The English Reformation and the Puritans

In this lecture, we will continue from the previous lesson, in which we heard the rumblings of civil war in England between King Charles I (and the Royalists) and the Parliamentarians. The Parliamentarians were largely a Puritan faction, though the war was not simply about religion. Yet, as Oliver Cromwell observed, "Religion wasn't the thing at first contested for but God brought it to that issue at last." With military victory and the abolition of the monarchy, the Puritans burst into political and ecclesiastical power. The "glory days" of the ensuing Commonwealth and Protectorate were short-lived, and the eventual cry for restoration brought Charles II, the son of Charles I, to the English throne. The reaction against Puritanism was swift and severe.