Puritanism

"Name given in the 16th century to the more extreme Protestants within the Church of England who thought the English Reformation had not gone far enough in reforming the doctrines and structure of the church; they wanted to purify their national church by eliminating every shred of Catholic influence. In the 17th century many Puritans emigrated to the New World, where they sought to found a holy Commonwealth in New England. Puritanism remained the dominant cultural force in that area into the 19th century.

English Puritans were not associated with one single theological doctrine or definition of the church (although many were Calvinists), one common denominator, however, was their extremely critical attitude regarding the religious compromises made during the reign of Elizabeth I. They encouraged direct personal religious experience, sincere moral conduct, and simple worship services; their efforts in that direction were sustained by intense theological convictions and definite expectations about how seriously Christianity should be taken as the focus of human existence.

After James I became king of England in 1603, Puritan leaders asked him to grant several reforms. At the Hampton Court Conference (1604), however, he rejected most of their proposals, which included abolition of bishops. Puritanism, best expressed by William Ames and later by Richard Baxter, gained much popular support early in the 17th century. The government and the church hierarchy, however, especially under Archbishop William Laud, became increasingly repressive, causing many Puritans to emigrate. Those who remained formed a powerful element within the parliamentarian party that defeated Charles I in the English Civil War. During the Commonwealth, government was dominated by Puritans, among them Oliver Cromwell and John Milton. During the Commonwealth more radical (democratic, anarchic and/or proto-communist) Puritan sects emerged, such as Ranters, Diggers, Levellers and Quakers. The restoration of the monarchy (1660) also restored Anglicanism as norm, and the Puritan clergy were expelled from the Church of England. Persecution was intensified after the rising of the Fifth Monarchy Men (or Venner's Rising) in 1661, according to the legislation of the so-called Clarendon Code. Dissenters (this was the umbrella term for members of Puritan sects, because they dissented from the teachings of the Anglican Church) were excluded from attending university and government posts. Adding insult to injury, the hypocritical, lecherous and stupid Puritan was a stock-character in Restoration Comedy.

Convictions Puritanism generally extended the thought of the Reformation, with distinctive emphases on four convictions: (1) that personal salvation was entirely from God, (2) that the Bible provided the indispensable guide to life, (3) that the church should reflect the express teaching of Scripture, and (4) that society was one unified whole.

The Puritans believed that humankind was utterly dependent upon God for salvation. With their predecessors in England and with Luther and Calvin they believed that reconciliation with God came as a gift of his grace received by faith. They were Augustinians who regarded humans as sinners, unwilling and unable to meet the demands, or to enjoy the fellowship, of a righteous God apart from God's gracious initiative."

Source: http://mb-soft.com/believe/txc/puritani.htm [Here you can read the full history of Puritanism in the UK and the US.]