As we have seen King James could not endure
the thought that his colony should be self-governing and free to
make laws for itself. Consequently he took its charter away. In
religion it was just the same. In England at the Reformation the
King had been made head of the Church. And if people did not believe
what the King and Clergy told them to believe they were sure, sooner
or later, to be punished for it.
Now in England more and more people began to think for themselves
on matters of religion. More and more people found it difficult to
believe as King and Clergy wished them to believe. Some found the
Church of England far too like the old Church of Rome. They wanted
to do away with all pomp and ceremony and have things quite simple.
They did not wish to separate from the Church; they only wanted to
make the Church clean and pure of all its errors. So they got the
name of Puritans. Others however quite despaired of making the Church
pure. They desired to leave it altogether and set up a Church of
their own. They were called Separatists, or sometimes, from the
name of a man who was one of their chief leaders, Brownists.
These Brownists did not want to have bishops and priests, and they
would not own the King as head of the Church. Instead of going
to church they used to meet together in private houses, there to
pray to God in the manner in which their own hearts told them was
right.
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