ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -The Puritans were strict Calvinists, or followers of the reformer John Calvin. Calvin taught that God was all-powerful and completely sovereign. Human beings were depraved sinners. God had chosen a few people, “the elect, ” for salvation.

Detailed explanation-2: -Their doctrines stressed original sin–that all people are sinners (for Adam sinned), but that God, in his infinite mercy, has chosen to save a few. Since He knows everything, he knows who will be saved (and in Heaven) and who will be damned to Hell; however, a person does not know for sure if he or she is saved.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Puritans believed that the Bible was God’s true law, and that it provided a plan for living. The established church of the day described access to God as monastic and possible only within the confines of “church authority".

Detailed explanation-4: -The Puritans were seeking freedom, but they didn’t understand the idea of toleration. They came to America to find religious freedom-but only for themselves. They had little tolerance or even respect for the Pequot Indians, who lived in nearby Connecticut and Rhode Island.