1 янв 1662 г. - Half-Way Covenant of 1662

Описание:

A religious law established to amend the problem of declining church membership in Massachusetts. While most who came to the colony during the Great Migration were devout Puritans, their children were less enthusiastic, and their children even less so. By 1659, less than half of Boston had full church membership. Puritan leaders had to decide whether or not to uphold their strict qualifications for membership. Doing so would diminish the church's presence, while relaxing their standards would promote more membership but reduce religious purity. The Half-Way Covenant of 1662 was implemented as a compromise. It allowed for the baptism of grandchildren of Great Migration immigrants, thus basing church members to be more based on ancestry rather than conversion. Despite this, church membership continued its decline.

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