Who were the English separatists?
Consequently, who were separatists?
The Separatists, or Independents, were English Protestants who occupied the extreme wing of Puritanism. The Separatists were severely critical of the Church of England and wanted to either destroy it or separate from it.
One may also ask, how were the separatists treated in England?
The Separatist movement was initially illegal in England, and many of its adherents were persecuted by the state and its church. Although the Puritans had originally hoped to purify and reform the Church of England, in New England they accepted the congregational form of church government established by the Pilgrims.
Non-Separatists: Separatists were a group of Puritans who advocated total withdrawal from the Church of England and wanted the freedom to worship independently from English authority. They included the Pilgrims who migrated to America. Non-Separatists sought to reform the Church from within.