What is Puritanism?
[[File:PuritanGallery.jpg|thumb|Gallery of famous 17th-century Puritan [[theologians]]: [[Thomas Gouge]], [[William Bridge]], [[Thomas Manton]], [[John Flavel]], [[Richard Sibbes]], [[Stephen Charnock]], [[William Bates (minister)|William Bates]], [[John Owen (theologian)|John Owen]], [[John Howe (puritan)|John Howe]], [[Richard Baxter]].]] The '''Puritans''' were a group of [[English language|English]]-speaking [[Protestant]]s in the [[16th century|16th]] and [[17th century|17th centuries.]] A Puritan was any person who tried to become purer through [[worship]] and [[doctrine]]. Puritans disagreed with some of the [[Church of England|Church of England's]] actions and thought that the [[English Reformation]] had not gone far enough. In 1534, [[King Henry VIII]] separated from the [[Roman Catholic Church]] and established the Protestant Church of England. [[Mary I of England|Queen Mary]] returned the Church to Roman Catholicism in 1553, and this did not change until [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]] became [[Queen of England]]. Many people celebrated the return of a Protestant monarch, but some believed that the Church had not changed enough and was still too much like [[Catholicism]].<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/484034/Puritanism Encyclopedia Brittanica]</ref> == Beliefs == The Puritans' beliefs and way of life were called '''Puritanism'''. The most important parts of Puritanism were piety (obeying religious rules), dressing simply, and living a modest life. The Puritans believed some of the same things as [[Calvinism|Calvinists]] and [[Scottish people|Scottish]] [[Presbyterian]]s. All of these groups were devoted to the [[Bible]] and to being [[moral]]ly pure. One of the Puritans' most important beliefs was that every person needed to understand the [[Bible]] in his own way. (Most Protestants share this belief.) Puritans tried to live by the Bible's teachings in every way. They tried to be morally and spiritually pure in even the smallest ways. They thought that man existed for th