Religion In The Great Awakening

New England and the Middle Colonies economies were largely based in manufacturing, lacking the reliance on slaves that the Southern Colonies held. New England was largely into fishing and timber. It was also the shipping hub of goods for every other colony as well. Much less money was made than in the South, but the people enjoyed the independence working for themselves came with. The Middle Colonies were into manufacturing as well, but on a much smaller scale than New England. The Middle Colonies dealt with farming and producing grain. Furthermore, with New York being an important port, trade along the river was a large part too. The South’s economy was vastly different as slave labor and tobacco were major sources of wealth for landowners. Tobacco,

Jonathan Edwards Sermon “ Sinners in the Hands of an angry god” contributed into the Great Awakening, showing that Hell was real, and whoever defied god was put down. Edwards used dark imagery to get his our heads, the meaning that everyone is predestined and anyone can be sent to hell. Edwards says in his sermon that “ God's enemies are easily broken into pieces, they are a heap of light chaff before the whirlwind”(2). Edwards hoped that the imagery and language of his sermon would awaken audiences to the horrific reality that he believed awaited them, should they continue life without their devotion to Christ? This made many people horrified and help start the great Awakening, making Christians more aware of the power of Christ, and increase their devotion to Christ.

George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards were both two extreme zealous preachers and very different from each other but had a similar message. George Whitefield was an English Minster, evangelist, and preacher. Whitefield’s purpose was to encourage people to repent their sins and transmute their sinful ways and become preserved to Christ. As for Jonathan Edwards he was a Puritan, preacher and philosopher. Edwards’ concept was to fixate on the experience in religion; he wanted people to understand the distinction between what Edward called a 'merely notional understanding ' of something and 'being in some way inclined ' with reverence. He wanted people to understand the nature and experience of religion. Both Whitefield and Edwards were important figures in Christianity; they could also be seen as entertainers of that time.

Evangelicalism came out of various movements that came in the Protestant church the second Great Awakening” of the 1820s-1840s, resulted in the “Christianization” of young America and the dominance of evangelicalism over the American religious climate ”.The Second Great Awakening marked a fundamental transition in American religious life. Many early American religious groups in the CALVINIST tradition had emphasized the deep depravity of human beings and believed they could only be saved through the grace of God. The new evangelical movement, however, placed greater emphasis on humans' ability to change their situation for the better. By stressing that individuals could assert their "FREE WILL" in choosing to be saved and by suggesting that

The First Great Awakening was a religious revival that swept across Colonial America in the 18th century. The First Great Awakening changed the colonists attitudes toward religion and helped pave the way for the American Revolution. It impacted the way colonists worshipped and gave them a sense of independence. This paper will look at the cause and effect of the First Great Awakening.

Jonathan Edwards, a Congregationalist minister in western Massachusetts, who was shocked at the dissipating religious spirit, believing that people were giving up to sinful pleasures. He worked against the secularization of the Enlightenment and focus on pushing the emotional side of religion by expressing the wonderful nature of Heaven and the horror of Hell, helping to renew intensity behind religion. This idea of Heaven and Hell was stated in his sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, intended to scare people into looking for salvation, with descriptions of people being held over a fire in Hell. This is expressive of the change of social norms in Puritan New England, where going to the Minister’s house as opposed to the Tavern was acceptable. This also shows the more individualized ideals people had, for they were presented with the option of achieving their own salvation and take responsibility for their lives, having the option of maintaining a personal connection with God. (ch 3 txtbk)

The economy of the two regions also greatly differed because of the terrain that they landed on. Because the land in the south was much more fertile than in the north, the southern colonies thrived in rice and tobacco, profiting greatly. In New England the settlers could not grow anything in the rocky terrain and were forced into fishing, building, and farming. However, not much farming went on because of the infertile soil. In the Chesapeake slaves were also a main part of their economy. The slave trade made them very wealthy because of their closeness to the West Indies. They would be shipped many slaves and then use them to harvest their crops and plant their land. Soon, the slaves outnumbered white settlers by about four to one.

of religon. More people came to church for the worship of god from their heart.

The Enlightment originated in Europe and spread to the colonies. The Enlightment celebrated rational inquiry, scientific research, and individual freedom. This resulted in America being especially receptive to the new science. Isaac Newton led people to believe that Reason could improve society. Benjamin Franklin, a descendant of the puritans, believed that God created a universe animated by natural laws, laws that inquisitive people could discern through the use of reason. The eighteenth – century Enlightment made people think that God, the church didn’t control everything. The Enlightment period set in motion intellectual forces that resisted the orthodox way of thinking.

The Second Great Wakening was a Protestant revival fervor that took place all over America staring in the early eighteen hundreds. It urged people to turn away from their sinful life and live a righteous one. It ended up giving birth to the idea that salvation in open to everyone who wants it and in doing so it led to significant changes in American culture. The religious revivals of the Second Great Awaking radically changed religion in America by making it more democratic and turning evangelical Protestantism into the largest denomination in the country, thus leading to major reform movements in American society during the mid-eighteen hundreds.

The First Great Awakening, was a religious revitalization movement that came through the Atlantic region, and even more so in the American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s, forever impacting American religion & is widely known as the most important event for American religion during the eighteenth century. The First Great Awakening was inspired by an English Methodist known as George Whitefield along with other ministers, when many people in the rural areas rejected the Enlighted and rational religion that came from the Cosmopolitan pulpits and port cities. George Whitefield began this movement with speaking tours through the colonies (“The Great Awakening”).

Jonathan Edwards, different views in world religion and in the act of worship created a conflict. A conflict that caused people to question their faith, practice, and participation in minister. His outburst against the norm practice of John Calvin’s “Calvinism” approach to religion “sparked what became known as the Great Awakening in the American colonies” (ushistory.org, 2016). How two men with a different approach to religion created change between the new and old

Religion has been around since the discovery of America. Many European immigrants came to America to escape the traditions of the Church of England. The people wanted religious freedom. Most, however, tried to force their religious beliefs on the people who came to settle in their colonies creating a divide. It wasn’t until The Great Awakening, which started in the New England colonies, occurred that people rose up and revolted against the norms of religion and began to worship the way they wanted to. This divisive time period greatly impacted the American colonies by allowing true religious freedom to all the people.

The major influencers of the Enlightenment include John Locke and Isaac Newton, as well as the Renaissance ideals. Similar to the Renaissance, the Enlightenment greatly valued the education of its people, and brought about an age of optimism and rationalism. Another influencer was the British philosopher, John Locke. John Locke described the importance of the natural rights of life, liberty, and property, and that nothing should be infringed upon these rights. He was an advocate for fairness in regards to individuals and the government. Locke believed the power of the government should be granted from the consent of the governed. Isaac Newton was an English mathematician, astronomer, theologian, and physicist who greatly contributed to the Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolution. Newton discovered the Natural Law of Gravity, and gave the first modern scientific synthesis of the physical universe. Newton shared his ideas of natural law, that certain rights are inherent by virtue of human nature, endowed by nature, and that these can be understood universally through human reason. Essentially, “there was only one universe to discover, and this universe had been discovered by Newton,” (Palmer). He brought about a new feeling of strength in humanity that influenced the Enlightenment. Humans “...were creatures of great capacity in their own right, living in a

It is often said that The Great Awakening was a movement that impacted the religious community forever. I would like to argue that people really did not change much after the Awakening, and they slipped back into their old habits after the entertaining revivals. I will be discussing what happened during the Great Awakening, and why it happened. Also, the impacts it had, and the influential people like George Whitefield, and Jonathan Edwards who encouraged this movement and helped it flourish.