Increase Mather was the foremost religious leader of his generation of fervent Puritans in Massachusetts Bay colony. A member of an illustrious lineage of ministers, and a prominent public figure, Mather cultivated an identity as minister of God, preacher of orthodoxy, and prolific writer of theological doctrine and Providential history. Yet he was also caught in the transition between the Puritan piety of the founders and the rapidly encroaching world of the Enlightenment. While less remembered than his clerical predecessor and father-in-law John Cotton, and less famous than ministerial heir and son Cotton Mather, both of whom were part of more well-known historical controversies, Increase Mather was nevertheless a crucial leader in co

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First published 10 February 2005

Citation: Silva, Alan J.. "Increase Mather". The Literary Encyclopedia. 10 February 2005.
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2985, accessed 9 February 2010.]