ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -Their society was a theocracy that governed every aspect of their lives. Freedom of religion and freedom of speech or of the press were as foreign to the Puritans as to the Church of England. When other colonists arrived with differing beliefs, they were driven out by the Puritans.

Detailed explanation-2: -IN THE 1630S, ENGLISH PURITANS IN MASSACHUSETTS BAY COLONY CRE-ATED A SELF-GOVERNMENT THAT WENT FAR BEYOND WHAT EXISTED IN ENGLAND. SOME HISTORIANS ARGUE THAT IT WAS A RELIGIOUS GOVERNMENT, OR THEOCRACY. OTHERS CLAIM IT WAS A DEMOCRACY.

Detailed explanation-3: -theocracy, government by divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided. In many theocracies, government leaders are members of the clergy, and the state’s legal system is based on religious law. Theocratic rule was typical of early civilizations.

Detailed explanation-4: -The Puritans, who came to Massachusetts Bay after the Pilgrims came to Plymouth, came to set up a theocracy, a “city on the hill” that would show the rest of Europe, especially England with its religion that they regarded as corrupted, just what a religious community could be.