How did William Laud’s campaign against Puritans contribute to anger toward King Charles I?

William Laud’s campaign against Puritans significantly fueled public and political resentment toward King Charles I by intertwining religious suppression with royal authority.1

As archbishop of Canterbury, Laud enforced strict adherence to the Book of Common Prayer and mandated ceremonial changes—such as railing off communion tables and bowing at the name of Jesus—which many viewed as dangerous steps toward "popery". His efforts to control the ministry by curtailing preaching and dismantling Puritan organizations, such as the "feoffees for impropriations," alienated religious radicals and the broader public.1

Laud utilized the royal prerogative courts of Star Chamber and High Commission to punish dissenters, including the mutilation and imprisonment of prominent Puritan propagandists. Because Laud operated with the King’s full support and viewed the strength of the church as inseparable from the state, his aggressive policies became synonymous with Charles I’s own authoritarian rule. This perceived tyranny, combined with attempts to impose Anglican forms of worship in Scotland, ultimately consolidated opposition and contributed to the political instability that led to the English Civil War.1