In 1620, an odd group of English families landed on the rainy Massachusetts BayA bay in the north-eastern United States that is mostly in the state of Massachusetts.¹. Some 102 people had been living together for ten weeks on a ship only around 30m long, the MayflowerThe ship on which the first Puritan settlers, now often known as the Pilgrim Fathers, arrived. Some US families are proud to trace their ancestry all the way back to this first voyage.. The group quickly formed a new settlement that they named Plymouth, after the English port town from which they had set sail.

The settlers were PuritansA Protestant movement that wanted to return Christianity to its early, "pure" spirit, getting rid of the pomp and splendour of the Catholic Church. They banned gambling, adultery, fancy clothes, living with Native Americans, smoking in public, and celebrating Christmas., a religious sect that wanted to "purify" England of its Roman CatholicThe world's largest Christian Church, with 1.3 billion members. In the 16th and 17th Centuries it came under attack from reformers who accused it of corruption and set up their own Churches. elements and bring it more in line with hardline ProtestantismThe umbrella term for a wide variety of movements that trace their roots to a schism in the Catholic Church in the early 16th Century. Protestants are united by a number of core beliefs, but there is much diversity among its movements.. Today, a fierce debate rages over their motives in moving to America. 

Traditionally, it was argued that they wanted to establish religious freedom in their new colony. However, many have argued more recently that they really only wanted religious freedom for themselves, not for other religions. Perhaps unfairly, the Puritans have become a byword for self-righteousness, moral certainty and intolerance of argument.

Now one author thinks the Puritans are still with us in spirit. In a new book, former comedian Andrew Doyle argues that they have found a home in the modern left.

He claims the left sees political differences as moral ones. If someone disagrees on certain issues, they are not merely wrong, but actually evil. 

He likens so-called "cancel culture" to the religious fundamentalists in Arthur MillerThe US playwright wrote The Crucible in 1953 as a political commentary on the fear and paranoia of 20th-Century politics.'s play The CrucibleOne of Arthur Miller's most famous plays. He wrote it as a satire on the McCarthy Trials that were at that time forcing many American leftists out of public life., based on the Salem Witch TrialsA series of hearings held in colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693 in response to a moral panic about witchcraft. More than 200 people were accused and 19 executed.. In the play, a whole community is reluctantly caught up in a fervour for finding and punishing witches, and innocent people are killed. This kind of atmosphere, Doyle claims, stifles debate and free enquiry.

The writer Julie Burchill agrees. "Once it was the religious fanatics who sucked all the fun out of life," she writes. "Today it's joyless young social justice warriors."

But, some counter, political differences can indeed be moral ones. If one of our friends is being victimised by a racist, sexist or homophobic bully, they say, we have a duty to support them and call out the bully. Why should it be any different when the nastiness is dressed up as "political difference"?

Indeed, some think it is the anti-"woke" who are the true Puritans. They point out that critics like Doyle never engage with actual left-wing ideas. Instead, they complain about the "culture" surrounding these ideas. They fulminate about "woke mobs" and "lefty teachers" instead of doing any serious thinking about what it is the other side is actually saying. For them, it is the right that is intolerant of difference and hostile to free and open debate.

But others suggest there are worse things than being a Puritan. Historically, puritans believed strongly in education, because they wanted their children to be able to read and interpret the Bible for themselves. Some founded Oxbridge colleges.

As a result, Puritan communities were some of the most literate in the world. These highly-educated puritans had lively debates over the true meaning of Christianity.

And they ultimately gave rise to Protestant evangelicalismA branch of Protestantism that stresses the experience of being "born again" and spreading Christianity to others. In the USA it has been the driving force of a powerful right-wing movement., one of the most successful religious and political movements of the modern era. All in all, some say, the Puritans are quite a good example to follow.

Yes: There is a certain subset of people who treat their political views like a faith. They are very prominent on social media and they have been known to hound people out of their jobs.

No: The left is only intolerant of intolerant people: those who are racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic. If it is a choice between tolerance for the intolerant and tolerance for the marginalised, we should opt for the latter.

Or...Social media brings out the worst sides of any community. Right-wingers are just as toxic online as the left. This is a problem with online culture, not with any one political movement.

Massachusetts Bay - A bay in the north-eastern United States that is mostly in the state of Massachusetts.

Mayflower - The ship on which the first Puritan settlers, now often known as the Pilgrim Fathers, arrived. Some US families are proud to trace their ancestry all the way back to this first voyage.

Puritans - A Protestant movement that wanted to return Christianity to its early, "pure" spirit, getting rid of the pomp and splendour of the Catholic Church. They banned gambling, adultery, fancy clothes, living with Native Americans, smoking in public, and celebrating Christmas.

Roman Catholic - The world's largest Christian Church, with 1.3 billion members. In the 16th and 17th Centuries it came under attack from reformers who accused it of corruption and set up their own Churches.

Protestantism - The umbrella term for a wide variety of movements that trace their roots to a schism in the Catholic Church in the early 16th Century. Protestants are united by a number of core beliefs, but there is much diversity among its movements.

Arthur Miller - The US playwright wrote The Crucible in 1953 as a political commentary on the fear and paranoia of 20th-Century politics.

The Crucible - One of Arthur Miller's most famous plays. He wrote it as a satire on the McCarthy Trials that were at that time forcing many American leftists out of public life.

Salem Witch Trials - A series of hearings held in colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693 in response to a moral panic about witchcraft. More than 200 people were accused and 19 executed.

Protestant evangelicalism - A branch of Protestantism that stresses the experience of being "born again" and spreading Christianity to others. In the USA it has been the driving force of a powerful right-wing movement.