Anghelle Anderson

Legg
Sept. 20th, 2020

A) The First Great Awakening was a philosophical enlightenment period in the 1720’s that occurred
throughout Britain and the first 13 U.S. colonies. There were many leaders who took charge
during this ‘Age of Enlightenment’, including Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, Samuel
Davies, and many other christian pastors. This era was swept with pastors on a mission to
evangelize the colonies to renew their faith in God. The main ideologies involved in this task
were that “all humans are sinners, all people can be saved if they confess their sins to God, seek
forgiveness and accept God’s grace, religion shouldn’t be formal and institutionalized, but rather
casual and personal,” (1) and many more. They wanted to spread the idea of “experimental faith”
rather than just taking what you’ve been taught by the bible and living by it (7). These ideas were
not accepted and lived by as widely as they had hoped. As a result of the opposition led by
Charles Chauncy, New England was split into two groups. The “New Light” groups were the half
that embraced the new ideas whereas the group who continued by the traditional ways of the
church were called the “old lights.” (7)

B) The ‘First Great Awakening’ was a response to the Enlightenment’s process of change and new
ideas. (3) Christian pastors had attempted to gather supporters in the new principles of the church,
but they were met with mixed reactions from the 13 colonies. This reaction caused changes in the
religious state in the colonies, for half of the colonies had different religious practices compared
to the other half. The ‘First Great Awakening’ is also said to have influenced the revolutionary
war with its nationalistic ideologies and “individual rights.” (1)

C) The ‘First Great Awakening’ had a long-term impact in terms of “revival and renewal” (4) and
tried shifting to appeal to the common people in an effort to increase the number of people that
believed in God. (1) This resulted in the religious split of the 13 US colonies and other religions
being pursued and established. Colonists interpreted the Bible in many different ways, which led
to the establishment of many new religions; including Methodists, Presbyterians, and Baptists (7).
The “New Lights” who followed the new ways of the church had also founded colleges on the
East Coast that soon became the Ivy League schools we know them as today.

D) The ‘Second Great Awakening’ began in the 1790’s, 50 years after the ‘First Great Awakening’
had ended. (1) The ‘Second Great Awakening’ was similar to the first in terms of religious
revival and renewal in faith, however this awakening was less emotional and resulted in the
foundation of colleges and seminaries. (5) After the ‘Second Great Awakening,’ Methodist and
Baptist churches grew quickly, for there was an increase in memberships. With less emotional
motivation, the pastor’s were able to properly spread their message and were more successful in
their quest for religious revival.
E) The ‘Third Great Awakening’ began in the early 17th century. The main idea of the ‘Third Great
Awakening’ was to “Shift from emphasis on personal to social sin”(6). The ‘Third Great
Awakening’ had a different approach compared to the previous great awakenings. They tried a
 new secular teaching of the Bible that was not bound by religious rule. The past two great
awakenings were influenced and motivated by the “Holy Spirit,” whereas the preachers used
“manmade means” to provoke emotion towards the evangelical messages that were being spread
(9). While this type of revivalism became quite popular, it’s quality was not as strong, for it was
manmade. This was not a method of “true revival” so it’s value diminished, along with the true
revival from the ‘Second Great Awakening.’(9)

Bibliography

1. Great Awakening
 https://www.history.com/topics/british-history/great-awakening
2. The Great Awakening
https://web-
clear.unt.edu/course_projects/HIST2610/content/01_Unit_One/04_lesson_four/09_great_awakeni
ng.htm
3. The Great Awakening
https://www.ushistory.org/us/7b.asp#:~:text=Although%20the%20Great%20Awakening
%20was,term%20cause%20of%20the%20Revolution.&text=The%20Great%20Awakening
%20was%20also,break%20down%20differences%20between%20them.
4. The First Great Awakening
http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/eighteen/ekeyinfo/grawaken.htm
5. The First Great Awakening
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1015&context=ljh
6. Second Great Awakening
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Second-Great-Awakening
7. Fogel, The Phases of the Four Great Awakenings
https://press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/256626.html
8. The First Great Awakening: Religious Revival and American Independence
https://study.com/academy/lesson/the-first-great-awakening-religious-revival-and-american-
independence.html
9. The Third Great Awakening in America
https://fpcurrent.com/third-awakening/