ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -These reformers, who followed the teachings of John Calvin and other Protestant reformers, were called Puritans because of their insistence on purifying the Church of England of what they believed to be unscriptural, Catholic elements that lingered in its institutions and practices.

Detailed explanation-2: -Puritans tried to purify the established Church of England By the mid-sixteenth century, some reformers thought that Protestant denominations had not gone far enough in “purifying” the church and taking it back to its New Testament roots. Puritans were among those intent on purifying the established Church of England.

Detailed explanation-3: -The roots of Puritanism are to be found in the beginnings of the English Reformation. The name “Puritans” (they were sometimes called “precisionists”) was a term of contempt assigned to the movement by its enemies.

Detailed explanation-4: -John Winthrop (1588–1649) was an early Puritan leader whose vision for a godly commonwealth created the basis for an established religion that remained in place in Massachusetts until well after adoption of the First Amendment.

Detailed explanation-5: -A Protestant group called the Puritans wanted to purify, or reform, the Anglican Church. The Puritans thought that the bishops and priests had too much power over church members. The most extreme Protestants wanted to separate from the Church of England.