(1) Separatists (also called Independents):
Christians who did not support some of the fundamental principles
of the Established Church (Church of England), such as a hierarchy
of clergy and the wearing of clerical vestments, believed
that they could only bring about what they required by separating
from the Established Church and reorganizing themselves independently.
The Separatists, who included such people as Oliver Cromwell,
responsible for the British revolution during the 17th century.
It was a group of Separatists who landed at Plymouth
Rock in 1620 and became known as the "PILGRIMS".
(2) Puritans: This group hoped to reform the Church
from WITHIN the Church of England and had no desire to separate.
A group of Separatists cooperating with a
group of Puritans established the Massachusetts
Bay Colony in America in 1630. The Separatists
and Puritans together eventually became what is now
known as Congregationalists.
(3) Dissenters were various groups of Protestant churches
who refused to take communion in the Church of England
and to conform to the tenets of the restored Church of
England in 1662. These included Presbyterians, Baptists,
Quakers, as well as Congregationalists and others.
See Separatists.
Attitudes by the English Crown and the Church of England toward
the Separatists waxed and waned from the time of Elizabeth
I to Isaac Watts, depending on the political climate.