The Call To Spiritual Renewal In The Great Awakening

Davis Tolar

The Great Awakening The Great Awakening was a religious revival that garnered much of its attention in the 1730s and 1740s. The American colonies would become affected by the actions of the Awakening, leaving a mark on religious and cultural history. This movement would have significant effects on individual lives and identities, promoting many to reevaluate their own lives and beliefs, through an emphasis on spirituality and the religious experience. Although the individualistic nature of the Awakening played a large role in many lives, we find that followers were motivated to address moral and social issues. In this essay, I will examine how people during the Awakening interpreted their call to spiritual renewal, more precisely,

This movement came about during a period in which America was struggling with social and political change, as American colonies contested issues such as slavery, religious pluralism, and colonial identity. In New England during the late seventeenth century, Puritans worried that the region had entered a period of “spiritual decline” (28) in which passivity replaced religious fervor. The Great Awakening may have offered a way for colonists to grapple with these issues, emphasizing moral individual spirituality, while also encouraging social and political reform. The Great Awakening also provided religious excitement for many colonists, which furthered the ideals of the awakening, and encouraged many to convert. Moreover, locating where the Awakenings are situated in a broader historical context allows us to understand why these events occurred, and why they may have influenced individuals to promote political and social

Through the events of the Awakenings, Woodmason was able to publicize South Carolina, where there was a significant lack of religious education as well as a corrupt clergy. Woodmason states, “To see, I say, a Sett of Mongrels under the Pretext of Religion, Sit, and hear for Hours together a String of Vile, cook’d up, Silly and Senseless Lyes, What they know to be Such, What they are Sensible has not the least foundation in Truth or Reason, and to encourage Persons in such Gross Inventions must grieve, must give great Offence to ev’ry one that has the Honour of Christianity at Heart” (259). Considering the events of the Awakenings, Woodmason’s response contends that those practicing religion in the Southern Backcountry were uneducated, and lacked truth and reason. Although many interpreted the call to spiritual renewal through individual spirituality and personal conversion, others interpreted the call as an ability to reform and alter the existing social climate. In this case, Woodmason interprets the call to spiritual renewal as an outlet for change and reformation in society. Through Document 27, we can postulate that Woodmason desired religious education and the appropriate practicing of Christianity in the Southern Backcountry. Woodmason is a prime example of one who saw the Great Awakening as an opportunity to disseminate his ideals and influences over