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Puritans

The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant.[1] Puritanism played a significant role in English and early American history, especially during the Protectorate.

"Puritan" redirects here. For other uses, see Puritan (disambiguation).

Puritans were dissatisfied with the limited extent of the English Reformation and with the Church of England's toleration of certain practices associated with the Roman Catholic Church. They formed and identified with various religious groups advocating greater purity of worship and doctrine, as well as personal and corporate piety. Puritans adopted a covenant theology, and in that sense they were Calvinists (as were many of their earlier opponents). In church polity, Puritans were divided between supporters of episcopal, presbyterian, and congregational polities. Some believed a uniform reform of the established church was called for to create a godly nation, while others advocated separation from, or the end of, any established state church entirely in favour of autonomous gathered churches, called-out from the world. These Separatist and Independents became more prominent in the 1640s, when the supporters of a presbyterian polity in the Westminster Assembly were unable to forge a new English national church.


By the late 1630s, Puritans were in alliance with the growing commercial world, with the parliamentary opposition to the royal prerogative, and with the Scottish Presbyterians with whom they had much in common. Consequently, they became a major political force in England and came to power as a result of the First English Civil War (1642–1646).


Almost all Puritan clergy left the Church of England after the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 and the 1662 Uniformity Act. Many continued to practice their faith in nonconformist denominations, especially in Congregationalist and Presbyterian churches.[2] The nature of the Puritan movement in England changed radically. In New England, it retained its character for a longer period.


Puritanism was never a formally defined religious division within Protestantism, and the term Puritan itself was rarely used after the turn of the 18th century. Some Puritan ideals, including the formal rejection of Roman Catholicism, were incorporated into the doctrines of the Church of England; others were absorbed into the many Protestant denominations that emerged in the late 17th and early 18th centuries in North America and Britain. The Congregational churches, widely considered to be a part of the Reformed tradition, are descended from the Puritans.[3][4] Moreover, Puritan beliefs are enshrined in the Savoy Declaration, the confession of faith held by the Congregationalist churches.[5]

was a founder of New Haven, Connecticut.

John Brockett

was an influential Puritan minister and founder of Concord.

Peter Bulkley

was famous for The Pilgrim's Progress.

John Bunyan

was Plymouth Colony's Governor.

William Bradford

was the first female to have her works published in the British North American colonies.

Anne Bradstreet

was an English military and political leader and eventually became Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland. He was a very religious man and was considered an independent Puritan.

Oliver Cromwell

was the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and an important military leader.

John Endecott

evangelical preacher who sparked the First Great Awakening

Jonathan Edwards

was a Puritan minister and co-founder of the Connecticut Colony.

Thomas Hooker

was a Puritan woman noted for speaking freely about her religious views, which resulted in her banishment from Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Anne Hutchinson

is regarded as among the greatest English poets; author of epics like Paradise Lost, and dramas like Samson Agonistes. He was a staunch supporter of Cromwell.

John Milton

was an influential Puritan minister, teacher and founder of Newbury.

James Noyes

(minister) was the key adviser to Oliver Cromwell on matters of religion and regulation of the Church.

Philip Nye

was an influential Puritan minister, teacher and founder of Newbury.

Thomas Parker

is noted for his sermon "A Model of Christian Charity" and as a leading figure in founding the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

John Winthrop

was an English lawyer, largely based at Northampton and London. His diary for the period 1637–1641 records in detail the outlook of an educated Puritan.

Robert Woodford

Christianity in the 16th century

Christianity in the 17th century

Plymouth Rock

Restorationism

Work ethic

Bremer, Francis J. Lay Empowerment and the Development of Puritanism. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.

Eicholz, Hans (2008). . In Hamowy, Ronald (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage; Cato Institute. pp. 407–408. ISBN 978-1412965804. OCLC 750831024.

"Puritanism"

Giussani, Luigi. . McGill-Queens UP (2013).

American Protestant Theology: A Historical Sketch

Hall, David D. (2019). The Puritans: A Transatlantic History. Princeton University Press. .

H-Net online review

Neuman, Meredith Marie (2013). Jeremiah's Scribes: Creating Sermon Literature in Puritan New England. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Winship, Michael P. (2018). Hot Protestants: A History of Puritanism in England and America. Yale University Press.