Upon his expulsion from Yale and the revocation of his ministerial license, he returned to Putney, Vermont, where he continued to preach, declaring, "I took away their license to sin and they go on sinning; they have taken away my license to preach but I shall go on preaching." The Putney community began to take shape. It started in 1836 as the "Putney Bible School" and became a formal communal organization in 1844, practicing complex marriage, male continence, and striving for perfection.