Puritanism was a theological movement featured in Arthur Miller's The Crucible that played a substantial role in American and European history and religion. Puritanism started in England as a movement to reform the Church of England established by Henry VIII. Followers of Puritanism, called Puritans, believed in predestination and had strict ideas about religion and public worship ("Puritanism"). Eventually, Puritanism moved west across the Atlantic to the New England settlements in North America. The Crucible relays one of the most shameful periods of New England Puritan history, the Salem Witch Trials.
Puritanism first appeared early in the reign of Elizabeth II of England as a religious reform movement for the Church of England, established
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Set during the aforementioned Salem Witch Trials, Miller gave a fictitious retelling of the events of the 1692 trials that explained the diabolical politics behind the tragic events of the trials. The main character of the play is John Proctor, a Puritan man who has had an affair with the teenager, Abigail Williams. Abigail and her friends then start rumors and cause chaos and panic in Salem by claiming there is witchcraft in Salem. In true Puritan society, Witchcraft accusations happened occasionally and usually they did not result in prosecution, but in Salem with the greedy, political agendas of many at play, accusations of witchcraft became a death sentence unless one confessed their sins and publicly repented from them. Many biblical references were used in the play, as well as references to the Covenants that defined the Puritan belief system. Miller also uses many historical figures in the play and many of the characters were actual Puritans who lived and died at the hand of the Salem Witch Trials and all historical figures used in the play had the same terrible fates as their actual counterparts. Despite the many correct historical, biblical, and covenantal references used in the play, Miller's depiction of Puritan life was still largely fictional. Puritans are often depicted as a far stricter people than history tells us they