Essay On The First And Second Great Awakening

The First and Second Great Awakening brought forth religious and social movements that impacted the American culture, appealing to the individual. Occurring in the early 18th century, the First Great Awakening was born within the 13 British Colonies with the Revolutionary War on the horizon. Decades later, the Second Great Awakening flourished under revivals and reforms, impacting the 19th century and years to follow. Despite being born out of different climates, The First and Second Great Awakening was characterized by the rejection of rational thinking for emotional preaching that reached the heart and soul, inspiring change in the negative perception of reason and positive perception of emotion and individualism in religion as well as the

David Shi with George Tindall, historians and authors of the textbook America: The Essential Learning Edition wrote about the rise of the Great Awakening, mentioning how it was formed as a retaliation against the rationalist thinking of the Enlightenment and the established churches of the colonies, such as the Church of England, Puritan Congregationalism, and the Dutch Reformed Church. Both of these forces were pushing out the concept of the traditional religious life, but the arrival of touring evangelists, preachers of the gospel, disturbed the system. These travelers, called itinerants, helped spark the beginnings of the Great Awakening, its impact spanning the 13 colonies. These itinerants reestablished the spiritual essence of religion that was lost with the Enlightenment, arousing the masses to attend the sermons of these

Similarly, established churches were creating boundaries and restrictions on people due to their faith, meanwhile having the endorsement of the state governments, creating a system of one church per region. For example, Puritan Congregationalism was the recognized faith in New England. David Shi describes how The Great Awakening split and rearranged these boundaries as it challenged the ideology of the established church. The emphasis that people could receive God’s grace without their local minister created a rift in the churches, such as the division of the Presbyterians into “Old Side” and “New Side”. Jonathan Edwards, a Congregationalist minister in Massachusetts, known as a theologian who created Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, stated in Thoughts on the Revival how the population had been split into two like two different cavalries, ready to battle. This split impacted the method of worship across the