Editing Puritans

{{Short description|Subclass of English Protestants}}
{{Redirect|Puritan}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2017}}
{{Puritan history}}
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 [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant.{{Sfn|Spraggon|2003|p=98}} Puritanism played a significant role in English and [[Colonial history of the United States|early American]] history, especially in [[the Protectorate]] in [[Great Britain]], and the earlier settlement of [[New England]].

Puritans were dissatisfied with the limited extent of the [[English Reformation]] and with the Church of England's [[religious toleration]] of certain practices associated with the Catholic Church. They formed and identified with various religious groups advocating greater [[wikt:purity|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 [[Ecclesiastical polity|church polity]], Puritans were divided between supporters of [[Episcopal polity|episcopal]], [[Presbyterian polity|presbyterian]], and [[Congregational polity|congregational]] types. Some believed a uniform reform of the [[established church]] was called for to create a godly nation, while others advocated [[Separation of church and state|separation]] from, or the end of, any established state church entirely in favour of autonomous [[gathered church]]es, called-out from the world. These [[English Dissenters|Separatists]] and [[Independent (religion)|Independent]]s 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 [[Church of Scotland|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 [[Stuart Restoration|restoration of the monarchy]] in 1660 and the [[Act of Uniformity 1662]]. Many continued to practise their faith in [[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|nonconformist]] denominations, especially in [[Congregational church|Congregationalist]] and [[Presbyterian]] churches.{{Sfn|Cliffe|2002|p=195}} The nature of the Puritan movement in England changed radically. In New England, it retained its character for a [[History of the Puritans in North America|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. [[Congregationalism|Congregationalist Churches]], widely considered to be a part of the [[Reformed Christianity|Reformed]] tradition of Christianity, are descended from the Puritans.<ref>{{harvnb|Miller|2008|p=296}}: "Congregationalists were theologically descended directly from the Puritans of England and consequently enjoyed pride of place as one of the oldest, most numerous, and most significant religious groups in the colonies."</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=John W. |last=Morris |date=2011 |title=The Historic Church: An Orthodox View of Christian History |page=438 |publisher=Author House}}</ref> Moreover, Puritan beliefs are enshrined in the [[Savoy Declaration]], the [[Creed|confession of faith]] held by the Congregationalist churches.{{Sfn|Bremer|Webster|2006}} Some Puritan ideals, including the formal rejection of Roman Catholicism, were incorporated into the doctrines of the [[Church of England]], the [[mother church]] of the worldwide [[Anglican Communion]].

== Terminology ==

{{main|Definitions of Puritanism}}

[[File:PuritanGallery.jpg|thumb|Gallery of famous 17th-century Puritan theologians: [[Thomas Gouge]], [[William Bridge]], [[Thomas Manton]], [[John Flavel]], [[Richard Sibbes]], [[Stephen Charnock]], [[William Bates (minister)|William Bates]], [[John Owen (theologian)|John Owen]], [[John Howe (theologian)|John Howe]] and [[Richard Baxter]]]]

In the 17th century, the word ''Puritan'' was a term applied not to just one group but to many. Historians still debate a precise definition of Puritanism.{{Sfn | Spurr | 1998 | p = 3}} Originally, ''Puritan'' was a pejorative term characterizing certain Protestant groups as extremist. [[Thomas Fuller]], in his ''Church History'', dates the first use of the word to 1564. Archbishop [[Matthew Parker]] of that time used it and ''precisian'' with a sense similar to the modern ''[[wikt:stickler|stickler]]''.<ref>{{cite book |title=The A to Z of the Puritans |date=2008 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |page=250}}</ref> Puritans, then, were distinguished for being "more intensely protestant than their protestant neighbors or even the Church of England".{{sfn|Spurr|1998|p=4}} As a term of abuse, ''Puritan'' was not used by Puritans themselves. Those referred to as ''Puritan'' called themselves terms such as "the godly", "saints", "professors", or "God's children".{{sfn|Spurr|1998|p=18}}

"Non-separating Puritans" were dissatisfied with the [[English Reformation|Reformation of the Church of England]] but remained within it, advocating for further reform; they disagreed among themselves about how much further reformation was possible or even necessary. Others, who were later termed "[[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|Nonconformists]]", "[[English Dissenters|Separatists]]", or "separating Puritans", thought the [[Church of England]] was so corrupt that true Christians should separate from it altogether. In its widest historical sense, the term ''Puritan'' includes both groups.<ref>{{cite book |first=C. Jack |last=Trickler |title=A Layman's Guide To: Why Are There So Many Christian Denominations?|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K4lEy7A8fnYC&pg=PA146 |access-date=4 November 2012 |year=2010 |publisher=Author House |isbn=978-1-4490-4578-4 |page=146 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130718094750/http://books.google.com/books?id=K4lEy7A8fnYC&pg=PA146 |archive-date=18 July 2013 |df=dmy-all |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>{{sfn|Nuttall|1992|p=9}}

Puritans should not be confused with other radical Protestant groups of the 16th and 17th centuries, such as [[Quakers]], [[Seekers]], and [[Familia Caritatis|Familists]], who believed that individuals could be directly guided by the [[Holy Spirit in Christianity|Holy Spirit]]. The latter denominations give precedence to [[direct revelation]] over the [[Bible]].{{sfn|Spurr|1998|p=7}}

In current English, ''puritan'' often means "against pleasure". In such usage, ''[[hedonism]]'' and ''puritanism'' are [[Opposite (semantics)|antonyms]].<ref name="Puritanism 1916">{{cite book |author-link=H. L. Mencken |first=H. L. |last=Mencken |quote=Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy |title=A Book of Burlesques |date=1916}}</ref> [[William Shakespeare]] described the vain, pompous killjoy [[Malvolio]] in ''[[Twelfth Night]]'' as "a kind of Puritan".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hagberg |first1=Garry L. |title=Stanley Cavell on Aesthetic Understanding |date=2018 |publisher=Springer |page=125}}</ref> [[H. L. Mencken]] defined Puritanism as "the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy."<ref name="Fitzpatrick">{{cite book |last1=Fitzpatrick |first1=Vincent |title=H. L. Mencken |date=2004 |publisher=[[Mercer University Press]] |page=37}}</ref> Puritans embraced sexuality but placed it in the context of marriage. [[Peter Gay]] writes that the Puritans' standard reputation for "dour prudery" was a "misreading that went unquestioned in the nineteenth century". He said they were in favour of married sexuality, and opposed the Catholic veneration of [[virginity]] (associated with the Virgin Mary), citing [[Edward Taylor]] and [[John Cotton (minister)|John Cotton]].{{sfn|Gay|1984|p=49}} One Puritan settlement in western Massachusetts banished a husband because he refused to fulfill his sexual duties to his wife.{{sfn|Coffin|1987}}

== History ==
{{Main|History of the Puritans}}
Puritanism had a historical importance over a period of a century, followed by fifty years of development in New England. It changed character and emphasis nearly decade by decade over that time.

=== Elizabethan Puritanism ===
{{further|History of the Puritans under Elizabeth I}}
The [[Elizabethan Religious Settlement]] of 1559 established the Church of England as a Protestant church and brought the [[English Reformation]] to a close. During the reign of [[Elizabeth I|Elizabeth&nbsp;I]] (r. 1558–1603), the Church of England was widely considered a [[Reformed tradition|Reformed]] church, and Calvinists held the best [[bishopric]]s and [[Deanery|deaneries]]. Nevertheless, it preserved certain characteristics of medieval [[Catholicism]], such as cathedrals, [[church choir]]s, a formal [[liturgy]] contained in the ''[[Book of Common Prayer]]'', traditional clerical [[vestment]]s, and [[episcopal polity]].{{sfn|Coffey|Lim|2008|pp=3–4}}

Many English Protestants—especially those former [[Marian exiles]] returning to England to work as clergy and bishops—considered the settlement merely the first step in reforming England's church.{{sfn|Craig|2008|p=36}} The years of exile during the [[English Reformation#Marian Restoration|Marian Restoration]] had exposed them to the practices of the [[Continental Reformed Protestantism|Continental Reformed churches]]. The most impatient clergy began introducing reforms within their local parishes. The initial conflict between Puritans and the authorities included instances of nonconformity, such as omitting parts of the liturgy to allow more time for the sermon and singing of [[Metrical psalter|metrical psalms]]. Some Puritans refused to bow on hearing the name of Jesus, or to make the [[sign of the cross]] in baptism, or to use [[wedding ring]]s or the organ. 

Yet, the main complaint Puritans had was the requirement that clergy wear the white [[surplice]] and [[Canterbury cap|clerical cap]].{{sfn|Craig|2008|p=37}} Puritan clergymen preferred to wear [[Geneva gown|black academic attire]]. During the [[vestments controversy]], church authorities attempted and failed to enforce the use of clerical vestments. While never a mass movement, the Puritans had the support and protection of powerful patrons in the aristocracy.{{sfn|Craig|2008|pp=43–44}}

In the 1570s, the primary dispute between Puritans and the authorities was over the appropriate form of church government. Many Puritans believed that the Church of England should follow the example of Reformed churches in other parts of Europe and adopt [[presbyterian polity]], under which government by [[bishop]]s would be replaced with government by [[Presbyterian polity#Elder|elders]].{{sfn|Craig|2008|pp=39–40}} But all attempts to enact further reforms through [[Parliament of England|Parliament]] were blocked by the Queen. Despite such setbacks, Puritan leaders such as [[John Field (Puritan)|John Field]] and [[Thomas Cartwright (theologian)|Thomas Cartwright]] continued to promote presbyterianism through the formation of unofficial clerical conferences that allowed Puritan clergymen to organise and network. This covert Puritan network was discovered and dismantled during the [[Marprelate controversy]] of the 1580s. For the remainder of Elizabeth's reign, Puritans ceased to agitate for further reform.{{sfn|Craig|2008|p=42}}

=== Caroline Puritanism ===
{{further|History of the Puritans under Charles I}}
{{Expand section|with=a summary of the main article on this sub-topic|date=October 2024}}

=== Jacobean Puritanism ===
{{further|History of the Puritans under James I}}

The accession of [[James VI and I|James&nbsp;I]] to the English throne brought the [[Millenary Petition]], a Puritan [[manifesto]] of 1603 for reform of the English church, but James wanted a religious settlement along different lines. He called the [[Hampton Court Conference]] in 1604, and heard the teachings of four prominent Puritan leaders, including [[Laurence Chaderton]], but largely sided with his bishops. He was well informed on theological matters by his education and Scottish upbringing, and he dealt shortly with the peevish legacy of Elizabethan Puritanism, pursuing an [[eirenic]] religious policy, in which he was arbiter.

Many of James's episcopal appointments were Calvinists, notably [[James Montague (bishop)|James Montague]], who was an influential courtier. Puritans still opposed much of the Roman Catholic summation in the Church of England, notably the ''Book of Common Prayer'', but also the use of non-secular vestments (cap and gown) during services, the sign of the Cross in baptism, and kneeling to receive Holy Communion.<ref>{{cite book |last=Neil |first=Daniel |date=1844 |title=The History of the Puritans, Or Protestant Noncomformists: From the Reformation in 1517, to the Revolution in 1688; Comprising an Account of Their Principles; Their Attempts for a Farther Reformation in the Church; Their Sufferings; and the Lives and Characters of Their Most Considerable Divines |volume=1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=72gPAAAAYAAJ |page=246 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160504131815/https://books.google.com/books?id=72gPAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0 |archive-date=4 May 2016 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> Some of the bishops under both Elizabeth and James tried to suppress Puritanism, though other bishops were more tolerant. In many places, individual ministers were able to omit disliked portions of the [[Book of Common Prayer (1604)|revised ''Book of Common Prayer'']].{{cn|date=December 2022}}

The Puritan movement of Jacobean times became distinctive by adaptation and compromise, with the emergence of "semi-separatism", "moderate puritanism", the writings of [[William Bradshaw (Puritan)|William Bradshaw]] (who adopted the term "Puritan" for himself), and the beginnings of [[Congregationalist polity|Congregationalism]].{{sfn|Spurr|1998|loc=Chapter 5}} Most Puritans of this period were non-separating and remained within the Church of England; Separatists who left the Church of England altogether were numerically much fewer.

