It was strong

• LEVEL OF EDUCATION - Puritanism was strong in the universities and in London where literacy rates were higher
• FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES - There were a surprising number at the centre of Elizabeth's government Elizabeth's favourite, the Earl of Leicester and even her spymaster Francis Walsingham were noted puritans; by the 1570s and 1580s, other councillors and many MPs were Puritans or sympathetic to their beliefs