The Puritans:
Their Beliefs and Reasons for Coming to America
By:
Bob Koernig
HIST 106
Prof. Shannon
4/18/2004
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In the early 17th century, the religious group who called themselves the Puritans
left England and crossed the Atlantic Ocean to establish a colony in North America. The
purpose of this paper is to explore the Puritan beliefs and why they left and traveled to New
England. Those who have studied the Puritans have discovered that there were many
reasons for leaving England, but most were rooted in the non conformity of their beliefs.
King Henry VIII as a result of the reformation, declared himself the supreme
head of the Church of England. His act of supremacy states, “Albeit the king’s majesty
justly and rightly is, and ought to be, supreme head of the Church of England, and is so
recognized by the clergy of this realm in their convocations; yet, nevertheless, for
conformation and corroboration thereof, and for increase of virtue in Christ’s religion within
this realm of England…..shall be taken, accepted, and reputed the only supreme head on
earth of the Church of England.”1 Thus began the Church of England. The Church of
England set out to break away from the Catholic Church and introduce reforms in a new
protestant religion. The Puritans however believed that the newly founded church still held
too many of the catholic churches remnants.2 The puritans differed from other
nonconformist groups at the time in that instead of wanting to break off from the church
completely, they wished to reform it. After their efforts at trying to reform the church by
enlisting the help of the archbishop had failed, they decided to solicit the help of parliament
by sending them a letter entitled An Admonition to Parliament. This venture also failed and
the Puritans were left with no choice but to break away from the Church of England all
together so that they could pursue their own beliefs.
1
Daniel Neal. The History of the Puritans or Nonconformists.Vol. 1. ( New York: Harper &
Brothers, 1848.) pg. 32
2 Mircea Eliade ed.. The Encyclopedia of Religion, Vol. XII. (New York: Macmillan Publishing
Company, 1987.) pg. 102
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The basis for the Puritan’s beliefs was an emphasis on the righteousness and
sovereignty of God.3 God, they said directed all things by exercise of his will and
directed all things to an intelligent end.4 This differed from the catholic point of view
that priests were holier than the rest of the congregation. The Puritans also were
more partial to the teachings of the Old Testament.
The Puritans view of the Old Testament scriptures especially the story of Adam
and Eve affected their views of salvation. To them, human beings were depraved
sinners incapable of earning merit in the eyes of God.5 However, their belief structure
provided for God choosing those who were worthy for salvation. This predestination
of sorts was a mainstay in the Puritan religion. Believing in predestination, they
explained that all human beings were pledged by the covenant of works to adhere to
the divine law and were justly condemned for failure to adhere to it.6 Meaning
basically that they had to live strictly to the divine law in every aspect of their lives, or
the threat of fire and brimstone would be realized. Even those who were predestined
for salvation could not escape the tradition of divine law.
The Puritan life in keeping true to the divine law did everything in moderation.
While they did dress in their social classes and drank alcoholic beverages, they
condemned those who would take these things to excess.7 Richard Baxter, a highly
3
Mircea Eliade ed.. The Encyclopedia of Religion, Vol. XII, pg 103.
Mircea Eliade ed.. The Encyclopedia of Religion, Vol. XII, pg 103.
5 Mircea Eliade ed.. The Encyclopedia of Religion, Vol. XII,pg 103.
6 Mircea Eliade ed.. The Encyclopedia of Religion, Vol. XII pg.103.
7 Mircea Eliade ed.. The Encyclopedia of Religion, Vol. XII pg.104.
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regarded Puritan is quoted as saying, “Overdoing is the most ordinary way to
undoing.”8 Undoing meaning your condemnation to hell.
Morally, the Puritans believed that their role in society was to be a chosen
people called to create a New Jerusalem.9 This was a much different view than most
of the other religions held at the time. As Calvinism has predestination as well, and
some aspects of the Puritan belief system were decidedly based on other religions at
the time, this was what set the Puritans apart from everyone else. They truly believed
that they were a group apart from the rest of organized religion.
One of the factors that set the Puritans apart from other religions at the time,
was that they held the Sabbath in true Old Testament fashion; only reading and
learning of the scriptures were permitted. When other religions were playing and
gambling on the Sabbath, Puritans were at home quietly gaining a better
understanding of God. When a certain situation would come up, the rest of the
Christian world had a set, preordained prayer. The Puritans however, were against
this. They believed that spontaneous expressions could not be expressed in prayer
adequately without inclusion of that spontaneous event in the prayer. The Catholic
Church of the time and of the present time still includes ritualization of liturgy in their
services.10 The Puritans were vehemently against this practice. This belief was most
likely due to their everything in moderation conviction. Puritanism certainly was
different from all the other religions at that time period. Throughout all the separatists
groups however, there was a similarity, persecution.
8
Mircea Eliade ed.. The Encyclopedia of Religion, Vol. XII pg. 104.
Mircea Eliade ed.. The Encyclopedia of Religion, Vol. XII pg. 104.
