Why did the Puritans separate from the Anglican Church?

Answer 1

There's a minor problem with your question. "Puritan" was a term applied to a large number of people. SOME of the groups were "separatists" (like the ones we nowadays call "the Pilgrims"). But many others -- like the bulk of the Puritans who came to found Massachusetts Bay colony and most of New England-- were NOT.

The name "Puritan" itself (one created as a mocking term by opponents of these groups) simply indicated that they wanted to carry further the Reformation effort to "purify" church from the various beliefs and practices added over the centuries that they believed were not consistent with the Bible.

Some thought they could carry these out while remaining IN the Church (and people of their belief are in the Anglican Church to this day); others believed that it was a compromise, or personal sin, and so could not, in good conscience, continue in the Church and participate or seem to support such practices.

The basic theology of these groups was "Calvinistic" or "Reformed" -- that is, the viewpoint of most of the churches of the Swiss Reformation, which were especially influenced by those who taught in Geneva (including Calvin, but also others). Many of those involved in reforming the Anglican Church (writing up its doctrinal articles an its Book of Prayer) were trained in or had connections to Geneva.

But the Anglican Church remained a mixture of people (including leaders) or more Catholic bent (in their beliefs) and these new "Reformed" types (who actually were not all that new, since they built on the 13th century work of Wycliffe and Lolkards which had itself influenced the 16th century Reformation.)

Now the Reformed churches had a much stronger belief than the Lutheran wing of the Reformation did in reforming the WORSHIP practices of the churches. Most of them, for example, believed that the only songs appropriate to a worship services were those with words directly from Scripture (and mainly from the Book of Psalms).

To ADD things to worship that the Bible did not command risked falling into IDOLATRY (defined as worshiping a false god OR worshiping the true God in a way contrary to his own commands, such as by the use of images). And it could violate the conscience of individual believers, calling on them to do something even if they did not believe Scripture called for it. This is the reason is was thought so important to purify the (worship) practices of the church, and why SOME concluded they had no choice but to LEAVE churches in which non-biblical practices were still going on.

You can see all this in the practices of these "Reformed" churches in various countries (including the German and Dutch Reformed, the Scottish Presbyterians and the French Huegenots).

Answer 2

The puritans felt the Anglicans have been to catholic as they rejoice simular lots and function a liturgical calnder and the puritans needed to do away with holiday journeys like easter and Christmass calling them pagan and the belief of liturgy. Alot of difretn denomiations got here out of the puritans -the congrestionalist the baptist and unitarians. The Anglican church from the early days on has had a comprimise on theology. you are able to discover this with the 1st addtion of the King james Bible which secure the duteral conocial books in a seperat apendix and how the e book of uncomplicated prayer tries to be in the biddle of the line so basicly the Anglican view replace into use the e book of uncomplicated prayer and don't be to catholic or to protestant and rock the boat. The Puritans at one factor did take over England below oliver cromwell and alter into incredibly opressive as they tried to shape English soicity into their view of the international and failed as they baned holiday journeys activities theater and so on.

Answer 3

The puritans were exactly that - PURITANS...they wanted everything - prayer rituals and all of that to be a specific way which wasn't what the church really wanted

Answer 4

1. To escape religious persecution.
2. Because they thought everybody else was wrong.

lol....if you add 1 and 2 up, you can get the answer as to how the puritan mindset was like.

Answer 5

If you're interested, this is a popular forum for Anglican Christians, you may find more answers here...

http://christianforums.com/f368-scripturetraditionreason-anglican-old-catholic.html