Is John Proctor religious in The Crucible?

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John Proctor is religious in that he acts on an ideal that is transcendent to the physical, temporal realm. Proctor sacrifices dearly for this ideal, making his own mortal being secondary to something larger.

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I think that if being religious is defined by the standards that Salem imposes, then Proctor would not be deemed as being religious.  Proctor did not attend church regularly, criticized church leadership, and, of course, could not recite the Ten Commandments on command correctly.  In addition to this, Proctor cheated...

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on his wife.  Yet, I think that Proctor can be seen as being religious in that he is acting on an ideal that is transcendent.  As opposed to being chained to the contingent and temporal notion of spiritual identity that is dominating Salem, Proctor evolves throughout the drama in believing something more about his own sense of identity and how this is to be understood by his children.  Proctor's desire to act in honor of his name and not to succumb to the temporal notion of the good is representative of a religious notion.  It is here where Proctor becomes religious.  He lives his life and sacrifices dearly for a spiritual ideal.  It is here, in the ending, when Proctor lives for something more than himself, making his own mortal being secondary to something larger.  It is in the honoring of "his name" where Proctor demonstrates behavior that represents him being religious.

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Is John Proctor a Christian?

I have to agree with the previous post that John would certainly be classified as a Christian.  Perhaps it depends on whether you define Christian as someone who follows Christ's teachings or someone who tries to follow them while admitting to human weakness.

Perhaps the most telling scene in terms of deciding whether or not John is a Christian would be the scene where he has to actually admit to his adultery publicly in order to try and bring the truth out in front of the court.  This would provide a very compelling argument for those who try to follow the principles of Christianity as he sees his own weakness and tries desperately to right the wrong and is wiling to confront public shame to move towards what he thinks is right.

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Is John Proctor a Christian?

The play also shows a John Proctor who is conflicted about his faith.  There is the issue with Reverend Parris and the money he spends on gold candlesticks.  As the witch trials heat up, especially since he knows the truth, he loses faith in some of the church elders and the court, because they cannot see the farce for what it is.

I don't think Proctor ever abandons Christianity, per se, but without saying so, he may have abandoned Puritanism by the end.  But then again, so did a lot of people at that time.  By 1730, a mere 38 years after the Salem fiasco, there was no Puritan Church left in New England.

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