=== Fragmentation and political failure ===
{{further|History of the Puritans from 1649}}
[[File:Assertion of Liberty of Conscience by the Independents of the Westminster Assembly of Divines, 1644.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Westminster Assembly]], which saw disputes on Church polity in England (Victorian history painting by [[John Rogers Herbert]])]]
The Puritan movement in England was riven over decades by emigration and inconsistent interpretations of Scripture, as well as some political differences that surfaced at that time. [[Fifth Monarchists|The Fifth Monarchy Men]], a radical millenarian wing of Puritanism, aided by strident, popular clergy like [[Vavasor Powell]], agitated from the right wing{{what|reason=Next we'll be speaking of the right and left wing of the Roman Senate|date=May 2025}} of the movement, even as sectarian groups like the [[Ranter]]s, [[Levellers]], and [[Quakers]] pulled from the left.{{sfn|Milton|1997}}{{sfn|Hill|1972}} The fragmentation created a collapse of the centre and, ultimately, sealed a political failure, while depositing an enduring spiritual legacy that would remain and grow in English-speaking Christianity.{{sfn|Kelly|1992}}

The [[Westminster Assembly]] was called in 1643, assembling clergy of the Church of England. The Assembly was able to agree to the [[Westminster Confession of Faith]] doctrinally, a consistent Reformed theological position. The ''[[Directory of Public Worship]]'' was made official in 1645, and the larger framework (now called the [[Westminster Standards]]) was adopted by the [[Church of Scotland]]. In England, the Standards were contested by Independents up to 1660.{{sfn|Benedetto|McKim|2010|pp=521–522}}

The [[List of the Westminster Divines|Westminster Divines]], on the other hand, were divided over questions of [[church polity]] and split into factions supporting a reformed [[episcopal polity|episcopacy]], [[Presbyterian polity|presbyterianism]], [[Congregationalist polity|congregationalism]], and [[Erastianism]]. The membership of the Assembly was strongly weighted towards the Presbyterians, but [[Oliver Cromwell]] was a [[Nonconformist]] Puritan and an [[Independent (religion)|Independent Congregationalist]] who imposed his doctrines upon them. The Church of England of the [[Interregnum (1649–60)]] was run along Presbyterian lines but never became a national Presbyterian church, such as existed in Scotland. England was not the theocratic state which leading Puritans had called for as "godly rule".{{sfn|Lamont|1969}}

{{Anchor|Great Ejection}}

=== Great Ejection and Dissenters ===
{{further|History of the Puritans from 1649}}
At the time of the [[English Restoration]] in 1660, the [[Savoy Conference]] was called to determine a new religious settlement for England and Wales. Under the ''[[Act of Uniformity 1662]]'', the Church of England was restored to its pre-[[English Civil War|Civil War]] constitution with only minor changes, and the Puritans found themselves sidelined. A traditional estimate of historian [[Edmund Calamy (historian)|Edmund Calamy]] is that around 2,400 Puritan clergy left the Church in the "[[Great Ejection]]" of 1662.<ref name = Calamy>{{Cite DNB|wstitle=Calamy, Edmund (1671-1732)|display=Calamy, Edmund (1671–1732) |volume=51 |pages=63–65}}</ref> At this point, the term "[[English Dissenters|Dissenter]]" came to include "Puritan", but more accurately described those (clergy or lay) who "dissented" from the [[Book of Common Prayer (1662)|1662 ''Book of Common Prayer'']].{{Sfn|Leighton|2004|p=196}}

The Dissenters divided themselves from all other Christians in the Church of England and established their own Nonconformist congregations in the 1660s and 1670s. An estimated 1,800 of the ejected clergy continued in some fashion as ministers of religion, according to [[Richard Baxter]].<ref name = Calamy/> The government initially attempted to suppress these schismatic organisations by using the [[Clarendon Code]]. There followed a period in which schemes of "comprehension" were proposed, under which Presbyterians could be brought back into the Church of England, but nothing resulted from them. The [[Whig (British political faction)|Whigs]] opposed the court religious policies and argued that the Dissenters should be allowed to worship separately from the established Church. This position ultimately prevailed when the [[Act of Toleration 1689|''Toleration Act'']] was passed in the wake of the [[Glorious Revolution]] in 1689. This permitted the licensing of Dissenting ministers and the building of chapels. The term "[[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|Nonconformist]]" generally replaced the term "Dissenter" from the middle of the 18th century.

=== Puritans in North America ===
{{Further|History of the Puritans in North America}}
[[File:InteriorOldShip.jpg|thumb|right|Interior of the [[Old Ship Church]], a Puritan [[meetinghouse]] in [[Hingham, Massachusetts]]. Puritans were [[Calvinists]], so their churches were unadorned and plain.]]
Some [[Puritan migration to New England (1620–40)|Puritans left for New England]], particularly from 1629 to 1640 (the [[Personal Rule|Eleven Years' Tyranny]] under [[Charles I of England|King Charles I]]), supporting the founding of the [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]] and other settlements among the northern colonies. The large-scale Puritan migration to New England ceased by 1641, with around 21,000 persons having moved across the Atlantic. This English-speaking population in the United States was not descended from all of the original colonists, since many returned to England shortly after arriving on the continent, but it produced more than 16&nbsp;million descendants.{{sfn|Fischer|1989}}<ref>"[http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/english2/puritans_intro.html The Puritans: A Sourcebook of Their Writings] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100116020829/http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/english2/puritans_intro.html |date=16 January 2010 }}". Perry Miller and Thomas H. Johnson.</ref> This so-called "Great Migration" is not so named because of sheer numbers, which were much less than the number of English citizens who immigrated to [[Virginia]] and the [[Caribbean]] during this time, many as indentured servants.<ref>"[http://www.virtualjamestown.org/essays/horn_essay.html Leaving England: The Social Background of Indentured Servants in the Seventeenth Century] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090106140842/http://www.virtualjamestown.org//essays/horn_essay.html |date=6 January 2009 }}", The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.</ref> The rapid growth of the New England colonies (around 700,000 by 1790) was almost entirely due to the high birth rate and lower death rate per year. They had formed families more rapidly than did the southern colonies.<ref>{{cite book |first=Francis J. |last=Bremer |title=The Puritan Experiment: New England Society from Bradford to Edwards |date=1995}}</ref>

[[File:New England death Head (c).jpg|upright=1.0|left|thumb|Death's head, [[Granary Burying Ground]]. A typical example of early [[Funerary art in Puritan New England]]]]
Puritan hegemony lasted for at least a century. That century can be broken down into three parts: the generation of [[John Cotton (minister)|John Cotton]] and [[Richard Mather]], 1630–1662 from the founding to the Restoration, years of virtual independence and nearly autonomous development; the generation of [[Increase Mather]], 1662–1689 from the Restoration and the [[Half-Way Covenant|Halfway Covenant]] to the Glorious Revolution, years of struggle with the British crown; and the generation of [[Cotton Mather]], 1689–1728 from the overthrow of [[Edmund Andros]] (in which Cotton Mather played a part) and the new charter, mediated by Increase Mather, to the death of Cotton Mather.{{Sfn|Carpenter|2003|p=41}} Puritan leaders were political thinkers and writers who considered the church government to be God's agency in social life.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://doi.org/10.2307/2139228 | doi=10.2307/2139228 | jstor=2139228 | title=The Political Ideas of the Puritans | last1=Osgood | first1=Herbert L. | journal=Political Science Quarterly | date=7 August 1891 | volume=6 | issue=1 | pages=1–28 }}</ref>

The Puritans in the Colonies wanted their children to be able to read and interpret the Bible themselves, rather than have to rely on the clergy for interpretation.<ref>{{cite book |first=James |last=Axtell |title=The School upon a Hill: Education and Society in Colonial New England |date=1976}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=McCullough |first=David |title=John Adams |date=22 May 2001 |page=223 |location=New York |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |isbn=0-684-81363-7}}</ref>{{sfn|Bremer|2009|pp=81–82}}{{sfn|Fischer|1989|pp=132–134}} In 1635, they established the Boston Latin School to educate their sons, the first and oldest formal education institution in the English-speaking New World. They also set up what were called dame schools for their daughters, and in other cases taught their daughters at home how to read. As a result, Puritans were among the most literate societies in the world. 

By the time of the American Revolution there were 40 newspapers in the United States (at a time when there were only two cities—New York and Philadelphia—with as many as 20,000 people in them).{{sfn|Fischer|1989|pp=132–134}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Copeland |first=David A. |title=Debating the Issues in Colonial Newspapers |page=viii |publisher=[[Greenwood Press]] |location=Westport, Connecticut |date=2000 |isbn=0-313-30982-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Burns |first=Eric |date=2006 |url=https://archive.org/details/infamousscribble00burn |title=Infamous Scribblers: The Founding Fathers and the Rowdy Beginnings of American Journalism |pages=6–7 |location=New York |publisher=Public Affairs |isbn=978-1-58648-334-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Wroth |first=Lawrence C. |date=1965 |title=The Colonial Printer |pages=230–236 |location=New York |publisher=Dover Publications, Inc. |isbn=0-486-28294-5}}</ref> The Puritans also set up a college (now [[Harvard University]]) only six years after arriving in Boston.{{sfn|Fischer|1989|pp=132–134}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Rudolph |first=Frederick |title=The American College and University |page=3 |publisher=[[University of Georgia Press]] |date=1961 |isbn=0-8203-1285-1}}</ref>

== Beliefs ==
=== Calvinism ===
{{Calvinism}}
{{Main|Calvinism}}
''Puritanism'' broadly refers to a diverse religious reform movement in Britain committed to the [[Continental Reformed]] tradition.{{sfn|Ahlstrom|2004|p=125}} While Puritans did not agree on all doctrinal points, most shared similar views on the nature of [[God in Christianity|God]], human [[sin]]fulness, and the relationship between God and mankind. They believed that all of their beliefs should be based on the [[Bible]], which they considered to be [[Biblical inspiration|divinely inspired]].{{sfn|Bremer|2009|p=35}}

The concept of covenant was extremely important to Puritans, and [[covenant theology]] was central to their beliefs. With roots in the writings of Reformed theologians [[John Calvin]] and [[Heinrich Bullinger]], covenant theology was further developed by Puritan theologians [[Dudley Fenner]], [[William Perkins (theologian)|William Perkins]], [[John Preston (priest)|John Preston]], [[Richard Sibbes]], [[William Ames]] and, most fully by Ames's Dutch student, [[Johannes Cocceius]].{{sfn|Ahlstrom|2004|pp=130–131}} Covenant theology asserts that when God created [[Adam and Eve]] he promised them [[Eternal life (Christianity)|eternal life]] in return for perfect obedience; this promise was termed the covenant of [[Good works|works]]. After the [[fall of man]], human nature was corrupted by [[original sin]] and unable to fulfill the covenant of works, since each person inevitably violated God's law as expressed in the [[Ten Commandments]]. As sinners, every person deserved [[damnation]].{{sfn|Bremer|2009|pp=37–38}}

Puritans shared with other Calvinists a belief in [[Predestination in Calvinism|double predestination]], that some people (the [[Election (Christianity)|elect]]) were destined by God to receive [[Grace in Christianity|grace]] and [[Salvation in Christianity|salvation]] while others were destined for [[Hell in Christianity|Hell]].{{Sfn|Bremer|2009|p=40}} No one, however, could [[Merit (Christianity)|merit]] salvation. According to covenant theology, [[Crucifixion of Jesus|Christ's sacrifice on the cross]] made possible the covenant of grace, by which those selected by God could be saved. Puritans believed in [[unconditional election]] and [[irresistible grace]]—God's grace was given freely without condition to the elect and could not be refused.{{sfn|Bremer|2009|p=42}}

