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The Great Awakening
The Great Awakening was characterized by a series of Christian revivals that took place
in British Colonial America in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. What is revivalism? The
Merriam Webster dictionary defines revivalism as a new presentation or publication of
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something old ,a period of renewed religious interest , or an often highly emotional evangelistic
meeting . Revivalism was indeed a new technique used to reintroduce people to God. The Great
Awakening had many causes which were mainly centered around the church and religion. It
spread revivalism into the colonies and left overall results which changed Colonial America
forever.
Before, Puritanism was the major denomination of the New England colonies. The
Puritan theology consisted of three covenants with God. In these covenants of Works, Grace, and
Redemption , the New Englanders believed that they were on earth as a mission from God, that
God is committed to carrying out the Covenant of Grace which he promised to Abraham, and t
that God must set free people who commit iniquity. Perry Miller, a New Englander, said, "God
covenanted with Christ that if he would pay the full price for the redemption of believers, they
should be discharged. Christ hath paid the price, God must be unjust, or else he must set thee
free from all iniquitie. The New England Way was characterized by a self-governing church
(congregation) that worked hand in hand with the government. Also , the male members voted
who would run the town's affairs. In order for a person to get to be a member of the church, they
would have to state their conversion experience to their congregation. Many of the first
generation Puritans were members of the church, however, the second generation lacked
"sainted" members.
The major cause of the Great Awakening was the decline in church membership. This was
due to the forming of plantations and farms that took people to far lands in which their major
focus was of survival.Their focus on religion faded and they became more focused on the
material aspects of life. Thus, the balance between the spiritual life and material life was
shattered. Many of the people that did live in New England were still not church members. This
was probably because religion was too orthodox and "unemotional." Also, another cause that led
to the Great Awakening was that people were becoming more and more morally insufficient. For
example, they were having premarital and extramarital sexual relations which resulted in
children out of wedlock. The Enlightenment also had impact on the Great Awakening. The
educated people were turning towards skepticism and deism. Skeptics doubted basic religious
principles and the Deists believed that God did not miraculously involve himself with the natural
works of the universe. This means that that he created the universe and it was left up to man as
to how things were to be carried out. Many Enlightenment ideas also circled around the idea that
humans, through reason , could discover the thoughts of God and control their own destinies.
New techniques such as revivals were needed to draw people into the church . The revivals led
America into its first religious 'mass movement' , the Great Awakening.
Revivals had been started in the seventeenth century in certain areas, but they didn't
have any major effects until the mid- eighteenth century. For example, the only major revival
that took place before the eighteenth century was that of Solomon Stoddard. Stoddard's
Northampton, Massachusetts, sermon died out because of the Enlightenment and its emphasis on
man. The older generation later became concerned for the second and third generations. These
new generations were forgetting the Puritan theocracy. One of the principle preachers that
recognized the need for revival was Jonathan Edwards.
Jonathan Edwards started a series of sermons to make the second generation of New
Englanders search their hearts for sin and repent. One of his most famous sermons is "
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." In this sermon , he emphasized that at any moment we
could die and wed be submerged into fires of everlasting hell. His sermons also pointed on
justification by faith, the justice of God in the fate of sinners, and the greatness of Christ.
Edward's descriptions , in his sermons, of the delights of heaven and the tortures of hell led to
many people's conversions. The most influential evangelist was George Whitefield. He first
came to Philadelphia and then moved northward to New England. His sermons drew great
crowds and persuaded many to convert. One of the great people who was persuaded by
Whitefield's sermons, was Benjamin Franklin. Whitefield emphasized the need to experience a
" new birth." This is the idea that is the key component of evangelicalism. He also believed in
the down play of denominations. Whitefield had once said in a sermon , Father Abraham, whom
have you in heaven? Any Episcopalians? No! Any Presbyterians? No! Any Independents or
Methodists? No, No No! Whom have you there? We dont know those names here. All who are
here are Christians...Oh, is this the case? The God help us to forget your party names and to
become Christians in deed and truth.
The evangelists' revivals led to the end of Puritanism in the colonies. The revivals in the
Middle Colonies were led by Theodore J. Frelinghuysen and William Tennet . First, when
Frelinghuysen came to America in 170, he realized the people were cold and "unemotional"
towards religion. His passionate sermons led to the conversions of many people. Later, William
Tennet set up Log's College which educated young men for the ministry. The graduates of Log
College spread and preached militant revivalism .
The South was the last effected by the revivals of the Great Awakening . This was because
there was religion active there and the authorities enforced the established church and kept the
evangelists away. In 174, Mr. Samuel Morris got a hold of a volume of Whitefields sermons
and of Luthers books. This man invited people to come over to his house so he could read the
works to them. Later, this group of listeners became so big they had to build buildings like
Morriss Reading House. The major revivalist in the South was Samuel Davies. Davies also
followed Whitefield's ideas of the " down play" of denominations. When Davies came to
Virginia, churches grew and Presbyterianism came to a rise.
The Great Awakening had many results. The major result of the Great Awakening was
that church membership increased and more denominations such as the Methodists, Baptists, and
Presbyterians were formed. The evangelical principle was permanently implanted in the
American culture as a result of the Awakening. Four fifths of the Americans were unified in that
they shared the common 'evangelical view of life.' In addition to the religion inspired schools of
Harvard, the College of William and Mary, and Yale college ; many new denominational schools
were formed. For example, the Presbyterian College of New Jersey was formed .Also, another
result of the Awakening was that the Puritan theocracy was dissolved and new ideas that man
himself was responsible for salvation took over. Blacks as well as whites were engulfed by
evangelicalism. This led to the evangelicals' belief of slavery as sinful. The Great Awakening
had an indirect effect on political life. Dr. Beardsley has said, The religious convictions of the
American people, which so largely were called into being through the revival, served as a
balance to the political revolution which resulted in independence and prevented it from being
hurled into the vortex of anarchy and ruin, in which the French Revolution was swallowed up.
Last , but not least, people felt a "revived a sense of religious mission." They went out and
converted blacks and Indians.
In conclusion , the Great Awakening was the first major movement of religious fervor that
took place in British Colonial America. This movement ended Puritanism and gave rise to
Evangelicalism. People of the colonies who weren't committed to church and even the few who
had religious beliefs, turned to the revivalists that preached for the need to experience "new
birth" and the dangers of an 'unconverted ministry.' Preachers such as Edwards converted many
congregants. Many people realized their sins and repented. People started to judge things for
themselves and the status of the "old- fashioned- clergy" was weakened. Many new
denominations such as the Baptists, Presbyterians, and Methodists were formed.These
evangelicals felt a "revived sense of religious mission," which led them to convert other
communities such as the black and the Indians.
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