James I ruled over both England and Scotland. He had come from Scotland, so was unfamiliar with English love of their rights, passion for liberty and justice, and extensive discussing of religion and quoting scripture. When he came to the throne, he had a conference with a group of Puritans who asked for certain reforms: ceremonies such as the cross in baptism and the ring in marriage should not be used, only educated men competent to preach should be made ministers, bishops should not be allowed to hold benefices that they did not administer, and minor officials should not excommunicate for trifles and twelve-penny matters. He not only denied their requests, but had the English Bible revised into the King James version, which was published in 1611. This was to replace the popular Geneva Bible written by English Protestant refugees from Catholic Queen Mary's reign, which he did not like because some of its commentary was not highly favorable to kings. James didn't believe a king had to live by the law; he hadn't as king of Scotland. He tried to imbue into England the idea of a divine right of kings to rule that he had held in Scotland. The established church quickly endorsed and preached this idea.
The selection of the clergy of the parish churches was now often in the hands of the parishioners, having been sold to them by the patron lord of the manor. Some patrons sold the right of selection to a tradesman or yeoman who wished to put in his son or a relative. Some rights of selection were in the hands of bishops, the colleges, and the Crown. The parish clergyman was appointed for life and removed only for grave cause. Most parishioners wanted a sermon created by their minister instead of repetitious homilies and constant prayer. They thought that the object of worship in church was to rouse men to think and act about the problems of the world.
In 1622, the king mandated that clergymen quote scripture only in context of the Book of Articles of Religion of 1562 or the two Books of Homilies and not preach any sermon on Sunday afternoon except on some part of the Catechism or some text out of the Creed, Ten Commandments, or the Lord's Prayer.
The Puritan movement grew. About 5% of the Protestants were Puritans. These included country gentlemen and wealthier traders. They dressed simply in gray or other drab colors and wore their hair short to protest the fashion of long curls. They lived simply and disapproved of dancing because it induced lasciviousness and of theater because of its lewdness. Theaters and brothels still shared the same neighborhoods, the same customers, and sometimes the same employees. Prostitutes went to plays to find customers; men shouldered and shoved each other in competing to sit next to attractive women to get to know them. The Puritans also disapproved of cock fights because they led to gambling and disorder, and Maypole celebrations because of their paganism. There was less humor. Many became stoics. The Puritan church ceremonies were plain, with no ornamentation. Puritans prayed several times a day and read the Bible to each other in family groups to look for guidance in their conduct and life. They asked for God to intervene in personal matters and looked for signs of his pleasure or displeasure in happenings such as a tree falling close but not touching him, or his horse throwing him without injury to him. When there was an illness in the family or misfortune, they examined their past life for sins and tried to correct shortcomings. They circulated records of puritan lives including spiritual diaries. They believed in the equality of men and that a good man was better than a bad peer, bishop, or king. Puritan influence made families closer and not merely dependent on the will of the husband or father. There was a sense of spiritual fellowship among family members as individuals. They emphasized the real need of a lasting love relationship between husband and wife, so a mutual liking that could develop into love between a young couple in an arranged match was essential.
Most Puritans felt that the bishops were as tyrannical as the pope had been and that more reform was needed. They favored the Presbyterian form of church government developed by John Calvin in Switzerland. The presbyter was the position below bishop. Parishes were governed by boards consisting of a minister and lay elders elected by the parishioners. These boards sent elected representatives to councils. All lay elders and ministers had equal rank with each other. The Calvinist God preordained salvation only for the elect and damnation and everlasting punishment for the rest of humanity, but the Puritans had an optimism about avoiding this damnation. They believed that at his conversion a person received grace, which was a sign that he was predestined for salvation. They rejected all ecclesiastical institutions except as established by each parish over its own elected pastor and members. They rejected the established church's control from the top by bishops. They believed in negotiating directly with God for the welfare of the soul without the priest or church organization.
