Let’s rewind to early 1500s England.

In 1509, Henry VIII takes the throne—famous for many things, including his six marriages. When his first wife failed to produce an heir, he sought an annulment. The problem? England was still under Rome, and only the Pope could grant it.

When the Pope refused, Henry broke away—sparking England’s version of the Protestant Reformation.

But here’s the catch: the church changed politically… not spiritually.

Under Edward VI, reform gained real traction. Then came Mary I of England, who reversed it all and returned England to Rome. After her, Elizabeth I established a Protestant church—but one that many believed still wasn’t fully biblical.

That’s where the Puritans come in.

They wanted a church fully shaped by Scripture—nothing added, nothing compromised. Their desire for “purity” is what earned them the name Puritan (originally meant as an insult).

First, let’s start with what the Puritans are not.

They are not a replacement for God’s Word—and they never claimed to be. Your reading of the Puritans should always be secondary to Scripture and serve to deepen your understanding of it. In fact, they would insist on that. The Bible was their greatest treasure on earth.

They are also not infallible. Like all faithful teachers, they had blind spots and even disagreed among themselves on certain doctrines—things like baptism and church government. So read them the way they would want you to: with your Bible open.

And finally, they are not a substitute for the local church.
Read the Puritans exists to serve the church—not replace it. We’re a sub-church ministry, aiming to strengthen what God has already established.

When James I comes along in 1603, hopes were high. He seemed to have a higher view of Scripture and ended up being the namesake of the King James Version of the Bible.

Yet despite initial hopes, he too was a disappointment. In fact, even his creation of the King James Version was a direct attack against the Puritans who unanimously used the Geneva Bible. Tensions grew.

Some Puritans left the Church of England. Others left the country entirely—including those who sailed on the Mayflower to build a “city on a hill” in the New World.

Back in England, things escalated.

In 1625, Under Charles I of England, anti-Puritan policies intensified, leading to the English Civil War. In the midst of it, Puritan leaders gathered to produce the Westminster Confession of Faith—one of the most influential theological documents in church history.

Meanwhile, in 1649, Charles I was captured and executed, making England a commonwealth under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell. But, like the Israelites, after a few years the people decided they wanted an earthly king again.

In 1660, persecution returned with a vengeance under Charles II of England. The Puritanssimply wanted a church that was subject to God and His Word. The king apparently couldn’t handle that. Charles II proceeded to establish episcopal government, a Prayer Book, and forced clergy to declare it was entirely in line with Scripture. Around 2,000 faithful men of God refused to depart from Scripture and were ejected from their pulpits in 1662 through the Act of Uniformity. As a side note, there is a puritan paperback from Banner of Truth titled Sermons of the Great Ejection that includes many of the final sermons from these shepherds to their flocks. We digress.

Persecution continued to grow worse and around 20,000 puritans went to prison over the next two decades. Some were even executed…all for standing on the Word of God and refusing to deviate. Yet, in God’s providence, some of the best books and writings would come out of this season, including John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress which he penned from jail during his 12 year prison sentence (BTW, if you haven’t read Pilgrim’s Progress, one of the top selling books of all-time, behold, now is the day of repentance).  

Finally, in 1689, William and Mary brought the Act of Toleration which granted a measure of religious freedom. While this gradually brought an era to an end, the spirit of the Puritans lived on. Some close the door on Puritanism with Jonathan Edwards. There is no defined ending but we agree with Joel Beeke and Michael Reeves in Following God Fully when they say “our definition of Puritanism includes not only those who were ejected from the Church of England by the Act of Uniformity in 1662, but also those in England and North America who, from the reign of Elizabeth I until around 1700, worked to reform and purify the church and to lead people toward godly living consistent with the Reformed doctrines of grace.”