PURITAN

[noun] [C] - a member of an English religious group in the 16th and 17th centuries which wanted to make church ceremonies simpler, and who believed that self-control and hard work were important and that pleasure was wrong or unnecessary, or, more generally, a person who has these beliefsDuring the seventeenth century, the Puritans destroyed many decorations in English churches.The Puritans did not approve of the theatre because of the pleasure that seeing plays gave to the audience.Despite his apparent liberal views, he's really something of a puritan/he has a puritan streak.