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My father, a Puritan in truth, exhibited an unwavering faith and virtue that rendered him as solid as the New England soil. He was a man of profound integrity, his life a testament to the doctrine of hard work, the grace of simplicity, and the quiet dignity of service to God and community.
—Benjamin Franklin
The Puritans were the most radical immigrant group in early American society.
They were Protestants who held wacky and complex theological views. Most famously, Predestination, human sinfulness, and the pursuit of a godly community.
Here is a list of the most essential Puritan religious beliefs historically.
Back in 1536, the famous Christian John Calvin introduced the doctrine of Predestination. Where he said an omnipotent God had predetermined everything, including human events, and who ended up going to heaven or Hell.
The doctrine stated that God is all-powerful and humanity entirely depends on his grace.
Major Puritan leaders like William Bradford and Jonathan Edwards took this ideology to the Americas, where it became a cultural ethos of early settlers.
By the early 17th century, Puritans introduced the doctrine of Total Depravity.
It describes that human nature is corrupted due to the sin of Adam and Eve's transgression in the Garden of Eden.
It was championed by Puritans like John Owen and Jonathan Edwards. They scolded their followers, telling them that man was totally dependent on divine grace for salvation.
Essentially, man is nothing without God.
The Puritans were not fans of the Catholic Church. They rejected all ecclesiastical authority from Catholics.
They proclaimed the Bible as the supreme guide for religious matters and all issues.
The Puritans studied the Bible daily and believed in the individual interpretation and direct application of scripture in daily life. God spoke to them through personal revolution.
In 17th-century England, Puritans sought to distinguish themselves from the masses.
They dedicated themselves to a righteous way of life. They emphasized strict biblical morality, active church participation, and avoidance of sin.
Puritans sought to serve their communities through preaching, writing, and living a strict/pious life.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, Covenant Theology emerged as a central theological tenant for Puritans.
It taught the unique relationship between God and humanity through covenants.
Covenants provided a way for Puritans to build a personal one-to-one relationship with God.
The Puritans hated Catholicism. They thought the Catholic Church was a corrupted form of Christianity that had become Apostate and strayed from the teachings of the Scriptures.
They had many critiques of the Catholic Church, including their elaborate rituals, papal authority, and traditions.
Puritans thought Christianity should be a simpler church without all the pomp and with a focus on the supreme authority of scripture.
"Visible saints" was a concept that emerged in the 16th and 17th centuries as a way to identify true believers based on outward appearances and what they were doing morally to show the public at large.
It emphasized personal works like personal holiness and church attendance as metrics of a good person. Meanwhile, the Catholic Church focused on membership through baptism or external rituals.
The "city upon a hill" probably best explains Purtinas' beliefs.
The Puritans' most excellent or divine mission was to establish a Godly and righteous society that would be an example to the world.
They gained insight from the Biblical concept of being a "light unto the nations."
Encapsulated the Puritans' belief in their divine mission to establish a righteous society that would serve as an exemplar to the world, drawing inspiration from
It was invoked by Governor John Winthrop in 1630. Winthrop established institutions like Harvard College in 1636 and the creation of biblically-inspired legal codes such as The Body of Liberties in 1641. These concepts were influenced by the "city upon a hill" concept.
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