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The Puritans were a group of radical Protestants who
developed in England after the Reformation.
Brief History
Puritanism seems to have arisen out of discontent with the Elizabethan Religious Settlement, which was felt by the more radical Protestants to be
giving in to "Popery" (ie: the Catholic Church). While Protestant movements in
Europe were being driven by issues of theology and had broken radically with Catholic models of church organization, the English
Reformation had brought the church under control of the monarchy while leaving many of its practices intact; in the eyes of the
Puritans, this had made doctrine unacceptably subservient to politics. Persecuted under Mary Tudor, Protestants like Thomas Cartwright,
Walter Travers and Andrew Melville had gone into exile as Puritans in Europe where they came into close contact with the
radical reformers in Calvinist Geneva and Lutheran Germany. These contacts shaped their position towards Elizabeth's religious via media (middle way). Puritans were not
united on every issue of doctrine (though they were strongly influenced by Calvinism) and also differed on the ideal structure of the church, with some favoring a Presbyterian model and others Congregationalism, but all were outspoken in their criticism of the structure and liturgy that the
monarchy had imposed.
These radicals were looked down on by the dominant Anglo-Catholic faction in the Church of
England and were given the name "Puritan", in mockery of the radicals' apparent obsession with "purifying" the Church.
The Puritans seem to have had few problems with James I/VI,
who appointed several known Puritans to powerful positions within the Church of England, as well as checking the rise of William Laud.
During the reign of Charles I, a committed
Anglo-Catholic, relations soured and it is a common belief among historians that religious tensions created by the dominance of
the Laudian faction during the Personal Rule were a major factor in the outbreak of the English Civil War.
Puritan factions played a key role in the Parliamentarian victory
and became a majority in Parliament, while the chief Puritan military leader,
Oliver Cromwell, became head of the English Commonwealth. In the Commonwealth period, the Church of
England was removed from Royal control and reorganized to grant greater authority to local congregations, most of which developed
in a Puritan and semi-Calvinist direction. There was never an official Puritan denomination, and the Commonwealth government
tolerated a somewhat broader debate on doctrinal issues than had previously been possible. The label "Puritan" fell out of use
when their movement became the status quo; it was replaced by the broader term Nonconformist, which was used after the Restoration to refer to all Protestant denominations outside of the official Church.
The influence of the Puritan movement persisted in England as the Evangelical faction of the Church of England, sometimes called "Low Anglican", while in the United States the Puritan settlement of New England was a major influence on American Protestantism. Numerous sects split from the Puritan mainstream
during the Commonwealth, including the Religious Society of Friends, which could be seen as a radical outgrowth of Puritanism in much
the same way that Puritanism was a radical outgrowth of the Reformation.
Beliefs
The central tenet of Puritanism was God's supreme authority over human affairs, particularly in the church, and especially as
expressed in the Bible. They believed, for example, that the worship of the church ought to be strictly regulated by what is
clearly commanded in Scripture. Where their opponents defended many worship practices based on tradition alone, the Puritans
considered these practices to be idolatry, regardless of their antiquity or how widespread they were among Christians. Thus,
Puritan reforms were typified by a minimum of ritual and decoration, and an unambiguous emphasis on preaching.
Besides the worship and government of the church, the Puritans also emphasized that the individual should be reformed by the
grace of God. Each person, upon whom God shows mercy, should have a sense of his own unworthiness and a confidence that the
forgiveness which is in Christ has been particularly applied to him; so that out of gratitude, a humble and obedient life would
arise.
Other important beliefs included:
- Bible reading
- Personal morality
- Education and enlightenment for the masses
- Simple clothes for priests
- Simple ceremonies in Church
- Simple decorations (if any) in Churches
- No "superstition" (e.g.: rejection of transubstantiation)
- Abolition of Church Hierarchy
- Opposition to the Monarch being head of the Church
Most groups also believed the Divine Right of Kings
was heresy; this became more pronounced during the reign of Charles I.
In modern usage, "Puritan" is often used as an informal pejorative term for someone who has strict views on sexual morality, disapproves of recreation, and wishes to impose these
beliefs on others. None of these qualities were unique to Puritanism or universally characteristic of Puritans, whose moral views
and ascetic tendencies were no more extreme than many other Protestant reformers of their time, and who were relatively tolerant
of other faiths—at least in England; the popular image is slightly more accurate as a description of Puritans in colonial
America, whose social experiment took the form of a Calvinist theocracy.
Further reading
- Larousse Dictionary of Beliefs and Religions
- Oxford Dictionary of World Religions
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