Differences Between The Enlightenment And The Great Awakening

The Enlightenment and the Great Awakening caused major changes during the late seventeenth century and early eighteenth century in British North America. Not only did Americans change their way of life, but also religion became very important to them. A major religious movement became very influential during the colonial period and spread across British North America. People were exposed to the variety of religions and were able to pursue their faith in God. The Enlightenment and the Great Awakening greatly affected religion in British North America.
In addition, The Enlightenment period was primarily focused on the roles of religion and divine right, rather than promoting a more unified colony and accepting religious differences. Religious innovations were created in order to increase interest in science and human knowledge. It allowed people to be able to connect with God and understand that salvation was for anyone who chose to follow God, rather than certain people were chosen by God. They realized they were important in God’s eyes and had the ability to create

The revivals mostly appealed to women and younger sons. They focused on forgetting their past mistakes and building their own relationship with God. The Great Awakening condemned slavery and publicized it as a sin. It was strongly opposed during this time and many Methodists decreed that owning a slave would only lead to immediate expulsion. Furthermore, many people came together by learning more about the Christianity faith and life. Yet, some started coming up with their own conclusions about their faith. Thus, causing the importance of the clergy to decrease. In addition, the Great Awakening caused a split between many churches. Although many churches practiced various beliefs, they were still able to assert religious control over their nation’s