The Puritans Were Not Tolerant of Other Religions

In 1630, the Puritans fled England to the Massachusetts coast, looking to evade religious persecution. Within 20 years, they had become the persecutors, directing their wrath at the Quakers.

[LesBell]

"The Puritans left England for America not because they couldn't be Puritans in their mother country, but because they were not allowed to force others to become Puritans; in the New World, of course, they could and did."

--- Gore Vidal

[WickedScott]

Who'd a thunk a group called the 'Puritans' weren't all that tolerant of other religions? Huh.

[daithiocinnsealach]

They didn't want religious tolerance. And not much has changed with their spiritual ancestors today.

[charlesdeleo]

They forgot to mention why the ideals of Puritanism began to fade in the late 17th century. One was because of the horrors of King Philip’s War: the bloodiest and most destructive war in American history, which although was a victory for the Puritans, deeply shook their ideals. The other was the Salem Witch Trials, which caused many to lose faith in the Puritan movement altogether. As increasing trends of cosmopolitanism and trade between the colonies increased, New England was absorbed into the British Empire. By the dawn of the 18th century, the Puritan movement was effectively finished.

[reriuqne-nyer]

In fact there was more religious intolerence and perscution in New England during the subsquent centuary than in England. They were in fact religious bigots, Puritans that stayed in England did not suffer persecution.

[matthewshore]

I wrote my bachelor's thesis on Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island; a safe haven for people of different religions.

[maemae]

Puritans got Massachusetts while Quakers got Pennsylvania

[iprobasco]

The thing this documentary gets wrong is that the Puritans weren't really fleeing religious persecution in England, most of them were already in Holland which had religious freedom and it would be far easier for members to just move there. The problem they were having in Holland is that the members were exercising that freedom and leaving the congregation in droves.

[stephenwright]

I have ancestors that were both Puritans and Quakers. Imagine living in Massachusetts one's whole life and knowing that one part of the family harassed, arrested and executed another part in the way-back-when. That's what I deal with every day. ☹️

[cindysavage]

The other thing not Puritans commissioned the ships that carried them to the North American continent. They were not poor people. A ship then cost thousands of pounds, millions today.

[lloydtucker]

Let's not forget, towards the late 1600s these dangerous fundamentalist developed an unhealthy obsession with a Bible verse that says _"Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live."_ A lot of innocent people died because of this insanity.

[elizabethsabatino]

The persecuted become the persecutors. Well, well...🤔

[mariaweston]

Aaaand this is why religion and politics should be separate—which they are not. So. Let’s tax the churches.

[Jeremyramone]

The oatmeal cant have been that bad surely

[XSilver_WaterX]

I can imagine how the population was hard to maintain. They beaten or killed anyone with the slightest un-Christian thought.

[ucntcit]

The Puritan spirit is still alive in America.

[Chamelionroses]

Funny how people don't learn from history and are doomed to repeat similarly. Shrug

[maryfrump]

Ooh my Ancestors would not have gotten along with my other Quaker relatives!

[debrac]

The Puritans hated the Quakers largely because their Christian philosophy was more closely aligned with that of founder, Jesus of Nazareth. Quaker tenets- integrity, egalitarianism, and more significantly, a love for one's enemies, was very threatening to the Puritan hierarchy. They could not abide such heresy- so they sought to destroy them.

[wingitprod]

Their battle cry must have been "REMEMBER OLIVER CROMWELL"!!!