What caused the popularity

of older, traditional churches to decline during the mid-1700s?

As time went on, more and more of the pioneers' children no longer had the same religious experience as their parents, so they could not become full members of the church. The problem got worse when these children began to marry and have their own children. According to the Reformed Puritan theology, converts were privileged to bring their children to baptism as the seal of God's covenant grace.

One of the most disturbing crises occurred in Salem Village, north of Boston, in 1692.