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What Is The Difference Between The Great Awakening And Enlightenment Rationalism

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The Great Awakening, which lasted from 1739 to 1745, left a permanent impact on American Protestantism. It was a revitalizing movement, and prompted many religious conversations that deeply impacted various communities. The two main ideas in America were Enlightenment Rationalism and Continental Pietism. Before the Great Awakening, the majority of people were Calvinist, however this quickly changed. When the Great Awakening began, new sects began to form - such as the Latter Day Saints. Not only was there religious upheaval, but there was also a change in societal developments. For example, land availability became limited, there was diverse immigration, and the population began to drastically increase. Many followed the ideas of the Great …show more content…

The Great Awakening broke down the social cohesion, making America a much more individualistic country. This revival period killed the collectivist ideals, and upheld the individual instead. In church congregations for example, the individuals began to make decisions for God out of personal choice, instead of out of choice regarding the larger society. This was a drastic change from before, where the church was involved in practically every part of life. For example, the town doctor would also be considered the church minister. This transition away from the church also brought a new dynamic to relationships, since people began to make choices for themselves instead of for their spouse. This shift from a "communal" society to an "individual" society first began when small minorities (in different churches) tried to bring down the orthodox majorities. When they did not succeed, they would leave the church and attempt to bring down orthodox thought, elsewhere. Once these minorities gained allies, they were strong enough to degrade the traditional ideas of social order and deference (human submission), as well as try to un-popularize established church governments. The revivalists also supported the rights of minorities, and they came out with novel ideas about society and how it should be run. People in this movement started to question the power of …show more content…

Bellah looks at the bigger picture of an excessive individualistic culture. He fears that America's future is unstable, since it is full of narcissistic individuals only working to better themselves instead of the greater good. He believes that there may not be a successful future for America if people continue to move towards individualism, and not towards a continuation of private and unique religious practices as a community (Bellah

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Transcendentalism is a highly competitive world of the market revolution which strongly encouraged the identification of American freedom without any restraints on people who were seeking financial improvement and personal development. It was a world in which regional developments along with the market revolution crushed traditional and social borders. For example moving from one place to another was a common characteristic of the American life. Transcendentalism believed in individual judgment over existing social traditions and institutions.

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The progressives, wanted to create a society that acted as one. The idea of being an individual was something to be forgotten in order to create a more perfect civilization of order and pureness. During this time of the progressive movement, the rest of society began to reject it ideology of their message and goals of non­pleasure and work. Especially around the Carina Arreola History 1302 W.Wooten time of World War One, the Great depression, and the New Deal.

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The Great Awakening strived to erase the lines between religions by promoting religious pluralism and the concept that all faiths were equal. Primarily, the separation of Church and State was finally in place, which showed the opposition to allowing religion facilitate the decisions of their nation. The Awakening weakened the cultural authority of the upper class and produced a vision of a society drawn in more equal lines. Overall, the thought of finally being equal unified the colonies and created universities that were not controlled by the Church. The new universities promoted different types of curriculum which was not based on religion.

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People had both the right and the duty to make whatever changes were necessary to come up with a new government or new reforms to that government to better serve their needs. This is basically was the mindset of the people who believed that reform was need in society. The Second Great Awakening refers to a period of religious revivals at occurred in the United States in the 1830s. After this period, many reform movements took place to better serve society and the people in it.

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Both Nathan O. Hatch and Gordon S. Wood address the changes America endured by 1850 in their excerpts, however each differ in their explanations. Hatch claims that the most important movements were religious and those religious movements effected and evoked other ideas of politics, standards, and culture. Then, Woods suggests that population and economic changes caused alterations in countless areas of American life, including religion. Both defend contradicting reasons for people coming together and becoming a unified, American force. The countless religious movements during 1780 to 1850 all support Hatch’s argument.

