Puritanism

(pyo͝orˈĭ-tn-ĭzˌəm)

1. The practices and doctrines of the Puritans.
2. puritanism Scrupulous moral rigor, especially hostility to social pleasures and indulgences: “Puritanism is the source of our greatest hypocrisies and most crippling illusions” (Molly Haskell).