IntroductionPersecution for one's beliefs or desire for purity within the church is not something most modern Christians are familiar with. In an age where most people change churches as if they change their clothes (for the most impertinent reasons) it is difficult to conceive of the kind of dedication, conviction and faith that our early Christian ancestors had when they first arrived in America. In the following pages we will briefly examine some of the causes and conditions that led to the Puritan migration of 1620, while also looking at the distinctions that set them apart from their contemporary counterparts. The Conditions It is thought that the Puritan movement first began to organize itself, into what we would recognize today, around 1560 under the reign of Queen Elizabeth. However its roots can be traced back to William Tyndale, probably best known for his translation of the Bible from its original languages ​​(primarily Hebrew and Greek) to the first English Bibles ever written. This inevitably led to the same radical church reform, which was taking place in Germany (but this time for its English counterparts) primarily due to the common man's newfound ability to read and interpret the Bible for themselves. In 1536 the English Parliament officially separated from the Catholic Church of Rome to form the Church of England. The change, however, was predominantly about politics as opposed to doctrine, which was the primary reason for the Puritans' desire for reform. According to William Bradford, who was a founding member of the original group of Puritans who arrived on the Mayflower, the Church had become “full of bitter contention and full of paper…prompting Puritans to leave their families, homes and jobs to found a community free from religious persecution and similar in its beliefs. These distinctive beliefs or characteristics included the following: an emphasis on strong moral character, the importance of the Bible as the ultimate authority in both doctrine and practice, and an uncompromising belief in the doctrines of grace. All of this distinguishes our Puritan ancestors both from the contemporary Christians of their day and from most modern Christianity today. Works Cited McMichael, George, James S. Leonard, Shelly Fisher Fishkin, David Bradley, Dana D. Nelson, Joseph Csicsila, Anthology of American Literature: Bradford /Of Plymouth Plantation. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007. Ryken, Leland. Saints of the World: The Puritans as they really were. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986.