Differences between Puritans and Separatists
The words puritans and separatist are all to some extent associated with some religious attitudes and perceptions although they are words that have very distinct meanings. From a puritan point of view, the worship of God has indeed been corrupted and tarnished by the introduction of religious schools. Through such strong perception, the puritans attempted to change the church in England by Advocating for a new approach in worship such that, each person had to forge a personal relationship with their God. Separatist on the other side of the balance were the group of people who opposed the puritans and their ideas. According to the separatist, they aim at protecting the poor people from exploitation by powerful classes and their main motivation is based on economic equality. From a religious perspective, separatist as the name suggests are pursuing a complete separation from the Church of England and also the non-believing sect of English society. As for puritans, their main objective is to cleanse the Church of England of Roman Catholic influences while remaining strong supporters. In other words a puritan is a person who is concerned with making religion simple as it was during the onset of Christianity.
In many cases, separatism has largely involved advocacy for total separation from the Church of England although another form of separatism called ethnic separatism has developed over the years. It is imperative to note however, ethnic separatism is normally concerned with cultural issues and is by no means influenced by religion or even racial factors and perceptions. In many cases as it has been regularly observed, loss of ground by one separatist movement may automatically be followed by the rise of another distinct movement with its own values. In summary, the difference between the two terms is basically based in the meaning that has been well outlined in the introductory paragraph of this article.