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 indulgences and penances, but cast them on the iron couch of introspection". [56] It was expected that conversion would be followed by sanctification—"the progressive growth in the saint's ability to better perceive and seek God's will, and thus to lead a holy life". [55] 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's The Plain Man's Pathway to Heaven (1601), Richard Rogers's Seven Treatises (1603), Henry Scudder's Christian's Daily Walk (1627) and Richard Sibbes's The Bruised Reed and Smoking Flax (1630). [57] Wroth, Lawrence C. (1965). The Colonial Printer. New York: Dover Publications, Inc. pp.230–236. ISBN 0-486-28294-5.

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. [57] Coffey & Lim 2008, pp.83–84: "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." Puritans rejected both Roman Catholic ( transubstantiation) and Lutheran ( sacramental union) teachings that Christ is physically present in the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper. Instead, Puritans embraced the Reformed doctrine of 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". [67] 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 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. [66] Drake, S. G. History Of The Early Discovery Of America And Landing Of The Pilgrims. Nabu Press, 2010. 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. [29]

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Gay, Peter (1984). The Bourgeois Experience: The Tender Passion. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0393319033. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023 . Retrieved 25 December 2021. In Pakistan, however, Aurangzeb is considered to be the personification of an ideal Muslim leader, a notion exemplified by his militarism, personal deference to Islam, and willingness to weave Islamic morality within his empire’s social fabric. Puritans eliminated choral music and musical instruments in their religious services because these were associated with Roman Catholicism; however, singing the Psalms was considered appropriate (see Exclusive psalmody). [70] 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. [71] Ecclesiology [ edit ] Polemical popular print with a Catalogue of Sects, 1647.Audrey Truschke, historian and associate professor of South Asian history at Rutgers University, notes that Aurangzeb’s puritanical nature was driven by a need to distinguish himself from Dara and was more a by-product of politics, not religion. Merrill, Louis Taylor (1945). "The Puritan Policeman". American Sociological Review. American Sociological Association. 10 (6): 766–776. doi: 10.2307/2085847. JSTOR 2085847. Archived from the original on 10 March 2022 . Retrieved 10 March 2022. The Merton Thesis is an argument about the nature of early experimental science proposed by Robert K. Merton. Similar to Max Weber's 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. [104] 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. [105] The Merton Thesis has resulted in continuous debates. [106] Behavioral regulations [ edit ] 1659 public notice in Boston deeming Christmas illegal Durston, Chris (December 1985). "Lords of Misrule: The Puritan War on Christmas 1642–60". History Today. Vol.35, no.12. pp.7–14. Archived from the original on 10 March 2007. The Puritans were members of a religious reform movement known as Puritanism that arose within the Church of England in the late 16th century. They believed the Church of England was too similar to the Roman Catholic Church and should eliminate ceremonies and practices not rooted in the Bible.

a member of an English religious group in the 16th and 17th centuries who wanted to make church ceremonies simpler and emphasized moral behavior that forbid many pleasures The Westminster Divines, on the other hand, were divided over questions of church polity and split into factions supporting a reformed episcopacy, presbyterianism, congregationalism, and Erastianism. The membership of the Assembly was heavily weighted towards the Presbyterians, but Oliver Cromwell was a Puritan and an independent Congregationalist Separatist 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, and England was not the theocratic state which leading Puritans had called for as "godly rule". [30] This theological view did not in any way endear the Puritans to James I or most members of the Anglican Church. Moderate Puritans continued to serve in the Church in the early years of James I's reign, but the fundamentalists formed their own congregations and met secretly, especially the so-called separatists who believed one needed to leave the Anglican Church completely to save one's soul. These secret meetings were illegal, and when a congregation was discovered, its members were persecuted. The Great Migration

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- Civil War constitution with only minor changes, and the Puritans found themselves sidelined. A traditional estimate of historian Calamy is that around 2,400 Puritan clergy left the Church in the " Great Ejection" of 1662. [31] At this point, the term " Dissenter" came to include "Puritan", but more accurately described those (clergy or lay) who "dissented" from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. [32] 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 led to the development of capitalism. 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. [149] 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 International Religious Freedom Day to recognise the importance of freedom of religion. [144] 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. [143] The hanging of Dyer on Boston Common marked the beginning of the end of the Puritan theocracy. [145] In 1661, King Charles II explicitly forbade Massachusetts from executing anyone for professing Quakerism. [145] In 1684, England revoked the Massachusetts charter, sent over a royal governor to enforce English laws in 1686 and, in 1689, passed a broad Toleration Act. [145]

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 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. [59] 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. [39] [40] [41] [42] 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). [42] [43] [44] [45] The Puritans also set up a college ( Harvard University) only six years after arriving in Boston. [42] [46] Beliefs [ edit ] Calvinism [ edit ] Part of a series on

The sermon was central to Puritan piety. [60] 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. [61] On Sundays, Puritan ministers often shortened the liturgy to allow more time for preaching. [20] Puritan churchgoers attended two sermons on Sundays and as many weekday sermons and lectures they could find, often traveling for miles. [62] Puritans were distinct for their adherence to Sabbatarianism. [63]