Student Scholarship
Document Type
Research Paper
Abstract
The religious and political landscape of early seventeenth-century England was defined by the evolving friction between the Stuart monarchy and a growing Puritan faction within the House of Commons. While the English Reformation under the Tudors was primarily a political schism rather than a doctrinal one, it left a legacy of religious unsettledness that Elizabeth I managed through political expediency. By the time James I ascended the throne in 1603, the Puritan movement had transitioned from a purely religious group seeking to purify Anglican ritual into a sophisticated political force. This transformation was solidified through a strategic alliance with common lawyers and constitutionalists who were equally concerned with the expansion of royal prerogative and the theory of divine right.
During the first Parliament of James I, spanning 1604 to 1610, the House of Commons became a primary vehicle for Puritan expression. The movement focused on specific grievances, including the requirement of a preaching ministry, the abolition of pluralities and non-residence, and the mitigation of the power of ecclesiastical courts. Although the Commons often disclaimed radical intent to establish a full Presbyterian Discipline, their legislative actions consistently favored the Puritan program while obstructing the King’s religious and financial goals. This period was marked by a persistent impasse where the King’s reliance on his prerogative clashed with the Parliament’s insistence on a redress of grievances before granting subsidies.
The significance of this era lies in the fusion of religious tenets with political principles. By emphasizing individual responsibility for salvation and the equality of men before God, Puritanism unintentionally sowed the seeds of representative democracy and limited monarchy. The failure of James I to resolve these tensions through compromise, notably seen in the collapse of the great contract of 1610, set the stage for the constitutional and religious conflicts that eventually culminated in the English Civil War.
Publication Date
3-1953
Recommended Citation
Cheney, Jacquelyn, "Puritan Opinion in the House of Commons" (1953). Student Scholarship. 146.
https://digitalcommons.lindenwood.edu/student-research-papers/146
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