对新英格兰殖民地政教关系的再探讨

Rethinking of the Church-State Relations in New England Colonies

在北美新英格兰殖民地,虽然存在正统宗教或"官方宗教",但这并不等于说清教共同体施行通常所说的"神权政治",因为一般而言,神权政治的主要特征是政教合一,而新英格兰殖民地从创立伊始其政教就是分离的,且许多清教领袖明确主张"政教分离",并有充分的法律和文献依据说明这一点。

In New England colonies,there was orthodoxy or official religion,but Puritan commonwealth was not a'theocracy'.The integration of the church and the state is generally viewed as the key feature of a'theocracy',whereas sufficient legislations and literature reveal that Puritans maintained the separation of the church from the state since the very beginning of New England colonies,and some Puritans leaders also clearly advocated the separation of the church from the state.