Final answer:
The main difference between Separatists and Puritans is that Separatists, like the Pilgrims, sought complete separation from the Church of England, while Puritans aimed to reform the church's practices from within. This distinction is exemplified by the founding of Plymouth Colony by Separatists and Massachusetts Bay Colony by Puritans.
Step-by-step explanation:
The difference between a Separatist and a Puritan is that a Separatist wanted to leave the Church of England while Puritans just wanted to purify its practices. Specifically, the Puritans of Massachusetts Bay aimed to reform the Church of England from within, whereas the Pilgrims, or Separatists, who settled Plymouth believed the Church was beyond reform and therefore chose to separate from it entirely. This fundamental disagreement over whether the Church of England could be purified or needed to be abandoned is a core distinction in their approaches to religion and governance.
Puritans and Pilgrims were both Calvinist groups that sought to carry John Calvin's theories to their logical conclusions. However, they differed in their tolerance for remaining associated with the Church of England's Catholic traditions and rituals. The Pilgrims, having faced intense persecution, immigrated to Holland and later set off for the New World, where they founded Plymouth Colony and established their own Congregational Churches, free from English ecclesiastical control. The Puritans, remaining hopeful for reform, continued to press for changes from within before some eventually also emigrated to establish the Massachusetts Bay Colony.