What is a Puritan?

A Puritan is a member of a 17th-century Christian religious sect that emigrated from England to what is now the United States. Their beliefs have had a profound influence on American society for hundreds of years.

“Puritans Going to Church” by G. H. Boughton, 1884. Source: Library of Congress

But where did they come from?

What does it mean to be a Puritan?

Some background information

Before about 1500, the Roman Catholic Church was the major religious and political organization for most of Europe. There was no separation between Church and State. Kings were considered to be divinely appointed according to God’s will. Sin and crime were the same things.

Pope Clement VII, painted by Sebastiano del Piambo, about 1531

The Protestant ReformationStarting around 1500, various

groups around Europe began to question the power of the Roman Catholic church. Some wanted to start new churches; others wanted the Roman Catholic church to change its practices or give up some of its power.

In England, King Henry the VIII wanted to have his marriage annulled so he could marry someone else. When Pope Clement VII refused to annul his marriage, Henry VIII declared that the Roman Catholic Church in England was now the Church of England, and its head was the King and not the Pope. Then he went ahead with his next marriage, and also took over all the Roman Catholic church properties in England. Henry VIII, painted in the workshop of Hans Holbein the Younger, about 1498

• The Puritans were people who felt that the Church of England was still too much like the Roman Catholic church, which they thought was corrupt and superstitious.

• The Puritans wanted to PURIFY the Church of England, to make further changes until the Church was perfect.

• Some people thought the only solution was to SEPARATE from the Church of England and start a new, pure Christian church. Those people were Separatists.

The Puritans were persecuted for their beliefs in England and eventually migrated to the North American colonies for religious freedom. (Their own freedom, that is. They did not tolerate other religions in their communities.)

The colonists who settled in Plymouth were mostly Separatists. The colonists who settled in Boston were mostly Puritans who just wanted to reform the Church of England.

Mayflower II, a replica of the Pilgrims’ ship. Photo by Wikitravel user OldPine.

Puritan beliefs• Living in complete agreement with the Bible. Education was important because everyone needs to be able to read the Bible for themselves. They also believed in keeping spiritual journals where they wrote about what God was telling them.

• God deals with individuals personally and intervenes in their lives. God sends messages to his people through daily events. (For example, a terrible storm might mean your town displeased God.)

• The Puritans saw themselves as a new version of the Biblical Israelites. God was leading them out of England/Egypt and into America/the Promised Land. They were fulfilling God’s plan.

• God has already decided who will go to heaven (be saved) and who won’t. It’s up to God; it’s not based on your life choices. Your eternal fate is predestined.

• Your job in life is to please God and try to find out if He has chosen you to be saved. (In Puritan terms, are you one of the “Elect”?)

• God showed who His Elect were by how well they behaved and how well they prospered. Therefore, if you wanted to believe you were Elect, you would behave very well and work very hard. This attitude has been called the root of the “Protestant Work Ethic.”

• Puritans did not tolerate dissent or non-Puritan religions.

• Puritans did not tolerate idleness or excessive celebration.

• Puritans used public punishments like whipping and humiliation to enforce the rules. They also executed people, usually by hanging them.

• Church leaders and government leaders were closely connected, sometimes the same people; there was still no separation of church and state.

The Puritans are still an important symbol in American culture, but what is their meaning to

Americans today? Hopefully our readings will help us explore that question.