their religious identity — thoughts and practices — to their new environment.

The bulk of this study considers, in separate chapters, three figures from the height of Puritan society in New England — Increase Mather, Cotton Mather and Samuel Sewall. The elder Mather worked to combine his conception of modern (eighteenth century) science with his undoubted conviction of a God ordered universe. His son, using a more nuanced understanding of the physical world, sought to preserve a place for Special Providence in his increasingly Newtonian cosmology. Sewall, a layman, incorporated them into his practical life of traveling and shipping goods these theological developments.

Edwards concludes the study by demonstrating that a Puritan's personal conversion could be influenced by the perception of the presence of God in the immediate environment. He had difficulty experiencing God while in the company of other people and often found genuine religious awareness while in nature. He worked to bring this environmental awareness into his preaching.