=== Conversion ===
Covenant theology made individual salvation deeply personal. It held that God's predestination was not "impersonal and mechanical" but was a "covenant of grace" that one entered into by [[Faith in Christianity|faith]]. Therefore, being a Christian could never be reduced to simple "intellectual acknowledgment" of the truth of Christianity. Puritans agreed "that the [[Effectual calling|effectual call]] of each elect [[Saint#Other Protestantism|saint]] of God would always come as an individuated personal encounter with God's promises".{{sfn|Ahlstrom|2004|p=131}}

The process by which the elect are brought from [[Spiritual death in Christianity|spiritual death]] to spiritual life ([[Regeneration (theology)|regeneration]]) was described as [[Conversion to Christianity|conversion]].{{sfn|Bremer|2009|p=42}} Early on, Puritans did not consider a specific conversion experience normative or necessary, but many gained [[Assurance (theology)|assurance of salvation]] from such experiences. Over time, however, Puritan theologians developed a framework for authentic religious experience based on their own experiences as well as those of their parishioners. Eventually, Puritans came to regard a specific conversion experience as an essential mark of one's election.{{sfn|Ahlstrom|2004|p=132}}

The Puritan conversion experience was commonly described as occurring in discrete phases. It began with a preparatory phase designed to produce contrition for sin through introspection, [[Bible study (Christian)|Bible study]] and listening to [[preaching]]. This was followed by humiliation, when the sinner realized that he or she was helpless to break free from sin and that their good works could never earn forgiveness.{{sfn|Bremer|2009|p=42}} It was after reaching this point—the realization that salvation was possible only because of divine [[mercy]]—that the person would experience [[Sola fide|justification]], when the righteousness of Christ is [[Imputed righteousness|imputed]] to the elect and their minds and hearts are regenerated. For some Puritans, this was a dramatic experience and they referred to it as being [[born again]].{{sfn|Bremer|2009|p=43}}

Confirming that such a conversion had actually happened often required prolonged and continual introspection. Historian [[Perry Miller]] wrote that the Puritans "liberated men from the treadmill of [[indulgence]]s and [[penance]]s, but cast them on the iron couch of introspection".{{Sfn|Ahlstrom|2004|p=128}} It was expected that conversion would be followed by [[sanctification in Christianity|sanctification]]—"the progressive growth in the saint's ability to better perceive and seek God's will, and thus to lead a holy life".{{sfn|Bremer|2009|p=43}} Some Puritans attempted to find assurance of their faith by keeping detailed records of their behavior and looking for the evidence of salvation in their lives. Puritan clergy wrote many spiritual guides to help their parishioners pursue personal [[piety]] and sanctification. These included [[Arthur Dent (Puritan)|Arthur Dent's]] ''The Plain Man's Pathway to Heaven'' (1601), [[Richard Rogers (theologian)|Richard Rogers's]] ''Seven Treatises'' (1603), [[Henry Scudder (priest)|Henry Scudder's]] ''Christian's Daily Walk'' (1627) and Richard Sibbes's ''The Bruised Reed and Smoking Flax'' (1630).{{sfn|Bremer|2009|p=44}}

Too much emphasis on one's good works could be criticized for being too close to [[Arminianism]], and too much emphasis on subjective religious experience could be criticized as [[Antinomianism]]. Many Puritans relied on both personal religious experience and self-examination to assess their spiritual condition.{{sfn|Bremer|2009|p=44}}

Puritanism's experiential piety would be inherited by the [[Evangelicalism|evangelical Protestants]] of the 18th century.{{sfn|Ahlstrom|2004|p=128}} While evangelical views on conversion were heavily influenced by Puritan theology, the Puritans believed that assurance of one's salvation was "rare, late and the fruit of struggle in the experience of believers", whereas evangelicals believed that assurance was normative for all the truly converted.{{sfn|Bebbington|1993|p=43}}

=== Worship and sacraments ===
{{Further|Reformed baptismal theology}}

While most Puritans were members of the Church of England, they were critical of its worship practices. In the 17th century, Sunday worship in the established church took the form of the [[Morning Prayer (Anglican)|Morning Prayer]] service in the ''Book of Common Prayer''. This may include a sermon, but Holy Communion or the Lord's Supper was only occasionally observed. Officially, lay people were only required to receive communion three times a year, but most people only received communion once a year at Easter. Puritans were concerned about biblical errors and Catholic remnants within the prayer book. Puritans objected to bowing at the name of Jesus, the requirement that priests wear the [[surplice]], and the use of written, set prayers in place of improvised prayers.{{Sfn|Spurr|1998|pp=29–30}}

The sermon was central to Puritan piety.{{sfn|Spurr|1998|p=37}} It was not only a means of religious education; Puritans believed it was the most common way that God prepared a sinner's heart for conversion.{{sfn|Bremer|2009|p=59}} On Sundays, Puritan ministers often shortened the liturgy to allow more time for preaching.{{sfn|Craig|2008|p=37}} Puritan churchgoers attended two sermons on Sundays and as many weekday sermons and lectures they could find, often traveling for miles.{{sfn|Spurr|1998|p=38}} Puritans were distinct for their adherence to [[Puritan Sabbatarianism|Sabbatarianism]].{{sfn|Coffey|Lim|2008|p=4}}

Puritans taught that there were two [[sacrament]]s: baptism and the Lord's Supper. Puritans agreed with the church's practice of [[infant baptism]]. However, the effect of baptism was disputed. Puritans objected to the prayer book's assertion of [[baptismal regeneration]].{{sfn|Spurr|1998|pp=31–32}} In Puritan theology, infant baptism was understood in terms of covenant theology—baptism replaced [[Religious male circumcision|circumcision]] as a sign of the covenant and marked a child's admission into the [[visible church]]. It could not be assumed that baptism produces regeneration. The Westminster Confession states that the grace of baptism is only effective for those who are among the elect, and its effects lie dormant until one experiences conversion later in life.{{sfn|Beeke|Jones|2012|loc= "Regeneration and Baptism", [[Amazon Kindle]] location 18043–18056}} Puritans wanted to do away with [[godparents]], who made [[baptismal vows]] on behalf of infants, and give that responsibility to the child's father. Puritans also objected to priests making the [[sign of the cross]] in baptism. Private baptisms were opposed because Puritans believed that preaching should always accompany sacraments. Some Puritan clergy even refused to baptise dying infants because that implied the sacrament contributed to salvation.{{sfn|Spurr|1998|p=32}}

Puritans rejected both Roman Catholic ([[transubstantiation]]) and Lutheran ([[sacramental union]]) teachings that Christ is physically present in the [[Sacramental bread|bread]] and [[Sacramental wine|wine]] of the Lord's Supper. Instead, Puritans embraced the Reformed doctrine of [[Lord's Supper in Reformed theology|real spiritual presence]], believing that in the Lord's Supper the faithful receive Christ spiritually. In agreement with [[Thomas Cranmer]], the Puritans stressed "that Christ comes down to us in the sacrament by His Word and Spirit, offering Himself as our spiritual food and drink".{{sfn|Beeke|Jones|2012|loc="The True Meaning of the Lord's Supper", [[Amazon Kindle]] location 28097–28107}} They criticised the prayer book service for being too similar to the Catholic mass. For example, the requirement that people kneel to receive communion implied [[Eucharistic adoration|adoration of the Eucharist]], a practice linked to transubstantiation. Puritans also criticised the Church of England for allowing unrepentant sinners to receive communion. Puritans wanted better spiritual preparation (such as clergy home visits and testing people on their knowledge of the catechism) for communion and better [[church discipline]] to ensure that the unworthy were kept from the sacrament.{{sfn|Spurr|1998|p=32}}

Puritans did not believe [[confirmation]] was necessary and thought candidates were poorly prepared since bishops did not have the time to examine them properly.{{sfn|White|1999|p=49}}{{sfn|Spurr|1998|p=33}} The marriage service was criticised for using a wedding ring (which implied that marriage was a sacrament) and having the groom vow to his bride "with my body I thee worship", which Puritans considered [[blasphemous]]. In the funeral service, the priest committed the body to the ground "in sure and certain hope of resurrection to eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ." Puritans objected to this phrase because they did not believe it was true for everyone. They suggested it be rewritten as "we commit his body [etc.] believing a resurrection of the just and unjust, some to joy, and some to punishment."{{sfn|Spurr|1998|p=33}}

Puritans eliminated choral music and [[Musical instruments in church services|musical instruments in their religious services]] because these were associated with Roman Catholicism; however, singing the [[Psalms]] was considered appropriate (see [[Exclusive psalmody]]).{{sfn|Bremer|2009|p=65}} Church organs were commonly damaged or destroyed in the Civil War period, such as when an axe was taken to the organ of [[Worcester Cathedral]] in 1642.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.worcestercathedral.co.uk/index.php?pr=The_Civil_War |title=Worcester Cathedral welcomes you to their Website |publisher=Worcestercathedral.co.uk |date=20 February 2010 |access-date=21 August 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100823022433/http://www.worcestercathedral.co.uk/index.php?pr=The_Civil_War |archive-date=23 August 2010 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

=== Ecclesiology ===
[[File:Catalogue of Sects.GIF|thumb|Polemical [[popular print]] with a ''Catalogue of Sects'', 1647]]
While the Puritans were united in their goal of furthering the English Reformation, they were always divided over issues of [[ecclesiology]] and church polity, specifically questions relating to the manner of organizing congregations, how individual congregations should relate with one another and whether [[Christian state|established national churches]] were scriptural.{{sfn|Ahlstrom|2004|p=132}} On these questions, Puritans divided between supporters of [[episcopal polity]], [[presbyterian polity]] and [[congregational polity]].

The episcopalians (known as the [[Prelate|prelatical]] party) were conservatives who supported retaining bishops if those leaders supported reform and agreed to share power with local churches.{{sfn|Bremer|2009|p=69}} They also supported the idea of having a [[Book of Common Prayer]], but they were against demanding strict conformity or having too much ceremony. In addition, these Puritans called for a renewal of preaching, [[pastoral care]] and Christian [[Church discipline|discipline]] within the Church of England.{{sfn|Ahlstrom|2004|p=132}}

Like the episcopalians, the presbyterians agreed that there should be a national church but one structured on the model of the [[Church of Scotland]].{{sfn|Bremer|2009|p=69}} They wanted to replace bishops with a system of elective and representative governing bodies of clergy and [[laity]] (local [[Session (Presbyterianism)|sessions]], [[Consistory (Protestantism)#Reformed usage|presbyteries]], [[synod]]s, and ultimately a national [[General Assembly (presbyterian church)|general assembly]]).{{sfn|Ahlstrom|2004|p=132}} During the [[Interregnum (England)|Interregnum]], the presbyterians had limited success at reorganizing the Church of England. The [[Westminster Assembly]] proposed the creation of a presbyterian system, but the [[Long Parliament]] left implementation to local authorities. As a result, the Church of England never developed a complete presbyterian hierarchy.{{sfn|Bremer|2009|p=72}}

[[Congregational church|Congregationalists]] or [[Independent (religion)|Independents]] believed in the autonomy of the local church, which ideally would be a congregation of "visible saints" (meaning those who had experienced conversion).{{sfn|Ahlstrom|2004|pp=132–133}} Members would be required to abide by a [[church covenant]], in which they "pledged to join in the proper worship of God and to nourish each other in the search for further religious truth".{{sfn|Bremer|2009|p=69}} Such churches were regarded as complete within themselves, with full authority to determine their own membership, administer their own discipline and ordain their own ministers. Furthermore, the sacraments would only be administered to those in the church covenant.{{sfn|Ahlstrom|2004|p=133}}

Most congregational Puritans remained within the Church of England, hoping to reform it according to their own views. The [[Congregationalism in the United States|New England Congregationalists]] were also adamant that they were not separating from the Church of England. However, some Puritans equated the Church of England with the Roman Catholic Church, and therefore considered it no Christian church at all. These groups, such as the [[Brownist]]s, would split from the established church and become known as Separatists. Other Separatists embraced more radical positions on [[separation of church and state]] and [[believer's baptism]], becoming early [[Baptists]].{{sfn|Ahlstrom|2004|p=133}}

