U3. ENGLISH SETTLEMENT. PURITANISM
1. THE RISE OF PURITANISM
As Virginia and Maryland evolved towards societies dominated by a small
aristocracy ruling over numerous bound borders, a very different social
order emerged in 17th century New England. The early history of that
region is intimately connected to the religious movement known as
Puritanism, which arose in England late in the 16th century. Puritanism
(radical Protestants) came to define a set of religious principles and a view
of how society should be organised. They all shared the conviction that
the Church of England retained too many elements of Catholicism in its
religious rituals and doctrines; many rejected the Catholic structure of
religious authority descending from a pope or king to archbishops, bishops
and priests.
Puritans considered religious belief a complex and demanding matter and
urged believers to seek the truth by reading the Bible and listening to
sermons by educated ministers (it was the central rite in Puritans
practice).
2. MORAL LIBERTY
Puritanism, however, was not simply a set of ideas but a state of mind, a
zealousness in pursuing the true faith that alienated many who held
differing religious views. A minority of Puritans (such as those who settled
in Plymouth Colony) became separatist, abandoning the Church of
England entirely to form their own independent churches.
