The pilgrims were actually Puritans who didn’t like how the Protestant church was being run. They thought the churches to be to “flashy” and thought the Church of England didn’t do a good enough job at getting rid of the Catholic influences. They left for Holland since Holland really didn’t care what religion you practice. They later left since they felt like they were losing their “Englishness” and becoming Dutch. They then landed in Massachusetts.
So long story short, they left Europe for freedom of religion.
