Puritan Challenge

• Puritans


  Radical Protestants who wanted to 'purify' the Christian religion by getting rid of anything that wasn't in the Bible
• Puritans


  • Wanted to develop their own Church, which would not be controlled by the queen
  • Wanted no bishops, and priests would not wear vestments
  • Wanted a simpler style of worship, whitewashed churches and no "graven images" (worship of religious idols)
• Vestments


  Special clothing worn by clergy during worship
• A minority of Puritans believed the monarch could be overthrown in certain circumstances, especially if the monarch was Catholic
• Many Puritans were anti-Catholic and believed the pope was the 'anti-Christ
• Other Puritans were millenarians - believed the world was ending and that Christians had to prepare for Jesus' return
• The nature of the Puritan challenge


  1. Elizabeth I demanded that one be placed in each church

  2. Puritans opposed this, and when some Puritan bishops threatened to resign, Elizabeth backed down as she could not replace them with educated Protestant clergy of equal ability
• The extent of the Puritan challenge
• Vestments were required by the Royal Injunctions, but Puritans resisted this, arguing that clergy should either wear no vestments or simple vestments
• In 1566, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Parker, required priests in his Book of Advertisements to attend an exhibition showing the vestments they must wear
• This resulted in 37 Puritan priests losing their posts because they refused to attend church and to wear the new vestments as required
• Puritans were a vocal group within English society, openly anti-Catholic and opposed to bishops
• Puritanism had less of an impact on northern England, where people remained mostly Catholic in outlook
• The government ignored most Puritan demands for reform of the Church of England, including the Admonition to Parliament in 1572, suggesting that Puritanism's support was limited