Pilgrims vs. Puritans

We remember the Pilgrims on Thanksgiving for coming over on the Mayflower in 1620. Often we think of them as dressed in drab black and white clothing, being sort of fanatical religious extremists.

In the book Mayflower: The Voyage that Changed the World the author clearly depicts who the Pilgrims actually were and how the colony they started at Plymouth was the precursor to our free government and liberties. The Pilgrims or Separatists wanted to worship God according to their own conscience not the dictates of the state church. In essence they were willing to sacrifice for their First Amendment rights and endure persecution to worship God as individuals.

The Puritans on the other hand wanted to purify the state church so as to make their religious beliefs the standard belief.

Contrary to Puritans, the Pilgrims, the author points out, “…wore colorful clothes, were cheerful of spirit and had no anxiety about eating, drinking and making merry when they thought the time was right. They wanted a Church were priest and congregation were equal. They argued that this was what Jesus had fought for and they were prepared to do the same thing. They wanted “elders”- men of wisdom who guided the community and taught love, rather than rule by bishops through authority or fear. They were a joyous, close-knit brotherhood that loved to discuss the Bible openly” (Ballam, Mayflower, pg. 14-15).

This Thanksgiving we can be grateful to the Pilgrims for the religious freedoms which they sacrificed all to obtain so we can enjoy them in our country today.