Encyclopedia of world history (facts on file library of world history) 7 volume set ( PDFDrive ) 1528

318 Puritans and Puritanism throughout what became New England Numbers grew rapidly, reaching approximately 20,000 in 1640 and more than 100,000 by 1700 Splits also occurred within the Puritan ranks leading to the establishment of other Protestant colonies such as Rhode Island in the 1640s, which followed a Baptist tradition Other Protestant offshoots such as the Society of Friends or Quakers, which shared some Puritan tenets, settled in Pennsylvania, as did other Protestant settlers from Germany and Sweden, such as the Moravians and Lutherans, who founded other communities along the Eastern Seaboard The Puritan impact with its Calvinistic commitment to predestination, an acceptance of conversion as essential to spirituality, and belief in an elect membership within each church carried political dimension, which influenced governance in the major Puritan colonies Some have argued that this mixture of church and state created a theocracy, particularly in Massachusetts Bay Religious toleration, which was denied them in England, where they were viewed as dissenters, was not translated into general practice in their new lands As the decades progressed, difficulties arose as to how the power of the elect could be transferred to their descendents The Half-Way Covenant was one device, but in time, particularly with political change in England following the Glorious Revolution in 1688, greater toleration of those deemed the nonelect developed both inside and outside the Puritan colonies by the 18th century Puritanism in North America helped make the successful settlement of prosperous English colonies a reality Puritan belief in covenants, individual voices, simplicity, education, and morality would have a lasting effect on the development of democratic views and traditions, which, in turn, would have a major and lasting influence upon American life See also Puritans and Puritanism Further reading: Hill, Christopher Society and Puritanism in Pre-Revolutionary England London: Pimlico, 2002; Miller, Perry Errand into the Wilderness Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1975; Rutman, Darrett H American Puritanism New York: W W Norton & Company, 1980; Schuldiner, Michael, ed Studies in Puritan American Spirituality from Anne Bradstreet to Abraham Lincoln Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen, 2005; Simpson, Alan Puritanism in Old and New England Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1955 Theodore W Eversole Puritans and Puritanism In the 16th and 17th centuries, English Puritans were Calvinists in theological allegiance They believed in the supreme authority of God and the evangelical truth of the Bible, emphasized the predestinated salvation of the elect by God’s grace alone, strove to rehabilitate depraved human souls by living a saintly life out of gratitude of God’s grace, and preferred organizing of electoral and congregational communities according to the providence of God to earthly authority The Puritans shared a strong antipapal and anti-Catholic sentiment but disagreed as to how to construct a heavenly kingdom on earth The English Puritans distinguished themselves from other Protestants of the same period by their absolute conviction that all human beliefs, institutions, and actions ought to be rigorously verified by the literal meaning and syllogism of the Bible The complicated interactions among the Puritans, the Anglicans, and the Catholics had significant impact upon the direction of the Church of England and the emerging modern English nation during the Tudor and Stuart periods Queen Elizabeth’s role At the beginning of Queen Elizabeth I’s reign (1558– 1603), the exiled English Protestants, victims of the Marian restoration of Roman Catholicism, returned from the Continent, where they had experienced a “purer” Christian worship than that was prescribed in the Book of Common Prayer sanctioned by the English parliament of 1552 Some of their leaders believed that the Elizabethan Church of England retained “impure” Catholic elements in its liturgical formation A minority of radical Puritan clergy also wanted to replace the Anglican episcopacy with the Calvinist congregational structure and presented their demands in the Admonitions to Parliament in 1572 The document never reached the floor of Parliament because it displeased the queen Nevertheless, Puritan Nonconformists, those who refused to use the Book of Common Prayer in their congregations, began to emerge The Puritans, in general, did not threaten the queen’s regime; neither did they openly break with James I (r 1603–28) at the beginning of his reign In the Hampton Court Conference of 1604, the king authorized the production of the King James Version of the Bible, which pleased all Protestants, including the Puritans Nevertheless, the king vehemently defended his divine right and refused to make any concession to the Puritan Nonconformist demands; some Puritans grew discouraged about their reform efforts and began to separate