few puritans had revolutionary plans
...ly, there were Separatists. These were the most radical faction who wished to repudiate all coercive power in the Church and wanted all men to be free in forming congregations. Puritans believed that separation from the Church was a sin and therefore Separatists, who believed in separation from the communion of the Church of England were not popular amongst the movement from which they had grown. They were even more unpopular amongst Protestants. Between 1567 and 1569, Elizabeth had a London separatist congregation sent to prison. Many of these died since they were provided with neither clothing nor food and relied solely upon their jailors’ for uncommon charity. Few Puritans were imprisoned during Elizabeth’s reign and those who were, were clergymen whose prison life was comparatively mild. Separatists claimed that not only did they suffer from the persecutions of the established church, but also from the sharp invective of the Puritans, who not only stirred up hostility at home, but also even prejudiced the reformed clergy of other countries against Separatist refugees. Numerous separatists were tried and hung for spreading and teaching separatist views and in the late 16th century, banishment under the penalty of death in case of return, was established as the punishment of Separatism. This suggests that Elizabeth was desperate to prevent the spread of Separatism, since she recognised it to be a potential threat if, in the future it grew in both power and influence. Thus some Puritans had more ambitious plans than others, and the speed in which they wanted reform and the threat they posed to the ruling hierarchy instigated revolution. Those who wanted to scrap the Church of England with its Roman structure and traditions for another reformed church model (Separatists and Presbyterians) posed the greatest threat to hierarchical rule. To them, loyalty to God came before loyalty to the Monarch and therefore a reformed church should be separated from the power of the monarch and associates such as Bishops. In this way, Presbyterians and Separatists posed a very real threat to the power of leading Church figures and indeed to the monarch. During the 1580’s, a small group of clergymen under the leadership of John Field, a puritan clergyman, attempted to impose a Presbyterian structure within the Church of England. This became known as the Classical movement, but collapsed in 1591 after having failed to establish the new structure within the Church. The ringleaders of the operation were questioned and arrested by the Star Chamber. The Queen had successfully managed to avoid an increase in the degree of Puritan influence within the Church. Even though there were so many varied views within Puritanism, they did have two general aims, to achieve reformation of the Anglican Church, and to define the relationship between Church and state. These plans barely suggest a highly revolutionary movement, since Protestants and Catholics alike were seeking similar goals. Between 1558 and 1580, Puritans raised many issues to the Crown. In particular, they questioned the persistence of various perceived ‘popish and non-scriptural based issues’ within the Church of England. They even petitioned for their removal from the rites of the Church. Even though their requests generally fell on deaf ears, this was a warning to Elizabeth that there remained an atmosphere of unrest amongst certain Puritans. Evidence for revolutionary reform is, however limited since, as a whole, the Puritans still took very gradual steps to achieve their aims. They also showed a willingness to adapt. For example, in 1559 Elizabeth I set down new religious standards, which the Puritans initially accepted. It was not until the late 1560’s that increasing numbers of Puritans realised that Elizabeth was not going to make concessions to their cause. This forced some Puritans to abandon their moderate plans and concentrate their efforts on more radical ideas. In this way they hoped to force the Queens hand and make her aware of the necessity for movement in a Puritan direction. This tactic did appear to be relatively successful. To avoid conflict with extreme Puritan groups, the Queen appointed Grindel (a moderate Puritan) in 1575 as her Archbishop. Such a move suggests that Elizabeth found the increasing pressure from the movement threatening. Further evidence supporting the threatening nature of the Puritans to the monarch includes the ban of free religious discussion in Parliament and printing press restrictions on Puritan literature. Elizabeth had introduced protection for herself, her church and the state from the spread and discussion of Puritanism The clerical hierarchy was composed, in the main, of mild Protestants. Even the most radical clergy could not be described as more than moderate Puritans, and therefore, the lay membership were the real radical voices of ch...