by Whitney Levon

Created on: October 29, 2009

In school we are taught that the terms Pilgrim and Puritan are almost interchangeable. It is an easy mistake to make; both groups came here ultimately to live without fear of religious persecution. Both groups separated themselves from the Anglican Church, but they held different interpretations of the Bible and had different ideas as to why the Church of England was not following the word of God.

A key difference between the Pilgrims and the Puritans was the subject of religion and government. The Pilgrims believed that government should have no involvement within the church system, which is where the idea of the separation of church and state comes from. The monarch of England was held in the same esteem as God, his powers allegedly being ordained by God himself. The Pilgrims held the scripture to be paramount to all, and they held the commandment, "You shall have no other God before me" sacred. Worshipping at the Church of England was like worshipping two Gods. The Puritans were not of a mind to separate from England or the Church. They were happy to work within the ecclesiastical hierarchy, so long as there were reforms made to the church.

The Puritans had a goal of purifying the Anglican Church. They wanted to do away with all of the pageantry leftover from the days of Catholicism in England. Because Henry the VIII never left the Catholic Church in his heart, he allowed many of the practices to continue, such as confession, communion, and the last rites. The Puritans were opposed to these practices. The Pilgrims also had no use for these ceremonies, but instead of wishing to change the church, they simply desired to be rid of it completely. It was much easier to start a new church than to attempt to wipe away centuries of dogma from an existing one.

Some of their practices were the same, but had different ideologies behind them. Neither group celebrated Christmas. The Puritans took issue with the holiday because its name literally translated to the mass of Christmas. Given their propensity to deny all things Catholic, it hardly made sense for them to accept this practice. The Pilgrims held the idea that Christmas was a holiday invented by man, and that the miracle of Jesus should be celebrated in one's heart every day. The same beliefs held true for the celebration of Easter.

Perhaps people confuse the two groups because they did share many common beliefs. Both groups were opposed to the Book of Common Prayer that was the hallmark of the Church of England. The Puritans and the Pilgrims both felt that it was wrong to worship when the words were not coming directly from the scriptures. The wealth of the Anglican Church was seen by both groups as taking glory away from God. The Puritans and the Pilgrims were both Biblical Christians, in that their ideals were taken directly from the Bible without influence from any outside factors. The Puritans and the Pilgrims lived side-by-side in the Americas successfully because although they had different beliefs, their motivation for achieving the Christian ideal was the same.

Learn more about this author, Whitney Levon.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.