=== Family life ===
[[File:The Snake in the Grass or Satan Transform'd to an Angel of Light.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.1|''The Snake in the Grass or Satan Transform'd to an Angel of Light'', title page engraved by [[Richard Gaywood]], {{Circa|1660}}]]
Based on Biblical portrayals of [[Adam and Eve]], Puritans believed that marriage was rooted in procreation, love, and, most importantly, salvation.{{sfn|Porterfield|1992|p=82}} Husbands were the spiritual heads of the household, while women were to demonstrate religious piety and obedience under male authority.{{sfn|Norton|2011|p=91}} Furthermore, marriage represented not only the relationship between husband and wife, but also the relationship between spouses and God. Puritan husbands commanded authority through family direction and prayer. The female relationship to her husband and to God was marked by submissiveness and humility.{{sfn|Porterfield|1992|p=81}}

[[Thomas Gataker]] describes Puritan marriage as:

{{blockquote|... together for a time as copartners in grace here, [that] they may reigne together forever as coheires in glory hereafter.{{sfn|Johnson|1970|p=93}}}}

The paradox created by female inferiority in the public sphere and the spiritual equality of men and women in marriage, then, gave way to the informal authority of women concerning matters of the home and childrearing.{{sfn|Ulrich|1976|p=37}} With the consent of their husbands, wives made important decisions concerning the labour of their children, property, and the management of inns and taverns owned by their husbands.{{sfn|Demos|1970}} Pious Puritan mothers laboured for their children's righteousness and salvation, connecting women directly to matters of religion and morality.{{sfn|Saxton|2003|p=82}} In her poem titled "In Reference to her Children", poet [[Anne Bradstreet]] reflects on her role as a mother:

{{blockquote|I had eight birds hatched in one nest; Four cocks there were, and hens the rest. I nursed them up with pain and care, Nor cost nor labour I did spare.}}

Bradstreet alludes to the [[temporality]] of motherhood by comparing her children to a flock of birds on the precipice of leaving home. While Puritans praised the obedience of young children, they also believed that, by separating children from their mothers at adolescence, children could better sustain a superior relationship with God.{{sfn|Ulrich|1976|p=35}} A child could only be redeemed through religious education and obedience. Girls carried the additional burden of Eve's corruption and were [[Catechesis|catechised]] separately from boys at adolescence. Boys' education prepared them for vocations and leadership roles, while girls were educated for domestic and religious purposes. The pinnacle of achievement for children in Puritan society, however, occurred with the conversion process.{{sfn|Saxton|2003|p=82}}

Puritans viewed the relationship between master and servant similarly to that of parent and child. Just as parents were expected to uphold Puritan religious values in the home, masters assumed the parental responsibility of housing and educating young servants. Older servants also dwelt with masters and were cared for in the event of illness or injury. African-American and Indian servants were likely excluded from such benefits.{{sfn|Demos|1970|pp=107–117}}

=== Gender and punishment ===
Many Puritan communities operated under strict values that determined gender roles and generally “pure” behavior. Many of these values were shaped from their interpretation of the [[Bible]]. If anyone in the community was found to have disobeyed or strayed from these values, they would be reported and put through the [[censure]] process. This involved a public confession from the accused of their wrongdoings. People would be censured for things that ranged from immodesty and cursing to domestic abuse and fornication.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fitzgerald |first=Monica D. |date=2011 |title=Drunkards, Fornicators, and a Great Hen Squabble: Censure Practices and the Gendering of Puritanism |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41240523 |journal=Church History |volume=80 |issue=1 |pages=46 |issn=0009-6407}}</ref> Religious leaders would often make an example of the censured individual by turning their experience into a lesson for the [[Church (congregation)|congregation]]. In some cases, [[Minister (Christianity)|ministers]] or [[Elder (Christianity)|elders]] would meet with an individual to counsel them for a “private sin,” such as [[impiety]] or struggles with faith, before taking public action. In 1648, Puritan minister [[Thomas Hooker]] explained the necessity of church discipline: “[God] hath appointed Church-censures as good Physick, to purge out what is evill, as well as Word and Sacraments, which, like good diet, are sufficient to nourish the soul to eternal life.” They saw these practices as necessary for the community to keep each other in check and in line with their “godly paths.”<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fitzgerald |first=Monica D. |date=2011 |title=Drunkards, Fornicators, and a Great Hen Squabble: Censure Practices and the Gendering of Puritanism |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41240523 |journal=Church History |volume=80 |issue=1 |pages=42 |issn=0009-6407}}</ref>

While Puritan doctrine viewed men and women spiritually equal, [[laymen]] reinterpreted [[spirituality]] to reflect their ideas of [[masculinity]]. Men displayed their spirituality through their public actions and behaviors, such as being a good neighbor to the community and father to their families. Women were expected to reflect their inner spirituality with their entire being. The human soul was often described using feminine language, but men were allowed to separate their mind and body from their souls in order to maintain an image of masculinity on the outside.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fitzgerald |first=Monica D. |date=2011 |title=Drunkards, Fornicators, and a Great Hen Squabble: Censure Practices and the Gendering of Puritanism |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41240523 |journal=Church History |volume=80 |issue=1 |pages=48 |issn=0009-6407}}</ref> The husband was the [[Patriarchy|patriarch]] with ultimate authority, and the wife would be his assistant. If any of the other members of the family misbehaved, such as the children or even their mother, their actions reflected the capability of the father to be the head of the household.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Godbeer |first=Richard |date=2017 |title=“Your Wife Will Be Your Biggest Accuser”: Reinforcing Codes of Manhood at New England Witch Trials |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/90011101 |journal=Early American Studies |volume=15 |issue=3 |pages=502 |issn=1543-4273}}</ref> Thus, men were often called out for not fulfilling their role as a good father, husband, and/or neighbor.

As a result of this reinterpretation of the Puritan doctrine to reflect certain gendered beliefs, the things men and women were censured for differed. For example, women were often associated with “[[Eve]],” a temptress and sinful seductress. This led to women being censured for [[fornication]] far more often than men.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fitzgerald |first=Monica D. |date=2011 |title=Drunkards, Fornicators, and a Great Hen Squabble: Censure Practices and the Gendering of Puritanism |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41240523 |journal=Church History |volume=80 |issue=1 |pages=67 |issn=0009-6407}}</ref> Men, on the other hand, had more of a focus on civil duty, being censured for filing false lawsuits, arguing over property lines, charging inflated prices, tearing down a neighbor’s mill, land fraud, or poor military conduct. In the economic sphere, women lacked formal power. Thus, men were censured more often for poor business practices.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fitzgerald |first=Monica D. |date=2011 |title=Drunkards, Fornicators, and a Great Hen Squabble: Censure Practices and the Gendering of Puritanism |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41240523 |journal=Church History |volume=80 |issue=1 |pages=45 |issn=0009-6407}}</ref>

The audience played a large role in censures, listening for certain words that demonstrated the accused was truly remorseful for their actions. Similar to the distinction between female and male spirituality, the language women and men used in their confessions differed. The feminized language expected from women included words such as “shame,” “wounded,” “great sin,” “nature,” “pity,” “evil,” “poor,” and “grief.” On the other hand, men used more objective phrases such as “rules,” breach,” offense,” desire,” forgiveness,” actions,” and “brethren.”<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fitzgerald |first=Monica D. |date=2011 |title=Drunkards, Fornicators, and a Great Hen Squabble: Censure Practices and the Gendering of Puritanism |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41240523 |journal=Church History |volume=80 |issue=1 |pages=58-59 |issn=0009-6407}}</ref>

The difference in treatment for men and women was reflected even in the specific sins they were accused of committing. As stated earlier, women were rarely censured for economic disputes as they lacked influence in that regard. Thus, if a commercial dispute involving a woman were to arise, the congregation treated her differently than a man. Such was the case for a woman named Chaplain: “In 1696, Dorchester’s Sister Chaplain borrowed money from John Green to buy a shipment of wine. When Green died and his estate tried to collect the debt from Chaplain, she refused. The congregation did not cite her for breaking a contract, but censured her for lying.”<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fitzgerald |first=Monica D. |date=2011 |title=Drunkards, Fornicators, and a Great Hen Squabble: Censure Practices and the Gendering of Puritanism |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41240523 |journal=Church History |volume=80 |issue=1 |pages=45 |issn=0009-6407}}</ref> Women would also at times face harsher punishments than men for the same sin. “Boston's Second Church censured John Farnum for making bad comments about another church and its pastor, and they noted he was "breaking the rule of truth." However, that same congregation recorded much harsher words about Sarah Stevens, whom they admonished for "many evill carriages and sundry filthy speeches, not fit to be named." And when they censured her, they said she "grew more vile and hard hearted." The court also took up her case and sentenced her to jail and two whippings.”<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fitzgerald |first=Monica D. |date=2011 |title=Drunkards, Fornicators, and a Great Hen Squabble: Censure Practices and the Gendering of Puritanism |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41240523 |journal=Church History |volume=80 |issue=1 |pages=60-61 |issn=0009-6407}}</ref>

=== Demonology and witch hunts ===
{{Further|Christian demonology}}
Like most Christians in the [[early modern period]], Puritans believed in the active existence of the [[Devil in Christianity|devil]] and [[demon]]s as evil forces that could possess and cause harm to men and women. There was also widespread belief in [[European witchcraft|witchcraft]] and witches—persons in league with the devil. "Unexplained phenomena such as the death of livestock, human disease, and hideous fits suffered by young and old" may all be blamed on the agency of the devil or a witch.{{sfn|Bremer|2009|p=30}}

Puritan pastors undertook [[Exorcism in Christianity|exorcisms]] for [[demonic possession]] in some high-profile cases. Exorcist [[John Darrell]] was supported by [[Arthur Hildersham]] in the case of Thomas Darling.{{Sfn|Bremer|Webster|2006|p=584}} [[Samuel Harsnett]], a sceptic on witchcraft and possession, attacked Darrell. However, Harsnett was in the minority, and many clergy, not only Puritans, believed in witchcraft and possession.<ref>{{Cite DNB|wstitle=Scott, Reginald|display=Scott, Reginald}}</ref>

In the 16th and 17th centuries, thousands of people throughout Europe were accused of being witches and executed. In England and Colonial America, Puritans engaged in [[witch hunt]]s as well. In the 1640s, [[Matthew Hopkins]], the self-proclaimed "Witchfinder General", whose career flourished during Puritan rule, was responsible for accusing over two hundred people of witchcraft, mainly in [[East Anglia]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Robbins |first=Rossell Hope |chapter=Hopkins, Matthew|title=The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology |location=New York |publisher=Crown Publishers |year=1959 |ref=ASIN:B0006AW066}}</ref> Between 1644 and 1647, Hopkins and his colleague [[John Stearne (witch-hunter)|John Stearne]] sent more accused people to the [[gallows]] than all the other witch-hunters in England of the previous 160 years.<ref>{{cite book |last=Notestein |first=Wallace |title=A History of Witchcraft In England from 1558 to 1718 |year=1911 |ref=Witchcraft |author-link=Wallace Notestein |publisher=American Historical Association 1911 (reissued 1965) New York [[Russell & Russell]] |page=195}}</ref> In New England, few people were accused and convicted of witchcraft before 1692; there were at most sixteen convictions.{{sfn|Bremer|2009|pp=31–32}}

The [[Salem witch trials]] of 1692 had a lasting impact on the historical reputation of New England Puritans. Though this witch hunt occurred after Puritans lost political control of the [[Province of Massachusetts Bay|Massachusetts colony]], Puritans instigated the judicial proceedings against the accused and comprised the members of the court that convicted and sentenced the accused. By the time Governor [[William Phips]] ended the trials, fourteen women and five men had been hanged as witches.{{Sfn|Bremer|2009|pp=30–32}}

