ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -The Puritans believed God had chosen a few people, “the elect, ” for salvation. The rest of humanity was condemned to eternal damnation. But no one really knew if he or she was saved or damned; Puritans lived in a constant state of spiritual anxiety, searching for signs of God’s favor or anger.

Detailed explanation-2: -The Puritans were members of a religious reform movement known as Puritanism that arose within the Church of England in the late 16th century. They believed the Church of England was too similar to the Roman Catholic Church and should eliminate ceremonies and practices not rooted in the Bible.

Detailed explanation-3: -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.

Detailed explanation-4: -Puritans, then, were distinguished for being “more intensely protestant than their protestant neighbors or even the Church of England". As a term of abuse, Puritan was not used by Puritans themselves. Those referred to as Puritan called themselves terms such as “the godly", “saints", “professors", or “God’s children".