Facts:
– Arose out of Church of England around 1560 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth
– The name came from efforts to “purify” the Church of England by those who felt that the Reformation had not yet been completed
– In 1620 founded Plymouth Colony
– Instrumental in formation of the Westminster Catechism
Puritan beliefs:
– Shunned practices based on tradition alone
– Simple clothes for priests
– Simple ceremonies in Church
– Simple decorations(if any) in Churches
– No “superstition” (e.g. rejection of transubstantiation)
– Abolition of Church Hierarchy
– Opposition to the Monarch being head of the Church
– Calvinistic theology
Famous Puritans (or had close ties):
– Richard Baxter
– John Bunyan – Pilgrim’s Progress
– Oliver Cromwell
– Cotton Mather
– John Milton – Paradise Lost
– John Owen
Links:
Wikipedia
Puritanism,Puritans
Infoplease
Bartleby
The Major English Puritans
Puritans.net
Puritan Board Forum
The Example of the English Puritans