=== Millennialism ===
{{See|Christian eschatology}}
Puritan [[millennialism]] has been placed in the broader context of European Reformed beliefs about the millennium and interpretation of [[biblical prophecy]], for which representative figures of the period were [[Johannes Piscator]], [[Thomas Brightman]], [[Joseph Mede]], [[Johannes Heinrich Alsted]], and [[John Amos Comenius]].{{sfn|Hotson|2000|p=173}} Like most English Protestants of the time, Puritans based their eschatological views on an [[Historicism (Christianity)|historicist]] interpretation of the [[Book of Revelation]] and the [[Book of Daniel]]. Protestant theologians identified the sequential phases the world must pass through before the [[Last Judgment]] could occur and tended to place their own time period near the end. It was expected that tribulation and persecution would increase but eventually the church's enemies—the [[Antichrist]] (identified with the Roman Catholic Church) and the [[Ottoman Empire]]—would be defeated.{{sfn|Maclear|1975|pp=225–226}} Based on [[Revelation 20]], it was believed that a thousand-year period (the millennium) would occur, during which the saints would rule with Christ on earth.{{sfn|Bremer|2009|p=76}}

In contrast to other Protestants who tended to view eschatology as an explanation for "God's remote plans for the world and man", Puritans understood it to describe "the cosmic environment in which the regenerate soldier of Christ was now to do battle against the power of sin".{{sfn|Maclear|1975|p=226}} On a personal level, eschatology was related to sanctification, assurance of salvation, and the conversion experience. On a larger level, eschatology was the lens through which events such as the English Civil War and the [[Thirty Years' War]] were interpreted. There was also an optimistic aspect to Puritan millennianism: Puritans anticipated a future worldwide religious revival before the [[Second Coming]] of Christ.{{sfn|Maclear|1975|p=227}}{{sfn|Bremer|2009|p=76}} Another departure from other Protestants was the widespread belief among Puritans that the [[Conversion of the Jews (future event)|conversion of the Jews]] to Christianity was an important sign of the [[Apocalypticism|apocalypse]].{{sfn|Maclear|1975|p=229}}

== Cultural consequences ==
[[File:George-Henry-Boughton-Pilgrims-Going-To-Church.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|''[[Pilgrims Going to Church]]'' by [[George Henry Boughton]] (1867)]]
{{further|New England Puritan culture and recreation}}

Some strong religious beliefs common to Puritans had direct impacts on culture. Puritans believed it was the government's responsibility to enforce moral standards and ensure true religious worship was established and maintained.{{sfn|Bremer|1995|pp=91–92}} Education was essential to every person, male and female, so that they could read the Bible for themselves. However, the Puritans' emphasis on individual spiritual independence was not always compatible with the community cohesion that was also a strong ideal.{{sfn|Watras|2008}} [[Anne Hutchinson]] (1591–1643), the well educated daughter of a teacher, argued with the established theological orthodoxy, and was forced to leave colonial New England with her followers.{{sfn|Bremer|1981}}

=== Education ===
{{See|History of education in the United States}}
[[File:Cotton Mather.jpg|thumb|right|[[Cotton Mather]], influential New England Puritan minister, portrait by [[Peter Pelham]]]]
At a time when the literacy rate in England was less than 30 per cent, the Puritan leaders of colonial New England believed children should be educated for both religious and civil reasons, and they worked to achieve universal literacy.<ref>{{cite book |first=James |last=Axtell |title=The School upon a Hill: Education and Society in Colonial New England |date=1976}}</ref> In 1642, Massachusetts required heads of households to teach their wives, children and servants basic reading and writing so that they could read the Bible and understand colonial laws. In 1647, the government required all towns with 50 or more households to hire a teacher and towns of 100 or more households to hire a [[grammar school]] instructor to prepare promising boys for college. Philemon Pormort's [[Boston Latin School]] was the only one in Boston, the first school of public instruction in Massachusetts".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bls.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=206116&type=d |title=BLS History |access-date=13 November 2020 |archive-date=27 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127015125/https://www.bls.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=206116&type=d |url-status=live}}</ref> Boys interested in the ministry were often sent to colleges such as [[Harvard University|Harvard]] (founded in 1636) or [[Yale University|Yale]] (founded in 1707).{{sfn|Bremer|2009|pp=81–82}} Aspiring lawyers or doctors apprenticed to a local practitioner, or in rare cases were sent to England or Scotland.<ref>{{cite book |first=Peter James |last=Marshall |title=The Making and Unmaking of Empires: Britain, India, and the United States C. 1750–1783 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O-c41Ftn8yoC&pg=PA30 |year=2005 |page=30 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0199278954 |access-date=8 June 2018 |archive-date=4 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404154007/https://books.google.com/books?id=O-c41Ftn8yoC&pg=PA30 |url-status=live |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>

=== Puritan scientists ===
The [[Merton Thesis]] is an argument about the nature of early [[experimental science]] proposed by [[Robert K. Merton]]. Similarly to [[Max Weber]]'s [[The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism|famous claim]] on the link between the [[Protestant work ethic]] and the [[capitalist economy]], Merton argued for a similar positive [[correlation]] between the rise of English Puritanism, as well as German [[Pietism]], and early experimental science.<ref name="sztompka2003">Sztompka, 2003</ref> As an example, seven of 10 nucleus members of the [[Royal Society]] were Puritans. In the year 1663, 62 per cent of the members of the Royal Society were similarly identified.{{Sfn|Harrison|2001}} The Merton Thesis has resulted in continuous debates.<ref name="cohen1990">Cohen, 1990</ref>

=== Behavioral regulations ===
[[File:PuritanChristmasBan.jpg|thumb|right|1659 public notice in [[Boston]] deeming Christmas illegal]]
Puritans in both England and New England believed that the state should protect and promote true religion and that religion should influence politics and social life.{{sfn|Norton|2008|p=49}}{{sfn|Bremer|2009|p=79}} Certain holidays were outlawed when Puritans came to power. In 1647, Parliament outlawed the celebration of [[Christmas]], [[Easter]] and [[Whitsuntide]].{{sfn|Spencer|1935|p=499}} Puritans strongly condemned the celebration of Christmas, considering it a Catholic invention and the "trappings of [[popery]]" or the "rags of [[The Beast (Bible)|the Beast]]".<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Durston |first=Chris |url=http://www.historytoday.com/dt_main_allatonce.asp?gid=12890&aid=&tgid=&amid=12890&g12890=x&g9130=x&g30026=x&g20991=x&g21010=x&g19965=x&g19963=x |title=Lords of Misrule: The Puritan War on Christmas 1642–60 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310013925/http://www.historytoday.com/dt_main_allatonce.asp?gid=12890&aid=&tgid=&amid=12890&g12890=x&g9130=x&g30026=x&g20991=x&g21010=x&g19965=x&g19963=x |archive-date=March 10, 2007 |magazine=History Today |date=December 1985 |volume=35 |issue=12 |pages=7–14}}</ref> They also objected to Christmas because the festivities surrounding the holiday were seen as impious (English jails were usually filled with drunken revelers and brawlers).{{Sfn|Spencer|1935|p=498}} During the years that the Puritan ban on Christmas was in place in England, protests occurred over the repressiveness of the Puritan regime.<ref name="Gentles">{{cite book |last1=Gentles |first1=I. J. |title=The English Revolution and the Wars in the Three Kingdoms, 1638-1652 |date=2014 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |page=329}}</ref> Pro-Christmas rioting broke out across England, semi-clandestine religious services marking Christ's birth continued to be held, and people sang [[Christmas carol|carols]] in secret.<ref name="Gentles"/><ref name="Carols banned">{{cite news |title=When Christmas carols were banned |url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20141219-when-christmas-carols-were-banned |access-date=11 March 2022 |agency=BBC |archive-date=2 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180202060943/http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20141219-when-christmas-carols-were-banned |url-status=live}}</ref> Following [[Stuart Restoration|the restoration]] in 1660, when Puritan legislation was declared null and void, Christmas was again freely celebrated in England.<ref name="Carols banned"/> Christmas was outlawed in Boston from 1659.{{sfn|Barnett|1984|p=3}} The ban was revoked in 1681 by the English-appointed governor [[Edmund Andros]], who also revoked a Puritan ban on festivities on Saturday nights.{{sfn|Barnett|1984|p=3}} Nevertheless, it was not until the mid-19th century that celebrating Christmas became fashionable in the Boston region.<ref>{{cite book |last=Marling |first=Karal Ann |year=2000 |title=Merry Christmas!: Celebrating America's Greatest Holiday |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-00318-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EUc13_ourtYC&q=Christmas+Puritan+New+England&pg=PA44 |page=44 |access-date=24 December 2020 |archive-date=21 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230121114347/https://books.google.com/books?id=EUc13_ourtYC&q=Christmas+Puritan+New+England&pg=PA44 |url-status=live |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>

Attempting to force religious and intellectual homogeneity on the whole community, civil and religious restrictions were most strictly applied by the Puritans of Massachusetts which saw various banishments applied to enforce conformity, including the [[branding iron]], the [[whipping post]], the [[bilboes]] and the [[Noose|hangman's noose]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Merrill |first1=Louis Taylor |title=The Puritan Policeman |journal=[[American Sociological Review]] |publisher=American Sociological Association |date=1945 |volume=10 |issue=6 |pages=766–776 |doi=10.2307/2085847 |jstor=2085847 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2085847 |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-date=10 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220310173638/https://www.jstor.org/stable/2085847 |url-status=live}}</ref> Swearing and blasphemy were illegal. In 1636, Massachusetts made blasphemy—defined as "a cursing of God by atheism, or the like"—punishable by death.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Williams Levy |first1=Leonard |title=Blasphemy: Verbal Offense Against the Sacred, from Moses to Salman Rushdie |date=1995 |publisher=UNC Press Books |page=242}}</ref>

Puritans were opposed to Sunday sport or recreation because these distracted from religious observance of the [[Puritan Sabbatarianism|Sabbath]].{{Sfn|Bremer|2009|p=79}} In an attempt to offset the strictness of the Puritans, [[James VI and I|James I]]'s ''Book of Sports'' (1618) permitted Christians to play football every Sunday afternoon after worship.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sHrejZJVc80C&q=football&pg=RA3-PA412 |title=John Lord Campbell, ''The Lives of the Lords Chancellors and Keepers of the Great Seal of England'', vol. 2, 1851, p. 412 |access-date=2010-06-19 |year=1851 |last1=Campbell |first1=John Campbell Baron |archive-date=4 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404154011/https://books.google.com/books?id=sHrejZJVc80C&q=football&pg=RA3-PA412 |url-status=live |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> When the Puritans established themselves in power, football was among the sports that were banned: boys caught playing on Sunday could be prosecuted.<ref name="Football">{{cite press release |url=http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/pressreleases/ne1000000086166/ |access-date=18 August 2013 |date=17 December 2003 |title=Historian Reveals that Cromwellian Christmas Football Rebels Ran Riot |publisher=[[University of Warwick]] |archive-date=28 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928090437/https://warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/pressreleases/ne1000000086166/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Football was also used as a rebellious force: when Puritans outlawed Christmas in England in December 1647 the crowd brought out footballs as a symbol of festive misrule.<ref name="Football"/> Other forms of leisure and entertainment were completely forbidden on moral grounds. For example, Puritans were universally opposed to [[blood sport]]s such as [[bearbaiting]] and [[cockfighting]] because they involved unnecessary injury to God's creatures. For similar reasons, they also opposed [[boxing]].{{sfn|Bremer|2009|p=59}} These sports were illegal in England during Puritan rule.{{sfn|Bremer|2009|p=80}}