The fear of witchcraft grew with Puritanism. Poor decrepit old defenseless women, often deformed and feeble-minded, were thought to be witches. Their warts and tumors were thought to be teats for the devil to suck or the devil's mark. Cursing or ill-tempers (probably from old age pains) or having cats were further indications of witchery.
When the king learned in 1618 that the English Puritans had prevented certain recreations after the Sunday service, he proclaimed that the people should not be restrained from lawful recreations and exercise such as dancing, May-games, Whitsunales, Morris-dances, May-pole sports, archery for men, leaping, and vaulting. Also women could carry rushes to decorate the church as they had done in the past. (Still unlawful on Sunday were bear and bull baitings and bowlings.) His stated purpose was to prevent people such as Catholics from being deterred from conversion, to promote physical fitness for war, and to keep people from drinking and making discontented speeches in their ale houses.
Besides the Puritans, there were other Independent sects, such as the Congregationalists, whose churches gathered together by the inspiration of Jesus. This sect was started by English merchants residing in Holland who set up congregations of Englishmen under their patronage there; they kept minister and elders well under their control. The Baptists emerged out of the Independents. They believed that only adults, who were capable of full belief, and not children, could be baptized. They also believed that it was the right of any man to seek God's truth for himself in the scriptures and that obedience to the state should not extend beyond personal conscience.
One fourth of all children born did not live to the age of ten, most dying in their first year. Babies had close caps over their head, a rattle, and slept in a sturdy wood cradle that rocked on the floor, usually near the hearth. Babies of wealthier families had nurses. The babies of ladies were suckled by wet nurses. Parents raised children with affection and tried to prepare them to become independent self-sustaining adults. There was less severity than in Tudor times, although the maxim "spare the rod and spoil the child" was generally believed, especially by Puritans, and applied to even very young children. In disciplining a child, an admonition was first used, and the rod as a last resort, with an explanation of the reasons for its use. There were nursery rhymes and stories such as "Little Bo-Peep", "Jack and the Beanstalk", "Tom Thumb", "Chicken Little", and Robin Hood and King Arthur tales, and probably also "Puss in Boots", "Red Ridinghood", "Cinderella", "Beauty and the Beast", "Bluebeard" and Aesop's Fables. "Little Jack Horner" who sat in a corner was a satire on the Puritan aversion to Christmas pudding and sense of conscious virtue. Toys included dolls, balls, drums, and hobby horses. Children played "hide and seek", "here we go around the Mulberry bush", and other group games. School children were taught by "horn books". This was a piece of paper with the alphabet and perhaps a religious verse, such as the Paternoster prayer, that was mounted on wood and covered with thin horn to prevent tearing. Little girls cross-stitched the alphabet and numerals on samplers. Block alphabets were coming into use. Most market towns had a grammar school which would qualify a student for university. They were attended by sons of noblemen, country squires [poor gentlemen], merchants, and substantial yeomen, and in some free schools, the poor. School hours were from 6:00 a.m. to noon or later. Multiplication was taught. If affordable, families had their children involved in education after they were small until they left home at about fifteen for apprenticeship or service. Otherwise, children worked with their families from the age of seven, e.g. carding and spinning wool, until leaving home at about fifteen.
There were boarding schools such as Winchester, Eton, Westminster, St. Paul's, and Merchant Taylors'. There, senior boys selected for conduct and ability supervised younger boys. They thereby got experience for a future in public life. The system was also a check on bullying of the weak by the strong. The curriculum included Lilly's "Grammar", Aesop, Terence's Roman comic plays, Virgil's "Aeneid" (the national epic of Rome), Cicero's "Letters" reflecting Roman life, Sallust's histories showing people and their motives, Caesar's "Commentaries" on the Gallic and civil wars, Horace's "Epistles" about life and poetry, poet Ovid's "Metamorphoses" on adventures and love affairs of deities and heroes, or "Fasti" on Roman religious festivals and customs, Donatus' grammar book, and other ancient Latin authors. Football, with hog bladders, and tennis were played. These schools were self-supporting and did their own farming.