Why did religious fervor of new England puritans decline after 1660?

Answer 1

There are several reasons for the decline of the Puritans. The Puritan way of life was very demanding. It became impossible for successive generations to go on sustaining concern for religious experiment. By the third generation Puritan leaders began to lose thier tight grip on the religious society. Puritans became victims of thier own dilemma, they were unable to live under their own religious zeal. In the 1660's membership declined and the churches became threatened. The conflicts within the puritan society had caught up with them. The experience of American living had taken the edge off the zeal of the first generation. By 1700 the leaders had lost control and the religious experiment was dead.

Ironically it was the Puritans' own success that cause the decline. Economic success, and the building of a society was at the heart of the puritan work ethic. The acceptance of economic success allowed for religion to become lax. Business soon became of greater importance than religion. Economic achievement replaced the need for the holy experiment. Their own religion promoted economic success (the protestant work ethic).

The difficulty of trying to live with such religious pressures as original sin, predestination, and living in moderation proved to be more than the puritans could handle. It demanded a standardized way of thinking that was not compatible with their growing society. Even with rigid intolerance, non-Puritans influenced the puritan society and was the last feature of its downfall.