Founding Fathers: Puritans in England and America (Uncovering the Seventeenth Century)

I associate the word "puritan" with a particular harsh form of American Protestantism, but that is a very one-sided picture. This book, that sometimes shows its age in the writing style, goes into a lot of detail on the British history of puritanism. It combines a view of historical events with the intellectual and cognitive development of Lutheranism and (to a lesser extent) Calvinism. You have to add some of your own thinking, because some of the conclusions I came to may or may not be supported by the book. Still, a good base to start exploring into a bit more depth where the thinking of non-Catholic and non CofE Christians comes from. Expect little criticism -- the book suggests that present day individual strengths are often the result of the historical developments described in the book -- a bit more self-criticism would have been helpful in the final chapter, but it offers a detailed exploration of the development of Protestantism, British responses to and against it, its impact on the British civil war, on the trek to the United States, and more

The book explains a lot about the Puritan religion in England and New England. It explain a lot about how religion was looked at in the day and how it is still similar to today. It also explain the differences. Very good read for anybody that was wondering about religion and the old country and the new country.

Much of this book could be taking from world headlines of today. The essence is that individual freedoms will seep away if not diligently maintained

This is a sprawling account of English religious dissenters (derisively referred to as "Puritans") as they established a foothold in Massachusetts and fought and won a Civil War in England and launched a republic before giving way to the monarchy in 1660 during the Restoration. The book admirably seeks to dispel many myths surrounding Puritans — while practical and devout, they also also supported Enlightenment advances in science and reason. Women were also given near equal status in Puritan households, and were in some instances, allowed to preach. I would like to have seen more about what caused the gradual decline of the Puritans — Cromwellian excesses in England and religious intolerance towards other sects in America (Quakers and Presbyterians).

I am very happy to learn . And I learned a lot .This book gave me the historical background of the founding of America. Very well researched and excellently written . Truly fascinating.