<P> Puritans by definition were dissatisfied with the limited extent of the English Reformation and with the Church of England 's tolerance of practices which they associated with the Catholic Church . They formed and identified with various religious groups advocating greater purity of worship and doctrine , as well as personal and group piety . Puritans adopted a Reformed theology and , in that sense , were Calvinists ( as were many of their earlier opponents ) . They also took note of radical criticisms of Zwingli in Zürich and Calvin in Geneva . In church polity , some advocated separation from all other established Christian denominations in favour of autonomous gathered churches . These separatist and independent strands of Puritanism became prominent in the 1640s , when the supporters of a Presbyterian polity in the Westminster Assembly were unable to forge a new English national church . </P>
<P> Puritans by definition were dissatisfied with the limited extent of the English Reformation and with the Church of England 's tolerance of practices which they associated with the Catholic Church . They formed and identified with various religious groups advocating greater purity of worship and doctrine , as well as personal and group piety . Puritans adopted a Reformed theology and , in that sense , were Calvinists ( as were many of their earlier opponents ) . They also took note of radical criticisms of Zwingli in Zürich and Calvin in Geneva . In church polity , some advocated separation from all other established Christian denominations in favour of autonomous gathered churches . These separatist and independent strands of Puritanism became prominent in the 1640s , when the supporters of a Presbyterian polity in the Westminster Assembly were unable to forge a new English national church . </P>
the puritan faith closely followed the teachings of
the puritan faith closely followed the teachings of
Calvinists
Calvinists