The Roots Of Puritanism

In the early 1600’s, a particularly radical group of the Protestant reformers believed that the post-reformation practices of the Catholic church were not pure enough and wanted to strip further and purify the religion; they were accordingly named the Puritans. Eventually, they came over to the New World to have more control. The Puritans’ ideas about government, unique gender roles, and value of literacy influenced the way they colonized the New England area.

The Puritans tried to purify the Church of England by protesting. They wanted to purify all Roman Catholic practices but were prevented from doing so. In the 1600’s the Puritans started arriving in America to form their own religious freedoms and practices of worship hoping to share the “light” of their religion to the rest of the

Puritanism spawned from a reform group of the Church of England in the mid-sixteenth century. Puritans felt the need to make the Church of England pure from the corrupt influences of the Roman Empire.1 In their New

Puritans can be found at the beginnings of the English Reformation. In the 1500s England broke away from the Roman Catholic Church and created a new church called the Church of England. In 1630 the Puritans left England in search of religious freedom. The Puritans wanted to leave the Church of England to become pure by getting rid of Catholic practices.The Puritans did not want to completely separate from the Church of England. They wanted to make reforms or changes, but King Charles 1 would threaten the Puritans with harsh punishments if they did not obey the Church of England. So they left England to find freedom in America. The Puritans established the Massachusetts Bay Colony when they arrived in America. The Puritans wanted to base the colony on the laws of God.(“Puritanism”) What Puritans believed about witchcraft, forgiveness, and sin all had an enormous impact on their culture and contributed to the Salem witch trials.

The Puritans first came to America due to Mary I, who was attempting to re-establish Catholicism in England. This led to the prosecution of the Puritans and Christians. While some Puritans took their chances and stayed in England, and others went to the Continent, the more famous group ventured to the colonies. They first stopped in Holland, but found they couldn’t settle well there. So the Puritans decided to travel onto America. After their charter was approved by the English, the Puritans set sail. In 1620, The Pilgrims settled in Massachusetts(“Colonists and Immigrants: 1600-1700”, Wepman).

The New England region was colonized for nothing but religious freedom. At this time people began to think that the Anglican Church wasn’t strict enough and were becoming too much like the Roman Catholic Church. These people, known as Puritans want to start fresh, in a place where they are allowed

New England colonies developed rapidly throughout the early 1600s and the Puritans helped found most of those colonies. They were Christian group who fled from Europe to escape persecution from the Church of England and the ruling class. They originated from a movement for reform in the Church of England and came with certain values and ideas. They believed that God wanted them to set a good example that would cause those who had remained in England to reform their “sinful” ways and pretty much wanted to be the example community (The City upon a Hill) (Doc A). Over time the aspects of the Puritan’s lifestyles slowly integrated into American culture like strong work ethics and the importance of education in society. They are part

The Puritan movement originated in England, seeking to purify the church there; they sought to remove any extravagance or luxury from their lives thereby being dedicated fully to God. Many Puritans left England taking their principles with them to colonize New England. One Puritan colony

Europeans migrated and formed the American colonies in the 1600s. Puritans were religious separatists, who left the Church of England and migrated to the American colonies. According to my map analysis, the maps display European influences in North America and show that puritans settled mainly in New England Massachusetts. These Puritans migrated with their own prescribed way of life, beliefs, and doctrines. In their new home, Puritans preached and introduced puritanical doctrines to the New England society. This affected the lives and lifestyles of New Englanders. People were taught to live their life in fear of the wrath of God. People lived according to whatever the church or the ministers instructed out of fear of going to hell. Therefore,

The 17th century Puritans were known to represent a religious group migrating from England to America in order to practice religious freedom. These groups were determined to “purify” churches of England from Catholic practices. Puritans are known for their religious, social, and political influences on early America. Edmund S. Morgan’s novel The Puritan Family highlights a part of history that many would tend to look over upon- that is, the complex structural life of Puritan Families in the 17th century.

Furthermore, she persuades the girls also threatens them to keep the “act up” and to believe witchcraft is real and that they are influenced by spirits. Abigail informs Reverend Hale that Tituba has been in touch with the devil. Also, this is a way of revenge because she did not succeed to win back Proctor. As well as, Tituba is the one to influence her to laugh during church. For example, “HALE: Woman, have you enlisted these children for the Devil? TITUBA: No, no, sir, I don’t truck with no Devil! HALE: Why can she not wake? Are you silencing this child? TITUBA: I love me Betty! HALE: You have sent your spirit out upon this child, have you not? Are you gathering souls for the Devil? ABIGAIL: She sends her spirit on me in church; she makes me laugh at prayer!”

A few years later in 1630, the first large Puritan migration from England about 900 settlers on eleven ships arrived in Salem. The name “Puritans” was a term of contempt given by their enemies. In England, the Puritans were once people of political influences but soon were being persecuted because they followed the Bibles as guides to their

Beginning as an outgrowth of the Church of England in the sixteenth century (c. 1550), Puritanism, “strove to cleanse the new English church of its remaining vestiges of Roman Catholic ‘popery’"(Manos). This referred to the doctrines, practices, and ceremonies that were heavily associated with the Papacy at that time which they felt had strayed heavily from the true meaning of God’s Word. There was also a growing unrest and distaste with the administration of King Henry VIII’s newly established Anglican Church which was viewed as overtly corrupt due to its heavy handed and self-interested set of goals. As more and more people began to be drawn into this way of thinking, they were dubbed with the pejorative term “Puritan,” because of their all-encompassing and often irrational desire to purify the Church from the sins and corruptions they felt time and self-involved clergy members had wrought against it (Manos). The Puritan Movement was not simply a religion, but rather a total philosophical way of living. It was incredibly stringent; advocating for strict adherence to the Scriptures and the rules and regulations instituted by the community and promising the salvation of a select number of elite. Thus, this revolutionary offshoot of Protestantism cemented itself into the hearts of a small sect of individuals deeply unsatisfied with the Anglican Church.

Puritanism was a religious movement that began in the late sixteenth century. The puritans were a group of reformed protestants who sought to “purify” the Church of England during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. However, puritanism was not just a historical movement, it was a lifestyle that the puritans brought to New England. Puritanism can be defined by predestination, calling, covenant, Protestant ethic, and conversion.

Puritanism is a term that originates from the religious group called the Puritans. They were a denomination formed by the great Protestant Reformation in Europe. They were known as nonconformists and dissenters because of their refusal to submit to the Church of England.