The Scarlet Letter embodies Hawthorne's religious view. Through the discussion of the protagonist's different attitudes towards various situations under the influence of Puritanism, we also deeply feel the hesitation and contradiction of Hawthorne's thought. On the one hand, he believes that guilt is the fundamental attribute of human existence. Everyone has a symbol of sin similar to the scarlet letter "A", and everyone needs to rely on God's belief and corresponding behavior to get salvation. Everyone is guilty and human nature is imperfect, which is a knot with strong religious consciousness in Hawthorne's heart. In his short story "Young Goodman Brown" [3], Brown found that all the people around him, whether the respected imam or his relatives, were secretly dating the devil. In Birthmark [4], George Anna, the beautiful wife of the scientist Elmer, has a birthmark on her face, which symbolizes "the imperfection of mortals". He tried to get rid of this birthmark, and as a result, with the disappearance of the birthmark, Georgiana's life ceased to exist. Whether it is Brown, georgiana or Hester Prynne, Hawthorne vaguely sees the natural desire of human beings for self-improvement in them, and always makes them explore the road of redemption in the mystery of sin. Hawthorne holds a positive attitude towards Puritanism, but he strongly opposes the extreme, paranoid and harsh side of Puritanism. The Bible [6] preaches that only God has the right to judge a person's soul, but the Puritans who think they represent God's will let Hester Prynne be humiliated and punished in public, which is extremely inhuman to Hawthorne. In fact, in the name of God, the church in Qing Dynasty was doing activities that violated God's benevolent purpose and humanity. Hawthorne thought about the living conditions of human beings, affirmed the society's pursuit of reasonable desires, and revealed the great harm caused by the unreasonable marriage and ethical system of Puritanism. Even Hawthorne himself has a strong demand for freedom and liberation, which is also related to the gloomy and depressed atmosphere in Hawthorne's family. Whether it is a great woman with the image of the Virgin Mary-Hester Prynne, Dimmesdale who always lives in the shadow of pain, or Chillingworth and pretty little Pearl who are vicious but regarded as Puritan friends, they will see the shadow of pursuing happiness.

Hawthorne affirmed some Puritanism creeds in The Scarlet Letter, but most of them criticized the cruel laws and regulations of Puritanism. He believes that God is omnipotent and everyone has the possibility of redemption, but he preaches more about the publicity of human nature and praises the strong pursuit of happiness. Therefore, as far as the whole work is concerned, the suppression of human nature by Puritan ethics revealed by Hawthorne still occupies the main aspect. From The Scarlet Letter, we can deeply feel that Hawthorne's religious view is complex and contradictory, which also makes The Scarlet Letter have a strong artistic appeal.