While the Puritans were united in their goal of furthering the English Reformation, they were always divided over issues of ecclesiology and church polity, specifically questions relating to the manner of organizing congregations, how individual congregations should relate with one another and whether established national churches were scriptural. [54] On these questions, Puritans divided between supporters of episcopal polity, presbyterian polity and congregational polity. The idea that Akbar was not a devout Muslim is rooted in his policy of Din-e-Ilahi, which loosely combines aspects of different religions including Islam, Catholicism and Jainism. Although there is no evidence that Akbar attempted to promote this ideology amongst his subjects (its adherents were numbered at roughly 19 during his reign), Din-e-Ilahi is used by his critics as proof of his vision to distort Islam by combining it with other religions.

Puritan rule in England was marked by limited religious toleration. The Toleration Act of 1650 repealed the Act of Supremacy, Act of Uniformity, and all laws making recusancy a crime. There was no longer a legal requirement to attend the parish church on Sundays (for both Protestants and Catholics). In 1653, responsibility for recording births, marriages and deaths was transferred from the church to a civil registrar. The result was that church baptisms and marriages became private acts, not guarantees of legal rights, which provided greater equality to dissenters. [139] Further information: History of education in the United States Cotton Mather, influential New England Puritan minister, portrait by Peter Pelham This theological view did not in any way endear the Puritans to James I or most members of the Anglican Church. Moderate Puritans continued to serve in the Church in the early years of James I's reign, but the fundamentalists formed their own congregations and met secretly, especially the so-called separatists who believed one needed to leave the Anglican Church completely to save one's soul. These secret meetings were illegal, and when a congregation was discovered, its members were persecuted. The Great MigrationPuritans should not be confused with other radical Protestant groups of the 16th and 17th centuries, such as Quakers, Seekers, and Familists, who believed that individuals could be directly guided by the Holy Spirit and prioritized direct revelation over the Bible. [12] Morris, John W. (2011). The Historic Church: An Orthodox View of Christian History. Author House. p.438. Perhaps most important, as Max Weber profoundly understood, was the strength of Puritanism as a way of coping with the contradictory requirements of Christian ethics in a world on the verge of modernity. It supplied ethics that somehow balanced charity and self-discipline. It counseled moderation within psychology that saw worldly prosperity as a sign of divine favor. Such ethics were particularly urgent in a New World where opportunity was rich, but the source of moral authority was obscure.

Puritans eliminated choral music and musical instruments in their religious services because these were associated with Roman Catholicism; however, singing the Psalms was considered appropriate (see Exclusive psalmody). [70] Church organs were commonly damaged or destroyed in the Civil War period, such as when an axe was taken to the organ of Worcester Cathedral in 1642. [71] Ecclesiology [ edit ] Polemical popular print with a Catalogue of Sects, 1647. Spurr, John (1998). English Puritanism, 1603–1689. Social History in Perspective. Palgrave MacMillan. ISBN 978-0-333-60189-1. Coffin, Charles (1987), The Story of Liberty: So You Will Comprehend What Liberty Has Cost, and What It Is Worth, Maranatha Publications, ISBN 093855820X Norton, Mary Beth (2008). People and a Nation: A History of the United States, Volume 1: To 1877, Brief Edition. Cengage Learning.

The Puritans in the Colonies wanted their children to be able to read and interpret the Bible themselves, rather than have to rely on the clergy for interpretation. [39] [40] [41] [42] In 1635, they established the Boston Latin School to educate their sons, the first and oldest formal education institution in the English speaking New World. They also set up what were called dame schools for their daughters, and in other cases taught their daughters at home how to read. As a result, Puritans were among the most literate societies in the world. By the time of the American Revolution there were 40 newspapers in the United States (at a time when there were only two cities—New York and Philadelphia—with as many as 20,000 people in them). [42] [43] [44] [45] The Puritans also set up a college ( Harvard University) only six years after arriving in Boston. [42] [46] Beliefs [ edit ] Calvinism [ edit ] Part of a series on Pat, Perrin (1 January 1970). Crime and Punishment: The Colonial Period to the New Frontier. Discovery Enterprises. p.24.