10 Mircea Eliade ed.. The Encyclopedia of Religion, Vol. XII pg. 104.
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4
In the decade spanning the years 1630 to 1640 there was a great migration
from England to the English colonies. At the above time, the church and the Puritans
were going through a period of high tensions. At the time Archbishop William Laud
was the head of the Church of England. The king sent him a decree giving him the
power to visit all the curches and buildings controlled by the church to state the
condition of the properties. When he went he found that the Puritans had been
abandoning the Church of England’s elaborate rituals, and allowing ecclesiastical
property to fall in to disuse and in some cases disrepair.11 Contrary to the universal
practice of the church, children in these nonconformist towns were going through life
not having participated in confirmation.12 This air of nonconformity prevailed in these
separatist towns because the lecturers who were unauthorized by the church and as
such had freedom from clerical control.13 With this newly gotten freedom, these
lecturers would encourage their congregations to side with the nonconformists.14
Even those who were ordained by the church were ripe for a change. When William
Laud was mad the Arch Bishop of Canterbury in 1633, he began his war on
nonconformity almost immediately. The King had already started the reforms. In one
case he banned all business transactions on church property. When Laud was given
the power to visit all the churches poor houses, hospitals and schools in the province
of Canterbury, he authorized all the Justices of the Peace to arrest all non conformists
Nellis M. Crouse. “The Causes of the Great Migration 1630-1640”, The New England
Quarterly, Vol. 5 No. 1, (1932). pg. 15
12 Nellis M. Crouse. “The Causes of the Great Migration 1630-1640”, pg. 15.
13 Nellis M. Crouse. “The Causes of the Great Migration 1630-1640”, pg. 15.
14 Nellis M. Crouse. “The Causes of the Great Migration 1630-1640”, pg. 15.
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who met in private, behind closed doors, to carry on conventicles contrary to the law
and to hale them before the Ecclesiastical Commission.15
Some of the earliest efforts of the Archbishop included compelling foreigners
that still believed in their protestant ways to conform to the Church of England. He
suggested to the King and the council the best way to rid the overwhelming sense of
nonconformity found in the highly diverse immigrant communities was to make them
conform to the Anglican ways. At first these rouge churches said they were exempt
from the authority of the Church of England, but Laud stuck with it and finally the
churches came around but not in the numbers Laud and the Kind had originally hoped
for. Laud wanted more than just partial conformity for the good of the church.
He proclaimed, he was not actuated by a desire to abolish toleration, but by a
fear the existence of such independent ecclesiastical units, each maintaining
its own discipline, would impair the unity of the Church of England, and might
establish what would be, in substance, a state without a state. On his
visitations, the archbishop found in certain quarters, evidence of a fast growing
Puritanism accompanied by a general indifference, and sometimes, by an open
hostility to the Church.16
This desire to unify all of England under one church, the Church of England,
was what set off the migrations of the Puritans. Whom the church was unable to
control had been brought before the council for censure.17 These lecturers would go
Nellis M. Crouse. “The Causes of the Great Migration 1630-1640”, pg. 17.
Nellis M. Crouse. “The Causes of the Great Migration 1630-1640”, pg. 19.
17 Nellis M. Crouse. “The Causes of the Great Migration 1630-1640”, pg. 19.
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before the council and were given a choice between removal to the colonies or
censure of their nonconformist teachings.
It was difficult for the church to do all of this on its own as its power had been
diminishing with the reformation and the continued defiance of the Separatists. The
people whom the archbishop wanted to impact would not be affected by idle threats or
arguments.18 As a result of the inclusion of civil law, there was an increasing desire
for the upper-class to leave the country and seek refuge abroad.19 This naturally
affected churches and towns in a negative way. Towns were depopulated, churches
abandoned services and fell into a state of disrepair. The congregations that did
remain were consolidated and forced to join other parishes.
One of those that did make the journey to North America, Thomas Shepard,
was banned from preaching by the Archbishop. Shepard felt unable to conform to the
church’s demands, and having felt that his liberty was threatened, and seeing no
reason for preaching in England left for New England.20 Many left in the previously
separatist towns wrote to Governor Winthrop in New England affirming their fears for
the future with so many ministers and Christians leaving for the colonies. Then a man
by the name of Cotton Mather preached to a great many Puritans saying, “It was now
also a time when some hundreds of those good people which had the nickname of
Puritans put on them, transported themselves, with their whole families and interests
into the desarts of America, that they might here peaceably erect Congregational
Churches.”21 All in all, the puritans left England not as Separatists from the church, but
Nellis M. Crouse.
Nellis M. Crouse.
20 Nellis M. Crouse.
21 Nellis M. Crouse.
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19
“The Causes of the Great Migration 1630-1640”, pg. 19.
“The Causes of the Great Migration 1630-1640”, pg. 20.
“The Causes of the Great Migration 1630-1640”, pg. 22.
“The Causes of the Great Migration 1630-1640”, pg. 23.
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rather as separatists from its corruptions, “to practice the positive part of church
reformation, and propagate the gospel in America.” The persecution from which the
Puritans fled was, then, one that was inspired in their opinion, by a party in the church,
whose control would soon bring it to the state of “the house which our savior saw built
upon the sand.”22
And so the Puritans left for the New World to search out religious freedom and
toleration, without a church and a government telling them what they can and cannot
believe. Their nonconformity was the major contributing factor in their leaving for
America. If they had not been such nonconformists, the Puritans might not have come
at all, and instead might have dropped their values due to the intense pressure of the
Church of England and the King himself.
22
Nellis M. Crouse. “The Causes of the Great Migration 1630-1640”, pg. 25.
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Works Consulted Page
Neal, Daniel. The History of the Puritans or Nonconformists.Vol. 1. New York:
Harper & Brothers, 1848.
Eliade, Mircea ed.. The Encyclopedia of Religion, Vol. XII. New York: Macmillan
Publishing Company, 1987.
Crouse, Nellis M.. “The Causes of the Great Migration 1630-1640”, The New
England Quarterly, Vol. 5 No. 1, (1932), 3-36.
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