Puritanism

What is Puritanism and what did the Puritans believe?

The Puritans were a widespread group of people who took a stand for religious purity in the 17^th century in Europe.

The word Puritan was coined as a term for those people who advocated more purity in religious doctrine.

The English Puritans believed that the English Reformation had not gone far enough and that the Church of England was still tolerating too many practices that were associated with the Church of Rome: hierarchical leadership and various rituals of the Church.

Their rise was directly related to the increased knowledge that came to the common people in the Age of Enlightenment. The Bible became more accessible to commoners; many began to read the Bible for themselves.

Puritans believed that each individual, as each congregation, was directly responsible to God.

Both America and Great Britain owe a great debt to the Puritans for the foundations they laid that gave us the framework for our freedoms today.

The belief in public education comes from the Puritans, who founded the first school in America (Roxbury 1635), as well as the first college (Harvard, 1639).

Some Puritans wanted to completely separate from the Church of England and they were called “Separatists” who went on the Mayflower in 1620.

The mentality in the daily life of a Puritan in Colonial America was very strong. They believed that idle hands were the devil’s playgrounds.

Puritans focused on living simple and peaceful lives.

• Widespread= esteso/diffuso
• Rise= aumento
• Advocated= esortare
• Coined= coniare
• The Age of Enlightenment= illuminismo