The Great Awakening Influence

Words: 975
Pages: 4
Open Document
The Great Awakening refers to a wave of religious revivals starting in the early 1700's and lasting to the late 1800's. Though it had a major effect on religion, redemption and revival, its humble beginnings started in England and the Church of England.
King Henry VIII, desperate to put away Katherine of Aragon in order to marry Anne Boleyn, broke away from the Catholic Church to form the Church of England. The Anglican church was an instrument used to keep the pious within certain constraints; those with power tended to abuse their authority through bribes, obedience to the King, and an indifference to spiritual and/or moral authority.
As the nation began to wax cold in its devotion to God, the common people began to adhere to Anglican doctrine;yet their hearts did not experience regeneration. Others were going through the motion of serving God with …show more content…
He also chose heplers, and other clergy to co-labor with him. These were hand-picked men of Wesley's choosing, not ordained by the Anglican church. Yet they carried out the work of the ministry, preaching with as much passion and zeal as Wesley, which was one reason the Methodism denomination flourished.
The driving force behind Wesley's preaching was that he had a desire that no one should perish. In turn, colonists in America accepted his message and rested in the assurance that their sin and guilt had been forgiven. On a larger scale, the Great Revival or the Great Awakening changed American culture and the way people lived for generations to come.
In the late 1780's, John Wesley allowed "Amercian Methodists to ordain their own ministers" (Kidd, page 322). This caused a split from the Anglican church. By doing this, the Wesleyan Methodists continued to grow throughout the colonies. By 1860, Methodism had become the largest Protestant denomination, with members numbering 20,000 souls. Evangelical revivals had taken a firm root in the United
Show More

Related Documents: The Great Awakening Influence

The Great Awakening Influence

During the first half of the eighteenth century, there was a spiritual awakening in the American colonies, especially New England. This would be known as The Great Awakening, it would prove to have great influence over the religious and cultural lives of Americans. In earlier generations, the youth that were coming of age, relied on the guidance of others to tell them what to do and how to live their lives. The clergy was some of the people depended on for this. During the first half of the eighteenth…

Words 474 - Pages 2

Second Great Awakening Influence

The development of the Second Great Awakening lead to America waking up. The movements that lead to The Second Great Awakening are temperance , abolition, and women's rights and the mix of religion. Temperance was the absence of alcohol or the people not drinking because it was tearing families apart and not letting them enjoy church as a family. Abolition was all about the north wanting the southern states to free the slaves and convert them. Women's rights included the rights to women to vote and…

Words 897 - Pages 4

How Did The Great Awakening Influence The Puritans

shortly after the arrival to the New World built a Church and made their religion the “traditional” religion of the New World. Great Awakening The Great Awakening happened throughout the early 18th century, beginning in the 1730’s and ended around the 1760’s in the American Colonies. The movement brought a large spiritual growth to the American Colonies. The great Awakening took away the importance of the standard church religion, and instead put a greater impact on a personal belief and spiritual…

Words 508 - Pages 3

How Did The Great Awakening Influence Colonial Society

there was a great impact from The Enlightenment and The Great Awakening on colonial society in America. The first large-scale religious revival aligned with Enlightenment ideas, it also severed colonial ties with structures of religious authority. It created a unified movement for the four colonies. They were taught that individuals could find heaven if they worked hard enough, not just if they were predestined to go. and that allowed emotional expressions and that became The Great Awakening. However…

Words 217 - Pages 1

How Did The Second Great Awakening Influence The Women's Rights Movement?

The Second Great Awakening began in the late eighteenth century, although really gained momentum in the early nineteenth century. This period of the early nineteenth century was an attempt at the revival of the protestant religion. During this period, Americans began to truly question and explore new ideas of a devout lifestyle. Countless people were converted and many churches were renovated and reinvigorated. Not only affecting religion, the Second Great Awakening influenced many other aspects…

Words 666 - Pages 3

Analytical Essay: The American Enlightenment

Kevin Shultz (2014) states, "The American Enlightenment stemmed from European Enlightenment, which was a movement to prioritize the human capacity for reason as the highest form of human attainment" (p.69). Shultz (2014) also states that in the Western world in the 1600s people believed that (1) That rulers both religious or secular were not to be questioned. (2) That change was not possible for humans. (3) That human lives on Earth were nothing more than a short stop on a journey to Heaven or Hell…

Words 655 - Pages 3

chapter five reading assignment Essay

impending imperial crisis. Great Awakening- a religious revival in the 1730’s because it has not been as prevalent as it was in the 17th century. It was the first spontaneous movement of the American people contributing to the sense of American people as a single people Old lights- orthodox clergy men that were skeptical of the emotionalism of the revivalists. They provided some balance to the chaos of the great awakening. New lights- ministers who defended the great awakenings role in the revitalization…

Words 449 - Pages 2

Second Great Awakening Research Paper

such as the Second Great Awakening which had a heavy emphasis on personal salvation and reform. This coincided with a period of widespread activism aimed at addressing pressing social issues such as gender inequality and racial hierarchies. These campaigns marked the first reform movements that would advocate for abolitionism, women’s rights, and religious individuality. Religious and reform movements such as the Women’s rights movement, abolitionism, and the Second Great Awakening catalyzed a cultural…

Words 1294 - Pages 6

Comparing The Second Great Awakening And Movements In America

The Second Great Awakening and Movements in America A series of Protestant religious revivals gained a mass following throughout the United States and changed the previous set of morals and beliefs. The Second Great Awakening ranged from about 1795 and 1835 where religious meetings were held throughout America stretching from major cities in the North and South to the frontier. It promoted a humanitarian approach to the rise of reforms during this period such as the temperance movement, abolitionist…

Words 686 - Pages 3

Democratic Society

The Influences of a Democratic Society Amid the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, colonial America saw significant progressions. Population expanded exponentially with migrants coming in extensive numbers. It was during this period of economic expansion that colonial America experienced two major revivals that had lasting effects on the country with the regard to religion, government and human nature. The Enlightenment focused on challenging authoritarian rule, and the Great A…

Words 748 - Pages 3