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The Evangelical Movement Research Paper

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The evangelical movement that attracted white southerners and developed the Bible Belt, was in constant reinvention mode during the same decades that it took hold in the south. While the core of evangelical faith was that of the fallen soul, requiring rebirth through divine grace and mercy; causing one to experience an inward change by submitting minds, hearts and wills to God, evangelicalism changed with the demands of society, culture, men and women throughout the times. Evangelist set their aim to reach the souls of many different southern people. The majority was churchgoers with the belief in the divinity of Jesus, the Bible, and the promise of life after death. The “worldings” did not worship regularly and often indulged …show more content…

Because many of these people lived in the “backcountry”, evangelical efforts were concentrated in these areas. Evangelist engaged young men, many just beginning their ministerial careers, as itinerants that traveled and preached in these areas. It not was an easy task. First many were young men, unseasoned, often under the age of thirty. Being told how to live, work and worship by a young whippersnapper did not set will with men in these areas. Reports of preachers insulting local authorities, condemned slavery, disregarding the submission and loyalties to family and kin above any other, traveled between communities causing southerners to resistant evangelism. One way to attract converts was to fashion churches to mimic those of the New Testament, woven together by emotional intimacy and spiritual equality. Evangelist established churches that were to be refuges from a world filled with materialism, rivalry, and aggression. Evangelist aimed to provide emotional support, moral guidance and a peaceful way to settle personal differences. They worked to lead people to lives of greater security and satisfaction, yet standing firm in their conviction that spiritual rebirth was essential to …show more content…

White southern men held that mastery over the members of their households was the essence of their masculinity; demanding the right to govern entry into and behavior within. While some men followed their wives into the same church other husbands found evangelism too extreme and imposed their will on wives and dependents. The authority of southern husbands and fathers to decide when enough was enough made them a power for preachers to reckon with. A challenge evangelist took on, for they aimed at winning more than men’s hospitality, they sought their

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