How Did Puritans Bring Change?

Puritan settlement brought change. Or so they thought. In some ways, they did bring change. In other ways, Puritans just recreated their lives back in England. The Puritans left England with the idea of creating a new form of Government, a democracy, but the legacy they left behind proves otherwise.

In the early 1500s, the 95 Thesis was posted on a church door, and the Protestant Reformation began. New religions were created, and the numerous new religions sprouted from the old. John Calvin created Calvinism, and from that, Puritanism emerged. Their goal was to “purify” the Catholic Church In England, Puritanism faced a rocky beginning; Puritans were attacked, imprisoned, or even killed. The persecutions continued. The Puritans needed a way out. In response, the Puritans, along with the Pilgrims (Separatists) crossed the Ocean in hope of finding peace in the New World. As said by Stephen Foster, “A new land, separated from king and bishops by three thousand miles of Atlantic Ocean, offered Winthrop’s company their only chance of creating the world they wanted.” Their intention was to build a colony centered on religion, which they succeeded in doing. Puritans also wanted to create a government, and a lifestyle different from that of their persecutors.

The

From their mistakes, people have learned. In order to have a functioning democracy, it is obvious that the church and the government must be clearly separated. Without separation, the only way to succeed is with a homogenous society. That is impossible. With separation, there can be majority rule and all people will have a say. Things can be fair. Laws cannot be predetermined. The people must create them. Those things all will happen with the separation of church and state. That is where the Puritans were lacking, if they would have fully separated the church, maybe they would have created the first successful democracy in the New