Abstract With the development of social economy and human civilization, the status of religious belief seems to witness a subtle change in modern society. Some people advocate that people need religious belief to purify souls and gain consolation, while the other hold the viewpoint that religion would hinder social progress. Based on the appreciation of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and study of research findings of the status of religion home and abroad, this article focuses on extreme religious belief and argues that religious belief would not always be a spiritual pillar. Religious belief could give people inner tranquility and motivation. But if people believe in it too extremely, they might suffer from it. Also, the article explores another potential ending of The Scarlet Letter that if Dymmesdale and Hester could forgive themselves and get rid of the severe control of Puritanism, they would have a possibility to avoid the tragic ending.61309

Keywords: religious belief; behavior; happiness; rationality.

摘要随着社会经济和人类文明的发展，宗教信仰在现代社会中的地位发生了微妙的变化。有些人认为人们亟需宗教信仰来净化心灵并提供精神慰藉，然而也有人认为宗教会阻碍社会进步。以对纳撒尼尔·霍桑的作品《红字》的品读和对国内外宗教现状的研究结果的学习为基础，本文将研究重心放在极端的宗教信仰，并提出极端的宗教主义信仰并不能总成为人的精神支柱。宗教信仰的确可以给人提供内心的宁静和生活的动力，但是如果人们过度依赖于它，则很有可能承受恶果。同时，本文还探索了另外一种《红字》可能性的结局：如果海斯特和丁梅斯代尔能够勇敢地原谅自己，走出宗教严格的束缚，他们是有机会避免悲剧式的结局的。

毕业论文关键字：宗教信仰；行为；幸福；理性

Contents

1. Introduction

2. Literature Review

   2.1 Puritans and Puritanism

   2.2 Previous Studies of The Scarlet Letter

   2.3 Previous Studies of Religions

3. Reflection on the Ending of The Scarlet Letter 

   3.1 The Relation Between Hester, Chillingworth, and Dimmesdale

   3.2 Reasons of Dimmesdale’s Death

4. Examples of Extreme Religious Belief in Real Life

   4.1 Hinduism: Cutting down a Man’s Head to Pray for Rain in a 

               Hindu Tribe

   4.2.1 Islam: Death Penalty for Homosexuals in Some Countries

   4.2.2 Islam: Terrorist Attack in Paris by Islamic State

5. Modern Evaluation of Religions

   5.1 The Merits and Demerits of Puritanism

   5.2 The Advantages and Disadvantages of Religious Beliefs

   5.3 The Status of Religious Beliefs in Modern Society

6. Backing to the Fiction

Conclusion

References

1. Introduction

Many scholars and ideologists hold the viewpoint that our society is a society which lacks belief, so is the present age. A great number of people pursue wealth or power blindly, ignoring morality and rationality. This kind of behavior is regarded as a behavior without belief. Also, many economists and politicians pointed out that the puritan belief is the origin of American Dream. Chinese scholars come up with the idea that modern Chinese society need religious belief such as puritan belief to make progress and reduce social contradiction. 源:自'优尔.·论,文;网·www.youerw.com/

    People are easily be bewitched by varieties of religious doctrines and pleas while they might suffer a lot from indulging in them too much. Moderate religious belief certainly could help us gain the motivation of life and live in company with spiritual tranquility whereas extreme religious belief has the potential to destroy one’s life and deprive one’s rationality. This article aims to help people find a balance between religious belief and material life, realize the importance and legitimacy of human nature, and treat religious belief with rationality.