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In the 1840’s there was a wave of democratization created after Jackson’s presidency. It was created the value of the common man, and the importance of every person who was in the government. Of course, there were exceptions to this rule as there still certain groups like blacks or women that were viewed as inferior, but the majority of the population felt like they had worth. This led to series of reforms: hospitals for the mentally ill, schools for people with physical disabilities, the temperance movement, and labor unions. This movements fought a better society with better treatment even though there would be no economic incentives to do so.

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Due to revivals the United states in the 1790 's-1830 's changed religion throughout the whole country. Which created the Second Great Awakening , this transformation changed Americans religon. In the beginning of the Revolution the largest denomomations were Puritan churches aslo called Congregationalist. Anglicans were also included,and Quakers. Methodism and Baptists, were also becoming a fast-growing relgions in the nation.

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The Second Great Awakening positively affected American culture. It is known for their revivals and their religious turn around, as well as how the culture of American people changed. Revivals were these camp meetings that 100s-1000s of people attended. There was singing, preaching, emotions and conversions. The Second Great Awakening was about people changing their freedom.

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The American Enlightenment and the Great Awakening were two very important motivators that changed the colonial society in America through religious beliefs, educational values, and the right to live one’s life according to each individual’s preference. The Great Awakening and the American Enlightenment movements were two events in history that signaled a grand distinction to the teachings among religious believers. New beliefs of how a person should worship in order to be considered in “God’s good graces” soon became an enormous discussion among colonists across the land. “Men of the cloth,” such as George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards were well respected and closely followed when preaching about the love of God and damnation.

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After the War of 1812, the United States underwent periods of cultural, governmental and social reform instigated by the population’s push for increased democracy, freedom, and rights. This time, The Second Great Awakening, changed citizens’ views on religion, morals, rights and life values up to and past the death of Zachary Taylor in 1850. Reform movements commenced by the populous focused on women’s rights, slavery, suffrage or improvement of government facilities. The restructuring of prisons yielded the most success by the reform movements, and the reformation of religion was the largest change on a social

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The Great Awakening was a series of religious revivals that took the colonies by storm during the 1730's and 1740's. The Great Awakening was a religious revival movement which emerged in Europe spread though England and the American colonies as well during the middle decades of the 18th century. This was the rea of which the this era laid the base for science was greater than religion all over the colonies which is why all the pastors were trying to get ahead of the game and try and convince everyone otherwise. They stared to face struggles against the classic regimes and their old school way of thinking this was making everyone question their life’s and mainly authority. Concern stared to grow that church members were losing their devotion

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Religion was the main driving force throughout the entire period of European colonization of America. Most Europeans were motivated by desire for wealth, land, economic opportunity, and religious freedom. The First Great Awakening, although a religious revolution, had a huge impact on the class and colonial politics. This revolution helped formed a unity among colonists, allowed religious pluralism, and started the notion of state rule as a contract with the people. However, the downside of this revolution is that it combines religion and government together as well as created a fear and hatred of Catholicism.

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[2] In addition, the early reformers concerned other social problems destroying the nation. These included the growth of cities, the spread of industry, changes in gender roles and generational relationships and the breakdown of older paternalistic social relationships. Consequently, traditional structures of familial, communal and clerical authorities were weakening, relationships between parents and children, employers and workingmen were breaking apart. The reformers also worried that rates of urban growth that increased suddenly in foreign immigration could

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The Second Great Awakening also consisted of the growth of many churches in the United States and increased the percentage of religious people by a lot. The second great awakening influenced several social reforms that took place later and helped change our country into what it is today. The Second Great Awakening definitely expanded the number of active church members and affected the United States in many ways later in its

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In the wake of the second Great Awakening in the early 1800’s, societal morals regarding slavery, lack of rights for women, the prison system, education, and other institutions were questioned. Unitarianism stressed salvation through good works, and both religious converts and transcendentalists initiated social reform movements in an attempt to improve the moral state of America. Two of these movements that included perhaps the most controversy and struggle included abolitionism and women’s rights. Although both the abolitionist and women’s rights movements were able to eventually create lasting societal and political change, the fact that only a small portion of the population had any democratic rights showed the initial weaknesses of American democracy.

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