While card playing by itself was generally considered acceptable, card playing and [[gambling]] were banned in England and the colonies, as was mixed dancing involving men and women—which Mather condemned as "promiscuous dancing"—because it was thought to lead to [[fornication]].{{sfn|Norton|2008|p=49}}{{sfn|Miller|Johnson|2014|p=394}} [[Folk dance]] that did not involve close contact between men and women was considered appropriate.{{sfn|Bremer|2009|p=60}} The [[branle]] dance, which involved couples intertwining arms or holding hands, returned to popularity in England after the restoration when the bans imposed by the Puritans were lifted.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Snodgrass |first1=Mary Ellen |title=The Encyclopedia of World Folk Dance |date=2016 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |page=30}}</ref> In New England, the first dancing school did not open until the end of the 17th century.{{sfn|Bremer|2009|p=79}}

Puritans condemned the [[sexualization]] of the [[theatre]] and its associations with depravity and prostitution—London's theatres were located on the south side of the [[River Thames|Thames]], which was a center of prostitution. A major Puritan attack on the theatre was [[William Prynne]]'s book ''[[Histriomastix]]'' which marshals a multitude of ancient and medieval authorities against the "sin" of dramatic performance. Puritan authorities [[London theatre closure 1642|shut down English theatres]] in the 1640s and 1650s—Shakespeare's [[Globe Theatre]] was demolished—and none were allowed to open in Puritan-controlled colonies.{{sfn|Keeble|1987|p=153}}{{sfn|Bremer|2009|p=58}} In January 1643, actors in London protested against the ban with a pamphlet titled ''The Actors remonstrance or complaint for the silencing of their profession, and banishment from their severall play-houses''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schoch |first1=Richard |title=Writing the History of the British Stage 1660-1900 |date=2016 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=64}}</ref> With the end of Puritan rule and the restoration of Charles II, theatre among other arts exploded, and London's oldest operating theatre, [[Theatre Royal, Drury Lane|Drury Lane]] in the [[West End theatre|West End]], opened in 1663.<ref>{{cite news |title=London's 10 oldest theatres |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/england/london/galleries/Londons-oldest-theatres/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/england/london/galleries/Londons-oldest-theatres/ |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=6 April 2020 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=From pandemics to puritans: when theatre shut down through history and how it recovered |url=https://www.thestage.co.uk/long-reads/from-pandemics-to-puritans-when-theatre-shut-down-through-history-and-how-it-recovered |access-date=17 December 2020 |website=The Stage.co.uk |archive-date=31 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201231121134/https://www.thestage.co.uk/long-reads/from-pandemics-to-puritans-when-theatre-shut-down-through-history-and-how-it-recovered |url-status=live}}</ref> The puppet show [[Punch and Judy]], dominated by the anarchic Mr Punch, made its first recorded appearance in England in May 1662, with show historian Glyn Edwards stating the character of Punch "went down particularly well with Restoration British audiences, fun-starved after years of Puritanism ... he became, really, a spirit of Britain – a subversive maverick who defies authority".<ref>{{cite news|title=Punch and Judy around the world |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatlife/7949781/Punch-and-Judy-around-the-world.html|work=The Telegraph|date=2 June 2024}}</ref>

Puritans were not opposed to drinking alcohol in moderation.{{sfn|West|2003|pp=68ff}} However, alehouses were closely regulated by Puritan-controlled governments in both England and Colonial America.{{sfn|Bremer|2009|p=79}} Laws in [[Massachusetts]] in 1634 banned the "abominable" practice of individuals [[Toast (honor)|toasting]] each other's health.<ref name="Cheers"/> [[William Prynne]], the most rabid of the Puritan anti-toasters, wrote a book on the subject, ''Health's Sicknesse'' (1628), that "this drinking and quaffing of healthes had it origin and birth from Pagans, heathens, and infidels, yea, from the very Deuill himself."<ref name="Cheers">{{cite news |title=Cheers: Celebration Drinking Is an Ancient Tradition |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/drinking-alcohol-culture |access-date=March 12, 2022 |agency=[[National Geographic]] |archive-date=12 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220312113202/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/drinking-alcohol-culture |url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:PynchonBooksBurned.png|thumb|19th-century portrayal of the burning of William Pynchon's [[banned book]] on Boston Common after it was deemed blasphemous by the Massachusetts Bay Colony]]
In 1649, English colonist [[William Pynchon]], the founder of [[Springfield, Massachusetts|Springfield]], Massachusetts, wrote a critique of Puritanical Calvinism, entitled ''The Meritorious Price of Our Redemption''. Published in London in 1650, when the book reached Boston it was immediately burned on [[Boston Common]] and the colony pressed Pynchon to return to England which he did.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.masslive.com/history/index.ssf/2011/05/springfields_375th_from_puritans_to_presidents.html#incart_hbx |title=Springfield's 375th: From Puritans to presidents |date=May 9, 2011 |publisher=MassLive.com |access-date=January 26, 2023 |archive-date=2 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102094109/http://www.masslive.com/history/index.ssf/2011/05/springfields_375th_from_puritans_to_presidents.html#incart_hbx |url-status=live}}</ref> The censorious nature of the Puritans and the region they inhabited would lead to the phrase "[[banned in Boston]]" being coined in the late 19th century, a phrase which was applied to Boston up to the mid-20th century.<ref>{{cite book |last=Miller |first=Neil |title=Banned in Boston: The Watch and Ward Society's Crusade against Books, Burlesque, and the Social Evil |url=https://archive.org/details/bannedi_mil_2010_00_3638 |url-access=registration |access-date=January 26, 2023 |date=October 13, 2010 |publisher=[[Beacon Press]] |isbn=978-0-8070-5113-9}}</ref>

Bounds were not set on enjoying sexuality within the bounds of marriage, as a gift from God.<ref>{{harvtxt|Lewis|1969|pp=116–117}}: "On many questions and specially in view of the marriage bed, the Puritans were the indulgent party, ... they were much more [[G. K. Chesterton|Chestertonian]] than their adversaries [the Roman Catholics]. The idea that a Puritan was a repressed and repressive person would have astonished Sir [[Thomas More]] and [[Martin Luther|Luther]] about equally."</ref> Spouses were disciplined if they did not perform their sexual marital duties, in accordance with {{Bibleverse|1 Corinthians|7|KJV}} and other biblical passages. Women and men were equally expected to fulfill marital responsibilities.{{sfn|Foster|1999|p=724}} Women and men could file for divorce based on this issue alone. In Massachusetts colony, which had some of the most liberal colonial divorce laws, one out of every six divorce petitions was filed on the basis of male impotence.{{sfn|Foster|1999|pp=726–727}} Puritans publicly punished drunkenness and [[Fornication|sexual relations outside marriage]].{{sfn|Norton|2008|p=49}} Couples who had sex during their engagement were fined and publicly humiliated.{{sfn|Norton|2008|p=49}} Men, and a handful of women, who engaged in homosexual behavior, were seen as especially sinful, with some executed.{{sfn|Norton|2008|p=49}} While the practice of execution was also infrequently used for rape and adultery, homosexuality was actually seen as a worse sin.<ref name=Crandell>{{Cite journal |first=Brad |last=Crandell |title=Homosexuality in Puritan New England |journal=Amaranthus |date=1997 |volume=1997 |issue=1 |url=https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/amaranthus/vol1997/iss1/16 |page=20}}</ref> Passages from the Old Testament, including Lev 20:13., were thought to support the disgust for homosexuality and efforts to purge society of it. New Haven code stated "If any man lyeth with mankinde, as a man lyeth with a woman, both of them have committed abomination, they shall surely be put to death"<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Crompton |first=Louis |title=Homosexuals and the Death Penalty in Colonial America |journal=Journal of Homosexuality |date=1976 |page=281 |volume=1 |issue=3 |url=https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1061&context=englishfacpubs}}</ref> and in 1636 the Plymouth Colony adopted a set of laws that included a sentence of death for sodomy and buggery.<ref>{{cite book |title=Chicago Whispers: A History of LGBT Chicago before Stonewall |date=2012 |publisher=University of Wisconsin Press |page=248}}</ref> Prominent authors such as Thomas Cobbert, Samual Danforth and Cotton Mather wrote pieces condemning homosexuality.<ref name=Crandell/> Mather argued that the passage "Overcome the Devil when he tempts you to the youthful sin of Uncleanness" was referring "probably to the young men of Sodom".{{sfn|Mather|1663–1728|p=70}}

=== Religious toleration ===
Puritan rule in England was marked by limited religious toleration. The ''Toleration Act'' of 1650 repealed the ''[[Act of Supremacy 1558|Act of Supremacy]]'', ''[[Act of Uniformity 1558|Act of Uniformity]]'', and all laws making [[recusancy]] a crime. There was no longer a legal requirement to attend the parish church on Sundays (for both Protestants and Catholics). In 1653, responsibility for recording births, marriages and deaths was transferred from the church to a civil registrar. The result was that church baptisms and marriages became private acts, not guarantees of legal rights, which provided greater equality to dissenters.{{sfn|Coffey|Lim|2008|p=80}}

The 1653 ''[[Instrument of Government]]'' guaranteed that in matters of religion "none shall be compelled by penalties or otherwise, but endeavours be used to win them by sound Doctrine and the Example of a good conversation". Religious freedom was given to "all who profess Faith in God by Jesus Christ".{{sfn|Coffey|Lim|2008|p=81}} However, Catholics and some others were excluded. No one was executed for their religion during [[the Protectorate]].{{sfn|Coffey|Lim|2008|p=81}} In London, those attending Catholic mass or Anglican holy communion were occasionally arrested but released without charge. Many unofficial Protestant congregations, such as Baptist churches, were permitted to meet.{{sfn|Coffey|Lim|2008|p=83}} Quakers were allowed to publish freely and hold meetings. They were, however, arrested for disrupting parish church services and organising [[tithe]]-strikes against the state church.{{sfn|Coffey|Lim|2008|pp=83–84|ps=: "But it was not for their heterodox theology or their own open meetings that they [the Quakers] were arrested and mistreated. It was for disrupting services in what they insisted on calling ‘steeple-houses’ rather than churches; that, or for organising tithe-strikes aimed directly and specifically to undermine the state church."}}

[[File:Mary dyer being led.jpg|thumb|Quaker [[Mary Dyer]] led to execution on [[Boston Common]], 1 June 1660, by an unknown 19th century artist]]

In New England, where Congregationalism was the official religion, the Puritans exhibited intolerance of other religious views, including [[Quaker]], [[Church of England|Anglican]] and [[Baptist]] theologies. The Puritans of the [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]] were the most active of the New England persecutors of Quakers, and the persecuting spirit was shared by the [[Plymouth Colony]] and the colonies along the [[Connecticut river]].<ref name=PER/>

Four Quakers, known as the [[Boston martyrs]], were executed. The first two of the four Boston martyrs were executed by the Puritans on 27 October 1659, and in memory of this, 27 October is now [[Freedom of religion#International Religious Freedom Day|International Religious Freedom Day]] to recognise the importance of freedom of religion.<ref>{{cite book |first=Margery |last=Post Abbott |title=Historical Dictionary of the Friends (Quakers) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WlTnzA6kHYwC |year=2011 |publisher=[[Scarecrow Press]] |isbn=978-0-8108-7088-8 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=WlTnzA6kHYwC&pg=PA102 102] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160510055832/https://books.google.com/books?id=WlTnzA6kHYwC |archive-date=10 May 2016 |df=dmy-all |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> In 1660, one of the most notable victims of the religious intolerance was English Quaker [[Mary Dyer]], who was hanged in Boston for repeatedly defying a Puritan law banning Quakers from the colony.<ref name=PER>Rogers, Horatio, 2009. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=L5_5yIgpa-YC&q=Among+the+most+pathetic+chapters+ Mary Dyer of Rhode Island: The Quaker Martyr That Was Hanged on Boston] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115151223/https://books.google.com/books?id=L5_5yIgpa-YC&printsec=frontcover&dq=mary+dyer+1660&hl=en&ei=8p99TMePDpGO4QayguXHBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAA |date=15 January 2016 }}'' pp. 1–2. BiblioBazaar, LLC</ref> The hanging of Dyer on Boston Common marked the beginning of the end of the Puritan [[theocracy]].<ref name=CHLS/> In 1661, [[Charles II of England|King Charles II]] explicitly forbade Massachusetts from executing anyone for professing Quakerism.<ref name=CHLS>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EzvHvEDPosQC&q=charles+1661+-+massachusetts+execution&pg=PR41 |title=Puritans and Puritanism in Europe and America |year=2006 |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]] |via=[[Google Books]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180126184202/https://books.google.com/books?id=EzvHvEDPosQC&pg=PR41&dq=charles%201661%20-%20massachusetts%20execution&hl=en&ei=HYB-TPnjLubX4watiJyxBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=charles%201661%20-%20massachusetts%20execution&f=false |archive-date=26 January 2018 |df=dmy-all |isbn=978-1576076781}}</ref> In 1684, England [[Massachusetts Bay Colony#Revocation of charter|revoked the Massachusetts charter]], sent over a royal governor to enforce English laws in 1686 and, in 1689, passed a broad ''[[Act of Toleration 1689|Toleration Act]]''.<ref name=CHLS/>

