preview

Religion In Colonial America

Decent Essays

Religion is one of the greatest creations of mankind. Human beings are different from any other animals because of their ability to think and to create. When man evolved to form societies or countries, when they need to understand better the world around them, religions were created naturally.
Buddhism, as one of the three most important religions on earth, was originated from India. Later on, it was introduced to China and was widely accepted by the Chinese through a long period of hard time. Similarly, the history of the United States is also closely linked with religions. The first colonists in America were mostly puritans or pilgrims from Europe.
The influence of religions one a nation is enormous. As we will see, they have played very …show more content…

The revival began with Jonathon Edwards. He was against the authority of church and challenging the old ways of church services. He told people to listen to their soul not to their heads. Personal religious experience was more important than others. His sermons were so powerful that they attracted a large number of followers. Later on, George Whitefield sparked the Great Awakening. He also emphasized the importance of personal feelings and asked his followers to find salvation themselves. He devoted all his life to preaching and converted numerous of his listeners to Christianity. His way of preaching was emotional. Many other preachers followed his steps and the religious movement became even more popular. In American history there were five Great Awakenings which happened for different reasons and purposes, but the first one was most …show more content…

This unification was greater than ever before; It led to a rise in democratic belief in the colonies. People began to think if they could choose their method of worship, they could decide on their form of government, thus laid the spiritual foundation for the war of American Independence. It created the national spirit of the Americans. That is the spirit to challenge the traditional, to emphasize the importance of freedom, democracy and independence.
Summary and Conclusion
The spread of Buddhism in China was a process which lasted over one thousand years. It was the inevitable result of social and economic development in ancient China. The doctrines of Buddhism met the need of the Chinese rulers as well as the spiritual demand of ordinary Chinese people. As a religion from abroad, Buddhism went through many hardship and difficulties but was finally accepted and worshiped by so many of its believers. The essence of Buddhism is love and forgiveness. It encourages people to be kind-hearted and helpful . It believes in punitive justice. All those have great influence on national characters of the Chinese people and ancient Chinese civilization. The Great Awakening took place when America was ruled by the British Empire. The new inhabitants were those European Christians suppressed by the Church of England. They were subjects

Get Access