T he Puritans were the Protestant religious movement in England throughout the 17 th century that sought to “purify” the Church of England from its Roman Catholic influences. They wanted to ...

separate churches. Known as "separatists," these Puritans left their homeland and in 1609 moved to Leiden, Holland, where they hoped to worship freely, without harassment from church authorities.

1588-89 Some Puritans published anonymous pamphlets called the Marprelate Tracts, complaining about the Church and bishops. The authors were never identified, although John Penry was believed to ...

separate churches. Known as "separatists," these Puritans left their homeland and in 1609 moved to Leiden, Holland, where they hoped to worship freely, without harassment from church authorities.

The word Puritan comes from ‘purity’ or ‘purify’. These were extreme Protestants who wanted to purify the Church of England by returning to the simple and uncomplicated worship and way of ...