Puritans
Puritans British Protestants who were particularly influential during the 16th and 17th centuries. They originated in the reign of Elizabeth I as a faction within the Church of England; their chief aim was to make it a truly Protestant Church, rather than an Anglo-Catholic one. Following the teachings of Calvin, they were initially opposed to Anglicanism because of its preoccupation with what they considered to be ‘Popish’ practice. However, they later demanded the establishment of Presbyterianism. In the 17th century, many of the parliamentary opponents of James I and Charles I were Puritans. Among them were the Pilgrims who emigrated to America. The English Civil War (1642–51) resulted from attempts by Puritan parliamentarians to block Charles I's policies on religious grounds. After the war, the Puritans' reached their in 1653, when Oliver Cromwell established the Protectorate. In 1660, the authority of the Church of England as an Anglican institution was re-established, although 30 years later Presbyterianism was accepted as the state-supported form of Christianity in Scotland. In England, the Puritans lived on as Dissenters. See also Nonconformism
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Puritans