The Great Awakening refers to several periods of religious revival in American history. These movements were marked by renewed religious fervor, emotional preaching, and an emphasis on personal conversion, in contrast to the more formal, institutionalized religious practices of the time.
Origins and Nature of the Great Awakening
Background
By the early 1700s, church attendance in the British colonies had declined, and religion felt distant and formal.
Many colonists viewed ministers as out of touch with everyday life, and Enlightenment ideas of reason and skepticism further weakened traditional religious authority.
Revival movement
The Great Awakening was a wave of Protestant religious revivals that swept across the colonies, emphasizing personal faith, emotional preaching, and spiritual equality.
Revival meetings crossed class and regional boundaries, uniting settlers from New England to Georgia and creating a shared American religious experience for the first time.
Leaders
Key figures included Jonathan Edwards (“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”) and George Whitefield, who toured the colonies preaching to thousands outdoors.
Whitefield’s use of print media and dramatic oratory made him one of the first transatlantic celebrities, linking revival movements in Britain and America.
Social Impact
Religious renewal
Many ordinary colonists felt empowered to question established churches and seek a direct relationship with God.
New denominations
The revival led to the growth of Baptist and Methodist churches and split older ones (Old Lights vs. New Lights).
Inclusion
Women, the poor, and enslaved Africans were drawn to revival meetings, as preachers emphasized spiritual equality.
Education
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Note
The The Great Awakening was a significant religious revival movement that swept through the American colonies in the 18th century. This period marked a dramatic shift in religious practices and beliefs, emphasizing personal faith and emotional experiences over traditional rituals.
The movement began in the 1730s and reached its peak in the 1740s
It challenged the established religious order and encouraged individual spiritual experiences
DefinitionGreat AwakeningA series of religious revivals in the American colonies during the 18th century that emphasized personal faith, emotional preaching, and spiritual equality.
AnalogyThink of the Great Awakening as a spiritual earthquake that shook the foundations of traditional religious practices, making room for new ways of experiencing faith.
