This book reconsiders the existence of an early Stuart Puritan movement, and examines the ways in which Puritan clergymen encouraged greater sociability with their like-minded colleagues, both in theory and in practice, to such an extent that they came to define themselves as 'a peculiar people', a community distinct from their less faithful rivals. Their voluntary communal rituals encouraged a view of the world divided between 'us' and 'them'. This provides a context for a renewed examination of the thinking behind debates on ceremonial nonconformity and reactions to the Laudian changes of the 1630s. From this a new perspective is developed on arguments about emigration and church government, arguments that proved crucial to Parliamentarian unity during the English Civil War.

‘ … a richly nuanced study of forms and practices of clerical sociability that helped to define Puritanism and shape its response to the changing conditions of the Caroline Church … [Webster] is a new voice in the field of Puritan studies and one that promises to be an important one’.

Source: Journal of Ecclesiastical History