MYTH NO. 4: Puritans established a theocracy
Fact No. 4: The Puritan government of the Massachusetts Bay Colony is described as a theocracy in textbooks, documentaries, commentaries – you name it. But despite all you’ve heard, this is wrong.
A theocracy is a government run by religious authorities who claim divine sanction of their political power. But in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, no minister could run for political office. No person who was censured or excommunicated by his church could lose his political office because of his religious difficulties.
Fact No. 4: The Puritan government of the Massachusetts Bay Colony is described as a theocracy in textbooks, documentaries, commentaries – you name it. But despite all you’ve heard, this is wrong.
A theocracy is a government run by religious authorities who claim divine sanction of their political power. But in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, no minister could run for political office. No person who was censured or excommunicated by his church could lose his political office because of his religious difficulties.