The Half-Way Covenant

As the first generation of Massachusetts Bay settlers began to endure aside by the middle of the 17th century, the Congregational churches face up a constituentship crisis. Full participation had been especial(a) to the Visible Saints those who had made a universe affirmation of their faith and had been accepted into social station by a vote of the congregation, (Mulder 134). The second and third generation of Puritans did not have the same phantasmal ambition their fathers had before them. economic conditions had greatly improved, and individuals were paying increasingly less attention to the congregation. Ministers before long found them selves preaching to empty pews, as fewerer became let members of the church. Limited individuals felt confident enough to make the indispensable public declarations to become a in force(p) member. Shockingly, more wo bonds than men did so, which led to an increasing feminization of church membership, in any case a matter of deep concern in a male-dominated society,( Mulder 149). In 1662, several congregations met and approved the Half-Way Covenant. The churches devised this covenant to provide a limited form of membership. This partial membership allowed people that were name into the church, not yet full members, to baptize their children into the church as well. make up with this membership, one would have to become a full member to partake in Communion or voting on church matters.

Only a few New England congregations accepted this compromise. Political forces within the colonies tended to support the laxation of church membership rules since the right to vote on polished matters was reserved for the Visible Saints, (Olmstead 224). The in! herent cohesion of the early Puritan communities was forgone. A split had develop between the fundamentalists, who wanted to maintain religious purity at any cost, and the more liberal thinkers, who believed that a stronger society could be built... If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: OrderEssay.net

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