Why did the pilgrims go to North America?

Many of the passengers of the Mayflower (but not all) are considered pilgrims because they left their home mainly for religious reasons.  Those passengers who did seek religious freedom were separatists and disagreed with the Church of England and the Catholic Church in many ways.  They believed that both were corrupt.  They believed in a different approach to Christianity, which included the "personal study of the Scriptures."  

Deciding that they were unable to practice their religion as they chose, a group of these separatists moved first to Amsterdam and then to Leiden in Holland.  In Leiden, many of the pilgrims worked hard as weavers.  A group of French Huguenots had also settled in Leiden to seek religious freedom, and some of the pilgrims attended church with them.  

In Holland, the work was difficult.  While they were able to practice their religion with more freedom, the separatists still felt concerned.  Some of their children began to conform to Dutch culture.  Others left to become soldiers.  They felt that their traditions as Englishmen and Englishwomen were fading.  Also, war between the Dutch and the Spanish loomed.  They feared a repeat of the Spanish Inquisition in Holland, where surely they would be a target (for defying the Roman Catholic Church).  Because of these and other reasons, some decided to sail to the New World.