[[Anti-Catholic]] sentiment appeared in New England with the first Pilgrim and Puritan settlers.<ref>{{cite news |first=Rory |last=Carroll |title=America's dark and not-very-distant history of hating Catholics |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/12/america-history-of-hating-catholics |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=25 February 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161230004049/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/12/america-history-of-hating-catholics |archive-date=30 December 2016 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> In 1647, Massachusetts passed a law prohibiting any [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit Roman Catholic]] priests from entering territory under Puritan jurisdiction.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pat |first1=Perrin |title=Crime and Punishment: The Colonial Period to the New Frontier |date=1 January 1970 |publisher=Discovery Enterprises |page=24}}</ref> Any suspected Catholic who could not clear himself was to be banished from the colony; a second offense carried a death penalty.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mahoney |first1=Kathleen A. |title=Catholic Higher Education in Protestant America: The Jesuits and Harvard in the Age of the University |date=10 September 2003 |publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University Press]] |page=47}}</ref> A plaque in Southwick Hall at the University of Massachusetts Lowell commemorates "Royal Southwick, Lowell's anti-slavery Quaker senator and manufacturer and a descendant of [[Lawrence and Cassandra Southwick]] who were despoiled, imprisoned, starved, whipped, banished from Massachusetts Colony and persecuted to death in the year 1660 for being Quakers".<ref>{{cite web |last1=UMass Lowell Libraries Archives and Special Collections |title=Lowell Textile Institute, Lowell, MA. Dedication plaque for Southwick Hall. (002) |url=https://archive.org/details/CN071UML |website=Internet Archive |access-date=26 August 2024 |location=Lowell}}</ref>

== Historiography ==
[[File:Pilgrim Fairmount 1.jpg|thumb|Second version of [[The Puritan (Springfield, Massachusetts)|''The Puritan'']], a late 19th-century sculpture by [[Augustus Saint-Gaudens]]]]
Puritanism has attracted much scholarly attention, and as a result, the secondary literature on the subject is vast. Puritanism is considered crucial to understanding the religious, political and cultural issues of early modern England. In addition, historians such as [[Perry Miller]] have regarded Puritan New England as fundamental to understanding American culture and identity. Puritanism has also been credited with the creation of [[modernity]] itself, from England's [[Scientific Revolution]] to the rise of democracy. In the early 20th century, [[Max Weber]] argued in ''[[The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism]]'' that Calvinist self-denial resulted in a [[Protestant work ethic]] that nurtured the development of [[capitalism]] in Europe and North America. Puritan authors such as [[John Milton]], [[John Bunyan]], [[Anne Bradstreet]] and [[Edward Taylor]] continue to be read and studied as important figures within English and American literature.{{sfn|Coffey|Lim|2008|pp=7–8}}

A debate continues on the definition of "Puritanism".{{Sfn|Bremer|2009|p=2}} English historian [[Patrick Collinson]] argues that "There is little point in constructing elaborate statements defining what, in ontological terms, puritanism was and what it was not, when it was not a thing definable in itself but only one half of a stressful relationship."<ref>{{harvtxt|Spurr|1998|p=4}} cites and quotes {{harvtxt|Collinson|1988|p=143}}</ref> Puritanism "was only the mirror image of anti-puritanism and to a considerable extent its invention: a stigma, with great power to distract and distort historical memory."<ref>{{harvtxt|Spurr|1998|p=27}} cites and quotes [[Patrick Collinson]], "Fundamental Objections", ''Times Literary Supplement'' (17–23 February 1989), p. 156.</ref> Historian John Spurr writes that Puritans were defined by their relationships with their surroundings, especially with the Church of England. Whenever the Church of England changed, Spurr argues, the definition of a Puritan also changed.{{sfn|Spurr|1998|p=4}}

The analysis of "mainstream Puritanism" in terms of the evolution from it of Separatist and [[antinomian]] groups that did not flourish, and others that continue to this day, such as [[Baptists]] and [[Quakers]], can suffer in this way. The national context (England and Wales, as well as the kingdoms of Scotland and Ireland) frames the definition of Puritans, but was not a self-identification for those Protestants who saw the progress of the [[Thirty Years' War]] from 1620 as directly bearing on their denomination, and as a continuation of the religious wars of the previous century, carried on by the English Civil Wars. English historian [[Christopher Hill (historian)|Christopher Hill]] writes of the 1630s, old church lands, and the accusations that [[William Laud]] was a crypto-Catholic:

{{blockquote|To the heightened Puritan imagination it seemed that, all over Europe, the lamps were going out: the [[Counter-Reformation]] was winning back property for the [[Catholic Church|church]] as well as souls: and Charles I and his government, if not allied to the forces of the Counter-Reformation, at least appeared to have set themselves identical economic and political objectives.<ref>{{cite book |author-link=Christopher Hill (historian) |first=Christopher |last=Hill |title=Economic Problems of the Church |date=1971 |page=337}}</ref>}}

== Notable Puritans ==
[[File:Oliver Cromwell by Samuel Cooper.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.9|[[Oliver Cromwell]], [[Lord Protector (Cromwell)|Lord Protector]] of the [[The Protectorate|Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland]]]]
{{Main|List of Puritans}}
* [[John Brockett (American colonist)|John Brockett]] was a founder of [[New Haven, Connecticut]].
* [[Peter Bulkley]] was an influential Puritan minister and founder of [[Concord, Massachusetts|Concord]].
* [[John Bunyan]] was famous for 1678 book ''[[The Pilgrim's Progress]]''.
* [[William Bradford (Plymouth Colony governor)|William Bradford]] was [[Plymouth Colony]]'s Governor.
* [[Anne Bradstreet]] was the first female to have her works published in the British North American colonies.
* [[Oliver Cromwell]] was an English [[Military history of the United Kingdom|military]] and [[Politics of England|political]] leader and eventually became [[Lord Protector#Cromwellian Commonwealth|Lord Protector]] of the [[The Protectorate|Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland]]. He was a very religious man and was considered an independent Puritan.
* [[John Endecott]] was the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and an important military leader.
* [[Jonathan Edwards (theologian)|Jonathan Edwards]], [[evangelical]] preacher who sparked the [[First Great Awakening]]
* [[Thomas Hooker]] was a Puritan minister and co-founder of the [[Connecticut Colony]].
* [[Cotton Mather]] was a prominent Puritan clergyman, theologian, and author in colonial America.
* [[Increase Mather]] was a Puritan minister and father of [[Cotton Mather]]. 
* [[Anne Hutchinson]] was a Puritan woman noted for speaking freely about her religious views, which resulted in her banishment from [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]].
* [[John Milton]] 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.
* [[James Noyes]] was an influential Puritan minister, teacher and founder of [[Newbury, Massachusetts|Newbury]].
* [[Philip Nye]] (minister) was the key adviser to Oliver Cromwell on matters of religion and regulation of the Church.
* [[Thomas Parker (minister)|Thomas Parker]] was an influential Puritan minister, teacher and founder of Newbury.
* [[Samuel Parris]] was a Puritan minister who gained notoriety for being the minister of Salem Village during the [[Salem witch trials]].
* [[John Winthrop]] is noted for his sermon "[[A Model of Christian Charity]]" and as a leading figure in founding the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
* [[Robert Woodford (17th-century diarist)|Robert Woodford]] 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.

== See also ==
* [[Christianity in the 16th century]]
* [[Christianity in the 17th century]]
* [[Plymouth Rock]]
* [[Restorationism]]
* [[Work ethic]]

