who was the founder of the puritans?

Question

who was the founder of the puritans

Answer 1

John Winthrop, Puritan leader.

Answer 2

There was really no founder, per se, of the Puritan sect. It grew, mainly out of the East Anglia section of England and was a general backlash against what they felt was a return to Catholicism in the Anglican Church. The movement began in the late 1500's and gained it's greatest power following the English Civil War when Puritans controlled Parliament and when Oliver Cromwell, an avowed Puritan became Lord Protector.

John Winthrop was the leader of the first great Puritan migration to America but he was not the founder. While Puritans followed John Calvin's teaching pretty closely, he was not the founder of Puritanism in any other sense than that he was one of the founding fathers of protestantism.

Answer 3

Puritans were followers of the Frenchman, Calvin. It was he who first preached the stern predestination theories which were adopted by the Puritans. To quote from The Catholic (!) Encyclopedia entry on this man:-

'The Puritans in England were also descendants of the French theologian. His dislike of theatres, dancing and the amenities of society was fully shared by them.'

Full article at:- http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03195b.htm