Combining the 2 (pol and rel) to such a degree almost always causes extremism..whether these offshoots are Puritans, Islamic or other.
C
Originally Posted by Camille
Good Morning Camille;
It is important to understand that in the period we are discussing, there was no difference between religion & politics (at least in England). This was the period just after the English Civil War which was essentially a war between a Catholic King & a Protestant Parliament, and only a hundred years after Henry VIII had split from the Pope (over access to pussy, it is worth remembering).
Also remember that the point raised earlier about the American Founding Fathers stating that there should be a clear division betwixt Church & State was because in England there was an Established Church and this church brooked no dissent; neither from the Right (Catholics) nor from the Left (Puritans).
But it is worth remembering that the Pilgrim Fathers did not come to America from England; they had left England several years earlier for the Netherlands & it was from there that they set sail.
By the way; please don't get me started on this; I studied this period at UK & US universities and the difference in context and emphasis was the spark that made me realise that the differences between our two nations are more than just what we call an elevator or suspenders.
Please forgive my incoherence, I am writing this after a 5 hour dinner party with much too much to drink.
Good Night
Cyclops.