== References ==
=== Notes ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin|35em}}
* {{cite book |last=Ahlstrom |first=Sydney E. |author-link=Sydney E. Ahlstrom |title=A Religious History of the American People |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |edition=2nd |orig-year=1972 |year=2004 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5kFF6a1viGcC |isbn=0-385-11164-9 |access-date=28 October 2020 |archive-date=4 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404154028/https://books.google.com/books?id=5kFF6a1viGcC |url-status=live |via=[[Google Books]]}}
* {{cite book |last=Barnett |first=James Harwood |year=1984 |title=The American Christmas: A Study in National Culture |publisher=Ayer Publishing |isbn=0-405-07671-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Bebbington |first=David W. |title=Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s |year=1993 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=London}}
* {{cite book |last1=Beeke |first1=Joel R. |last2=Jones |first2=Mark |title=A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life |publisher=Reformation Heritage Books |edition=[[Amazon Kindle]] |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-60178-166-6}}
* {{cite book |last1=Benedetto |first1=Robert |last2=McKim |first2=Donald K. |title=Historical Dictionary of the Reformed Churches |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=edhZ_g-RvyMC&pg=PA521 |year=2010 |publisher=[[Scarecrow Press]] |isbn=978-0-8108-5807-7 |via=[[Google Books]]}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Bremer |editor-first=Francis J. |title=Anne Hutchinson: Troubler of the Puritan Zion |publisher=R.E. Krieger Pub. Co. |year=1981 |isbn=978-0898740639}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |title=Savoy Assembly |encyclopedia=Puritans and Puritanism in Europe and America: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia |editor1-last=Bremer |editor1-first=Francis J. |editor2-last=Webster |editor2-first=Tom |pages=533–534 |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]] |year=2006 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EzvHvEDPosQC | isbn = 978-1576076781 }}
* {{cite book | last = Bremer | first = Francis J. | title = Puritanism: A Very Short Introduction | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 2009 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=RDnRCwAAQBAJ | isbn = 978-0199740871 }}
* {{cite journal | last = Carpenter | first = John B. | title = New England's Puritan Century: Three Generations of Continuity in the City upon a Hill | journal = [[Fides et Historia]] | volume = 35 | issue = 1 | pages = 41–58 | publisher = The Conference on Faith and History | date = Winter 2003 | url = https://www.proquest.com/openview/d584aa14357dfaede25274edef65055a/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=5620 | access-date = 26 May 2022 | archive-date = 9 August 2022 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220809052354/https://www.proquest.com/openview/d584aa14357dfaede25274edef65055a/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=5620 | url-status = live }}
* {{cite book|last=Cliffe|first=Trevor|title=Puritan Gentry Besieged 1650–1700|year=2002|publisher=Routledge|language=en |isbn=978-1134918157}}
* {{cite book | editor-last1 = Coffey | editor-first1 = John | editor-last2 = Lim | editor-first2 = Paul C. H. | title = The Cambridge Companion to Puritanism | publisher = Cambridge University Press | series = Cambridge Companions to Religion | year = 2008 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=jGcgAwAAQBAJ | isbn = 978-0-521-67800-1 }}
* {{citation|last=Coffin|first=Charles|author-link=Charles Carleton Coffin|title= The Story of Liberty: So You Will Comprehend What Liberty Has Cost, and What It Is Worth |year= 1987 |publisher= Maranatha Publications|isbn= 093855820X}}
* {{cite book | last = Collinson | first = Patrick | author-link = Patrick Collinson | title = The Birthpangs of Protestant England: Religious and Cultural Change in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries | publisher = Palgrave Macmillan | year = 1988 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=QjiwCwAAQBAJ | isbn = 978-1-349-19586-2 | access-date = 23 June 2020 | archive-date = 4 April 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230404153943/https://books.google.com/books?id=QjiwCwAAQBAJ | url-status = live }}
* {{Citation | last = Craig | first = John | contribution = The Growth of English Puritanism | year = 2008 | title = The Cambridge Companion to Puritanism | editor-last1 = Coffey | editor-first1 = John | editor-last2 = Lim | editor-first2 = Paul C. H. | publisher = Cambridge University Press | series = Cambridge Companions to Religion | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=jGcgAwAAQBAJ | isbn = 978-0-521-67800-1 | pages = 34–47 }}
* {{cite book|last=Demos|first=John|title=A Little Commonwealth; Family Life in Plymouth Colony|url=https://archive.org/details/littlecommonweal00demorich|url-access=registration|year=1970|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0-19-501355-9}}
* {{cite book | last = Fischer | first = David Hackett | author-link = David Hackett Fischer | title = Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America | year = 1989 | isbn = 0-19-506905-6 | title-link = Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America | publisher = Oxford University Press }}
* {{cite journal|last=Foster|first=Thomas|title=Deficient Husbands: Manhood, Sexual Incapacity, and Male Marital Sexuality in Seventeenth-Century New England|journal=The William and Mary Quarterly|date=October 1999|volume=56|issue=4|pages=723–744|doi=10.2307/2674233|jstor=2674233}}
* {{cite book |last= Gay |first= Peter |author-link= Peter Gay |title= The Bourgeois Experience: The Tender Passion |year= 1984 |publisher= W. W. Norton & Company |isbn= 978-0393319033 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=et7SYIGzjNYC&pg=PA202 |access-date= 25 December 2021 |archive-date= 4 April 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230404154016/https://books.google.com/books?id=et7SYIGzjNYC&pg=PA202 |url-status= live }}
* {{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eBLst8a8uYYC|title=The Bible, Protestantism, and the Rise of Natural Science|last=Harrison|first=Peter|year=2001|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0521000963|access-date=5 September 2016|archive-date=4 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404154022/https://books.google.com/books?id=eBLst8a8uYYC|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |first=Christopher |last=Hill |title=The World Turned Upside Down: Radical Ideas During the English Revolution |url=https://archive.org/details/worldturnedupsid00hill |url-access=registration |publisher=Viking |year=1972 |isbn=978-0670789757 }}
* {{cite book | last = Hotson | first = Howard | title = Paradise Postponed: Johann Heinrich Alsted and the Birth of Calvinist Millenarianism | publisher = Springer Science and Business Media | year = 2000 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=36bIAwAAQBAJ | isbn = 978-9401594943 | access-date = 14 February 2020 | archive-date = 4 April 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230404154022/https://books.google.com/books?id=36bIAwAAQBAJ | url-status = live }}
* {{cite book|last=Johnson|first=James Turner|title=A Society Ordained by God|url=https://archive.org/details/societyordainedb0000john|url-access=registration|year=1970|publisher=Abingdon Press|location=Nashville|isbn=978-0687389339}}
* {{cite book | last = Keeble | first = N. H. | title = The Literary Culture of Nonconformity in Later Seventeenth-Century England | url = https://archive.org/details/literarycultureo0000keeb | url-access = registration | year = 1987 | publisher = University of Georgia Press | isbn = 978-0820309514 }}
* {{cite book |first=Douglas F. |last=Kelly |title=The Emergence of Liberty in the Modern World: The Influence of Calvin on Five Governments from the 16th Through 18th Centuries |publisher=P&R |year=1992}}
* {{cite book | last = Lamont | first = William M. | title = Godly Rule: Politics and Religion 1603–60 | url = https://archive.org/details/godlyrulepolitic0000lamo | url-access = registration | year = 1969 | publisher = Macmillan | isbn = 978-0333100745 }}
* {{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-dvIUPxicf8C&q=dissenter+described+those+who+%22dissented%22+from+the+1662+Book+of+Common+Prayer&pg=PA196|title=The Greenian Moment: T.H. Green, Religion and Political Argument in Victorian Britain|last=Leighton|first=Denys|year=2004|publisher=Imprint Academic|isbn=978-0907845546|access-date=28 October 2020|archive-date=4 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404154238/https://books.google.com/books?id=-dvIUPxicf8C&q=dissenter+described+those+who+%22dissented%22+from+the+1662+Book+of+Common+Prayer&pg=PA196|url-status=live}}
* {{Cite book |last=Lewis |first=C. S. |title=Selected Literary Essays |place=New York |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1969 |isbn=0-521-07441-X |author-link=C. S. Lewis |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/selectedliterary0000lewi }}
* {{cite journal | last = Maclear | first = J. F. | title = New England and the Fifth Monarchy: The Quest for the Millennium in Early American Puritanism | journal = The William and Mary Quarterly | volume = 32 | issue = 2 | pages = 223–260 | publisher = Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture | date = April 1975 | jstor = 1921563 | doi = 10.2307/1921563 }}
* {{cite book|editor-last1=Miller|editor-first1=Perry|editor-last2=Johnson|editor-first2=Thomas H.|title=The Puritans: A Sourcebook of Their Writings|year=2014|publisher=Courier Corporation}}
* {{cite book|last=Miller|first=Randall M. |title=The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Daily Life in America|year=2008|publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]]|isbn=978-0313065361}}
* {{cite thesis |type=PhD |first=Michael A. |last=Milton |title=The Application of the Faith of the Westminster Assembly in the Ministry of the Welsh Puritan, Vavasor Powell (1617–1670)|publisher=University of Wales |year=1997}}
* {{cite book | last = Norton | first = Mary Beth | title = People and a Nation: A History of the United States, Volume 1: To 1877, Brief Edition | publisher = Cengage Learning | year = 2008 }}
* {{cite book|last=Norton|first=Mary Beth|title=Separated by Their Sex: Women in Public and Private in the Colonial Atlantic World|year=2011|publisher=Cornell University Press|location=Ithaca}}
* {{cite book|last=Nuttall|first=Geoffrey F.|title=The Holy Spirit in Puritan Faith and Experience|url=https://archive.org/details/holyspiritinpuri0000nutt|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/holyspiritinpuri0000nutt/page/9 9]|year=1992|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-60941-6}}
* {{cite book|last=Porterfield|first=Amanda|title=Female Piety in Puritan New England the Emergence of Religious Humanism|year=1992|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York}}
* {{cite book|last=Saxton|first=Martha|title=Being Good: Women's Moral Values in Early America|url=https://archive.org/details/beinggoodwomensm00saxt|url-access=registration|year=2003|publisher=Hill and Wang|location=New York|isbn=978-0374110116}}
* {{cite journal | last = Spencer | first = Ivor Debenham | title = Christmas, the Upstart | journal = The New England Quarterly | volume = 8 | issue = 4 | pages = 498–517| publisher = The New England Quarterly, Inc. | date = December 1935 | jstor = 360356 | doi = 10.2307/360356 }}
* {{cite book | last = Spraggon | first = Julie | title = Puritan Iconoclasm During the English Civil War | publisher = Boydell Press | series = Studies in Modern British Religious History | volume = 6 | year = 2003 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=8QYywtJ4rb0C | isbn = 978-0851158952 | access-date = 13 February 2020 | archive-date = 4 April 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230404154045/https://books.google.com/books?id=8QYywtJ4rb0C | url-status = live }}
* {{cite book | last = Spurr | first = John | title = English Puritanism, 1603–1689 | publisher = Palgrave MacMillan | series = Social History in Perspective | year = 1998 | isbn = 978-0-333-60189-1 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Ulrich |first=Laurel Thatcher |title=Vertuous Women Found: New England Ministerial Literature, 1668–1735 |journal=American Quarterly |year=1976 |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=20–40 |doi=10.2307/2712475 |url=https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/14123819/Vertuous%20Women%20Found.pdf?sequence=1 |jstor=2712475 |s2cid=144156297 |access-date=4 November 2018 |archive-date=4 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181104211127/https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/14123819/Vertuous%20Women%20Found.pdf?sequence=1 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite journal |last=Watras |first=Joseph |title=Education and Evangelism in the English Colonies |journal=American Educational History Journal |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=205–219 |date=2008 |issn=1535-0584}}
* {{cite book |last=West |first=Jim |title=Drinking with Calvin and Luther! |publisher=Oakdown Books |year=2003 |isbn=0-9700326-0-9}}
* {{cite book |last=White |first=James F. |title=The Sacraments in Protestant Practice and Faith |publisher=[[Abingdon Press]] |year=1999 |isbn=0-687-03402-7}}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
{{Wiktionary}}
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Commons category|Puritanism}}
* {{cite book |last=Brady |first=David |title=The Contribution of British Writers Between 1560 and 1830 to the Interpretation of Revelation 13.16–18 |publisher=Mohr Siebeck |year=1983 |isbn=978-3161444975}}
* Bremer, Francis J. ''Lay Empowerment and the Development of Puritanism.'' New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.
* {{cite encyclopedia|last=Eicholz|first=Hans |author-link=|editor-first=Ronald |editor-last=Hamowy |editor-link=Ronald Hamowy |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism |chapter=Puritanism|chapter-url=https://sk.sagepub.com/reference/libertarianism/n251.xml|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=yxNgXs3TkJYC |<!-- doi=10.4135/9781412965811.n251 | -->year=2008 |publisher= [[SAGE Publishing|Sage]]; [[Cato Institute]] |location= Thousand Oaks, CA  |isbn= 978-1412965804 |oclc=750831024| <!-- lccn = 2008009151 | -->pages=407–408}}
* Giussani, Luigi. [https://www.amazon.com/American-Protestant-Theology-Historical-Sketch/dp/0773541977 American Protestant Theology: A Historical Sketch]. McGill-Queens UP (2013).
* Hall, David D. (2019). ''The Puritans: A Transatlantic History''. Princeton University Press. [http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=55135 H-Net online review].
* Neuman, Meredith Marie (2013). ''Jeremiah's Scribes: Creating Sermon Literature in Puritan New England.'' Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.
* {{cite book | last = Olsen | first = Viggo Norskov | title = John Foxe and the Elizabethan Church | url = https://archive.org/details/johnfoxeelizabet0000olse | url-access = registration | year = 1973 | publisher = Berkeley, University of California Press | isbn = 978-0520020757 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Winship |first1=Michael P. |title=Hot Protestants: A History of Puritanism in England and America |date=2018 |publisher=Yale University Press}}

===Puritan works===
* {{cite book | last = Dent | first = Arthur | author-link = Arthur Dent (Puritan) | title = The Plain Man's Pathway to Heaven | date = 1601 | publisher = Belfast, North of Ireland Bk. [and] Tract Depository | url = https://archive.org/details/plainmanspathway00dentuoft }}
* {{cite book | last = Rogers | first = Richard | author-link = Richard Rogers (theologian) | title = Seven Treatises | date = 1610 | url = https://archive.org/details/seven00roge }}
* {{cite book | last = Scudder | first = Henry | author-link = Henry Scudder (priest) | title = Christian's Daily Walk | date = 1627 | url = http://www.digitalpuritan.net/Digital%20Puritan%20Resources/Scudder,%20Henry/The%20Christian's%20Daily%20Walk.pdf }}
* {{cite book | last = Sibbes | first = Richard | author-link = Richard Sibbes | title = The Bruised Reed and Smoking Flax | date = 1620 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Hzw3AAAAMAAJ }}

{{Christian History|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Puritans| ]]
[[Category:Puritanism| ]]
[[Category:Christian terminology]]
[[Category:Protestantism]]
[[Category:Congregationalism]]
[[Category:English Reformation]]
[[Category:History of Baptists]]
[[Category:History of Reformed Christianity]]
[[Category:History of Christianity in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:History of Christianity in the United States]]
[[Category:History of the Thirteen Colonies]]
[[Category:Anti-Catholicism in the United States]]
[[Category:Anti-Catholicism in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Presbyterianism in the United Kingdom]]