Nathaniel Hawthorne uses his novel, The Scarlet Letter to criticize the Puritan faith. In developing his story of the adulterous woman Hester Prynne, he uses both religious and natural imagery to show his contempt for Puritan religion. The Scarlet Letter is a vivid representation of his utter dislike for the Puritans and everything they stand for. Hawthorne completely disagrees with them and makes this clear throughout the book. Although it is shown throughout The Scarlet Letter that Nathaniel Hawthorne is completely against the Puritan faith, his opinions, other than those presented in the book, happen to be quite similar: Good. He believes that the Puritans are nothing but whole-hearted hypocrites in that the standards necessary to be a Puritan are met by absolutely none of them. Part of being a Puritan means being sinless. Being of sound mind, Hawthorne knows that everyone at some point in their life has sinned and therefore sees their hypocritical mentality. Nathaniel also believes that Puritan religious conventions are unrealistic and not at all consistent with what it means to be a Puritan. One of the Puritan religious conventions states that the Bible is an indispensable guide to life. Assuming that the Puritans followed their own religious conventions, one would think that they read the Bible and based their lives on it. Hawthorne believes that this is not the case unless gossiping, lying, and putting oneself above others are part of the Bible. Additionally, he feels that the Puritans are the complete opposite of what he considers an acceptable religion and he wants nothing to do with them. The Puritans gossip and exploit the sins of others, which is not enough for Hawthorne. Nathaniel Hawthorne's feelings toward the Puritans, although already very clear, are vividly described in his novel, The Scarlet Letter; notably through its use of both religious and natural images. Hawthorne's use of religious imagery is seen when Hester Prynne is in church. While there, she is ridiculed for committing the sin of adultery. Even though the other Puritans who ridiculed her had sinned themselves, they still had the courage to view Hester as a sinner. Hawthorne shows in this scene how hypocritical the Puritans are. They scold Hester without even realizing that they too are sinners. Religious imagery is used again when the women in the story do not allow Hester, a seamstress, to make or even touch their wedding dresses..