1. The Great Awakening

2. The Great Awakening = Religious Revival
What is a religious revival?
a reviving, renewing attention or interest
a new presentation of religion
an effort to restore the animating force of religion

3. By 1730, religion in America was struggling to maintain membership and attract new converts
Why?
many older, established religious denominations were often very intellectual (more lecture than sermon), and thus boring
impact of the Enlightenment
many people were more focused on making money, given with new opportunities

4. Great Awakening: A new message and technique
Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield were enormously popular revival leaders during the Great Awakening.
Great Awakening Ministers...
made sermons easier to understand
made sermons more emotional
focused on an angry God
stressed the ease of conversion and a personal relationship with God
Acknowledge your sins!
Ask for forgiveness!
Accept God’s mercy!
You are saved!!

5. Political Impact of the Great Awakening
It simplified religion – especially the conversion process.
By stressing the personal relationship with God and the Bible, many questioned the authority of the clergy.
Emotion became an important part of some religious services.
Major divisions among Protestant denominations appeared. (The new Methodists and Baptists began to compete with the older, established denominations.)
By emphasizing the individual nature of conversion and individual control over a believer’s soul, the Great Awakening contributed to the democratizing trend of questioning authority and established institutions.