Puritans

The Puritans were a group of English Reformed Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to "purify" the Church of England from all Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England was "only partially reformed". Puritanism in this sense was founded by some of the returning clergy exiled under Mary I shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558 as an activist movement within the Church of England.

Puritanism played a major role in English history during the first half of the 17th century, but is still a matter of debate. The English Civil War was first defined as a "Puritan Revolution" by Samuel Rawson Gardiner in the 19th century. Anti-Catholic feeling was stoked by John Pym, a significant and alarmist politician at the time of the Grand Remonstrance of 1641; but revisionist historians such as Kevin Sharpe have cast doubt on the simple outlines of this description.

Overview

Puritans were blocked from changing the established church from within and were severely restricted in England by laws controlling the practice of religion. Their beliefs, however, were transported by the emigration of congregations to the Netherlands (and later to New England in North America) and by evangelical clergy to Ireland (and later to Wales), and were spread into lay society and parts of the educational system, particularly certain colleges of the University of Cambridge. They took on distinctive beliefs about clerical dress and in opposition to the episcopal system, particularly after the 1619 conclusions of the Synod of Dort were resisted by the English bishops. They largely adopted Sabbatarianism in the 17th century, and were influenced by millennialism.

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Unpacking the 'old money' aesthetic: is it puritan survival or just elegance in a broken system?

Independent online (SA) 22 Apr 2025
... the conversation with a theory rooted in history when she stitched a video asking, “Why is Gen Z so goddamn Puritan? Why are you 20 years old and wearing Lauren Piana suede loafers?” @nikitadumptruck.
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Additional Proxy Soliciting Materials (Form DEFA14A) (Fidelity Puritan Trust)

Public Technologies 17 Apr 2025
) SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION. PROXY STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 14(a) ... Filed by the Registrant ☒ ... FIDELITY PURITAN TRUST ... * ... Fidelity Puritan Trust published this content on April 17, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein.
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Puritan & Company Review: Tasteful New England Fare

The Harvard Crimson 15 Apr 2025
From its name to its roots, Cambridge’s Puritan & Company is all New England, all the time ... From local co-owners to a focus on quality ingredients sourced from nearby farms, Puritan & Company has a comforting New England vibe.
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Give me Picasso and all his flaws over today’s puritans

The Times/The Sunday Times 13 Apr 2025
Arthur Eric Rowton Gill was, by fairly common assent, a remarkable man. He has been described as the “greatest artist-craftsman of the 20th century. a letter-cutter and type designer of genius” ... Not nice ... Comment. Columnists. Related articles. ROD LIDDLE ... .
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If ‘Woke’ Puritanism Is the Disease, Trump’s Amoral Populism Isn’t the Cure

Quillette 11 Apr 2025
Having rejected the puritanical “woke” moralism of the 2010s and early 2020s, Americans are now enduring the opposite problem ... History shows that some culturally encoded ethical narrative must inform any humane and functional society ... Read U.S ... .
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