America as "puritanical." We hear this often, but what does it mean? The term harkens back to a group of the country's earliest European immigrants — the Puritans — who established the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 17th century. They fled England, seeking freedom to practice their particular form of Christianity. As a loose political and theological movement, their name derives from members' desire to purify the Church of England as well as their emphasis on moral purity. Puritanical, as a pejorative term, now conjures visions of austere religion, a censorious attitude, and strict demands for adherence to behavioral rules.
