The act of
conversion was a common experience among the early Puritans. The
concomitant hatred of past sins and love of God which was felt in
thankfulness for mercy were proof of selection for salvation. The
good works that followed were merely an obligation showing that
one's faith was real, but not a way to salvation.
But the puritans also accepted Calvin's idea of independent church
government. They therefore thought that ministers and lay elders
of each parish should regulate religious affairs and that the
bishops, who were "petty popes", should be reduced to an equality
with the rest of the clergy, since they did not rule by divine
right. The office of archbishop should be eliminated and the head
of state should not necessarily be governor of the church. These
ideas were widely disseminated in books and pamphletts. The
puritans disrupted the established church's Sunday services,
tearing the surplice off the minister's back and the wafers and
wine from the altar rail. The puritans arranged "lectures" on
Sunday afternoons and on weekdays. These were given gratuitously
or funded by boroughs. They were strict about not working on the
sabbath, which day they gave to spiritual exercises, meditations,
and works of mercy. The only work allowed was preparing meals for
themselves, caring for their animals, and milking the cows. They
enforced a strict moral discipline on themselves.
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