17 regard themselves as being an “elect nation” and Americans absorbed the idea of
mission. It is not clear that Puritanism led straight to democracy. Yet puritan church government taught people to practice responsible citizenship, and it
obliged rules to serve a higher law than self-interest. On the whole, the movement helped to weaken traditional elites and ideologies. As an expression of the middle
class in England, Puritanism also encouraged capitalism and individualism.
3.2 Puritanism in England
Puritanism arose during the reign of Elizabeth I. The religious situation was in flux when Elizabeth took the throne on 1558. The church of England had
changed from Catholic to Protestant under Henry VIII, her father. But with Mary Tudor, Catholicism was restored. During Mary’s reign 1553-1558 Protestants
were completed to conform or go into exile. No one believed in religious toleration. The religion of the head of the state was official religion of the nation.
To disagree was commit an act of treason. Elizabeth I was a Protestant. But what kind of Protestantism would the
church of England represent when Elizabeth gained the throne. The english who had been exiles in Europe came back advocating different conceptions of the
church. The queen, a conservative, did not favor the Calvinists, who a through change from Catholicism. Her rejection of the radical party, or Puritans, as they
came to be called stopped the reform movement short of success. But the Puritans hoped that Parliament or the queen would agree of their demands. As put forward
by the leader of the party in the 1570’s, Thomas Cartwright, these included
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18 abolition of the bishops, stricter enforcement of church discipline, elimination of
most ceremonies and rituals, and higher standards for the clergy. Puritans had no intentions of establishing their own church. Theirs was a
movement of reform within the church of England but with the queen preventing reform, some Puritans choose another road. Claiming their salvation was
threatened because the church of England was not a true church, they set up purified congregrations of their own. The most important of these Separatists,
Robert Browne, withdrew from the church in 1579. A handful of others followed Browne’s example. Separatism had little impact on the Church of England, but it
revealed that Puritans suffered from intense frustation. Elizabeth I was succeeded in 1603 by James I, whose son, Charles I
became king in 1625. The Stuart kings disliked Puritanism as intensely as Elizabeth, and refused to satisfy requests for reform. Both kings claimed more
privileges and powers for their office than Parliament was willing to concede. The conflict between Charles and Parliament exploded into civil war in 1642. Puritans
gave strong support to Parliament, which, after its victory over the crown, ordered many of the Puritans reform into practice.
At long last having power to do as they pleased, the Puritans suddenly discovered that they could not agree. Many favored the Presbyterian model of
church government as practiced in Scotland. In 1643, Parliament summoned the Westminster Assembly of Divines, which approved the Presbyterian standards. A
counterplan was put forward by minister who became known as Independents of
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19 Congregationalists. The preferred a system of government gave that independence
to each congregation and restricted church membership to visible saints. Congregationalists had an importantly in Oliver Cromwell. A leading
general in the civil war, he assumed control of the government after the execution of Charles I in 1649. Cromwell allowed a degree of religious toleration, however,
and during his rule, Puritanism broke into sects as some Puritans became Presbyterians or Congregationalists and other turned baptists or quakers. Never
again would the movement achieve unity in England see also civil war, English. The restoration of Charles II to the throne in 1660 ended the role of
Puritans in government. A period of persecution followed, with most Puritans having to practice their religion in secret. As toleration slowly became state
policy, these groups, known collectively as Nonconformists, reemerged. Nonconformists supported the Glorious Revolution of 1688 when last of Stuarts,
the Catholic James II, lost the throne to a Protestant, William of Orange. The new king granted Nonconformists the right to have their own churches. There after,
Puritanism existed mainly outside the church of England in separate denominations.
Yet, within the church, the movement stirred to life in the middle of the 18
th
century. Three extraordinary minister, the brothers John and Charles Wesley and George Whitefield, inspired a vast revival of religious fervor that led
ultimately to the establishment of Methodism. In the early 19
th
century a fresh wave of reform stirred the church. The Evangelical movement, as it was called,
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20 took up social causes such as temperance and anti slavery. Nonconformists and
Evangelicals became mainstays of moral and social reform in 19
th
century Britain.
3.3 Puritanism in America
