Puritans! ...versus... Rationalists!

I think the biggest difference between the Puritans the the Rationalists is science. Puritans believed that God made the universe and we should just be happy with his handy work the way it is and leave well enough alone. While on the other hand, Rationalists strove to find out why things were the way they were. Science was the main tool Rationalists used to figure things out, there is pretty much no other use for science - it explains things. Puritans didn't believe in figuring things out, so they had no use for science and were actually against the use of it.
Examples of this same conflict can be found in many places today. Reason versus religion is a battle I believe could be fought for many years to come. Whether it's evolution, stem cell research, or just how far science should go and how much it should effect our lives; reason and science will always be up against religious standards. In many ways puritan ideas are still in place in the U.S. today, there is a ban on the sale of alcohol on Sundays in a number of states and the law against same sex marriage. I think rationalism has had a stronger impact on the world today though. The fact that I'm here at school, where science classes are mandatory to graduate, is proof of that. Our nation was founded by men of reason, and I think that the spirit of rationalism still has a heavy influence on us now.