Lay Empowerment and the Development of Puritanism (Christianities in the Trans-Atlantic World)

A study of the rise and decline of puritanism in England and New England that focuses on the role of godly men and women. It explores the role of family devotions, lay conferences, prophesying and other means by which the laity influenced puritan belief and practice, and the efforts of the clergy to reduce lay power in the seventeenth century. Looking at the rise, spread, and decline of puritanism in England and New England, this book focuses on the role of godly men and women as opposed to the clergy. It focuses on the spiritist or mystical element of puritanism and explores the role of family devotions, lay conferences, prophesying and other means by which the laity influenced puritan belief and practice. The book examines the central role of the laity in building the Congregational system of New England churches. It explores the role of religious discussions around the campfires of the New Model Army in shaping England's religious direction, and looks as well at the radical street preachers of London (including women) during England's Civil Wars. The latter chapters focus on the clerical and magisterial reaction to lay power and the attempt to enhance the role of the clergy within churches and of clerical associations over individual congregations Front Matter....Pages i-viii Introduction....Pages 1-4 The Experience and Meaning of God’s Caress....Pages 5-9 Thinking of the Laity in the English Reformation....Pages 10-26 Lay Puritans in Stuart England....Pages 27-48 Gatherings of the Saints in England and the Netherlands....Pages 49-68 Shaping the New England Way....Pages 69-86 The Free Grace Controversy and Redefining the Role of Lay Believers....Pages 87-104 The Role of the Laity in England’s Puritan Revolution....Pages 105-126 Varieties of Lay Enthusiasm in New England and England....Pages 127-143 Responding to the Challenges of Diversity, 1640–60....Pages 144-156 Clergy and Laity in the Later Seventeenth Century....Pages 157-176 Epilogue: Looking Backwards, and Ahead....Pages 177-181 Back Matter....Pages 182-239