[MaraReenece]

The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries, including, but not limited to, English Calvinists. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England. The designation "Puritan" is often used in the sense that hedonism and puritanism are antonyms.[1] Historically, the word was used pejoratively to characterize the Protestant group as extremists similar to the Cathari of France, and according to Thomas Fuller in his Church History dated back to 1564, Archbishop Matthew Parker of that time used it and "precisian" with the sense of modern "stickler".

Puritans by definition felt that the English Reformation had not gone far enough, and that the Church of England was tolerant of practices which they associated with the Catholic Church. They formed into 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 many of their earlier opponents were, too), but also took note of radical views critical of Zwingli in Zurich and Calvin in Geneva. In church polity, some advocated for separation from all other Christians, in favor of autonomous gathered churches.

Puritans were liberal when it came to trade and business rules allowing money lending and charging interest (where the Catholic Church used to prohibit it officially). The Puritans are very rigid on dress codes, sexuality and controlling the personal. Some people have suggested that Wahabis/Salafis, Ikhwani Muslimeen and some other Muslims are like these puritans...liberal on riba...but very rigid on personal dress etc. They claim that this is a inner sickness of the nafs where it is split into 2.