历史上,清教与自由主义的阐释者很多,但名声与影响力几乎都比不上弗农·L.帕灵顿。如果从清教阐释的历史语境重新认识帕灵顿的《美国思想的主流》,就会发现帕灵顿对清教的阐释,包括他对清教自由主义的赞美,存在着诸多曲解以及主观认识。他对自由主义的关注使他剥离了清教的真实历史;而其思想史视野也在很大程度上助长了他的偏见。 Historically, there were many interpretations of Puritanism and liberalism, but their popularity and influence were hardly comparable to those of Vernon L. Paarton. If we revisit Pahrington’s “mainstream American thought” from the historical context of Puritanism, we can find that Pailing’s interpretation of Puritanism, including his compliments on Puritanism, has many misunderstandings and subjective understanding. His concern for liberalism led him to divest the true history of Puritanism; and his vision of the history of ideas also greatly contributed to his prejudice.