The Great Awakening of 1735-1745 was a reaction to a decline in piety and a carelessness of morals within the Congregational Churches of New England. Although the Great Awakening stimulated dramatic conversions and an increase in church membership, it also provoked conflicts and divisions within the established church. This striking revival of religious piety and its emphasis on salvation ultimately transformed the religious order of Connecticut. The decline in piety among the second generation of Puritans, which stemmed from economic changes, political transformations, and Enlightenment rationalism, was the primary cause of the Great Awakening.
During the eighteenth century, political uncertainty and economic instability characterized colonial life and diverted devout Puritans from religious obligations.
Individual morals declined as Puritans within the community turned increasingly to Arminianism, the belief that preparation for heaven was easily managed and therefore less important, to justify their participation in secular affairs. The supporters of the Awakening pointed to the apparent collapse of Puritan values to explain the need for revival. Nomadic preachers succeeded in converting hundreds of unregenerate Puritans and increasing church membership throughout the colony. The Great Awakening witnessed a revival of outward conversions which occurred in three stages: the recognition of sin accompanied by fear, distress, or anxiety, a further dependence upon God’s mercy, and, finally, a relief from distress characterized by euphoric emotion.
The Term Paper on Lds Church Churches Decline Modernity
Alan Goff Human. 417-The Emergence of the Modern Era Term Paper Hacking at the Leaves while Stumbling over the Roots: Modernity, Assimilation, and RLDS Mimicry of Oldline Decline Introduction As Western societies move from modern epistemologies to postmodern ones, it is worth reflecting what we are beyond if we live in a postmodern world. Modernity has endured pretty rough handling by postmodern ...
Influenced by Enlightenment Rationalism, critics of the revival argued for a rational interpretation of the Bible. One of the underlying issues of the Awakening was whether or not conversions were indeed a manifestation of the Holy Spirit upon God’s chosen people or whether the emotional outbursts were merely expressions of deep human sentiment. Because the Congregational Church dominated all aspects of colonial life during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the formation of separate churches posed a tremendous threat to the established order of the colony. Ministers were the leaders of the community, usually serving for life.
Although the Great Awakening only lasted from 1735-1745, it not only increased church membership but also stimulated education and promoted a separation of church and state. As itinerants inspired New Lights to study the Bible, converts focused increasingly on education in lieu of games, music, and other forms of entertainment. The Great Awakening influenced the founding of prestigious universities, including Princeton, Dartmouth, Brown, Rutgers, Washington and Lee, and Hampden-Sydney. Therefore, the Great Awakening affected not only affairs within the church, but it also transformed the colonial government and had a profound impact on secondary education.
The Great Awakening, furthermore, effected significant social leveling and led to increased religious tolerance within the colony of Connecticut. The Awakening underscored the inherent depravity of the human soul, teaching that all were sinners in the eyes of God, regardless of class. Common emotional experiences united the rich and the poor under a common self-consciousness, and lay participation increased dramatically. James Davenport claimed that the right to speak out was a gift from the Holy Spirit, and a new, informal language of worship emerged as the congregation gained a voice in religious affairs.
Because the revivalists taught that joy and salvation were available to all laymen, regardless of class, there was an infusion of democracy into the churches which ultimately led to an increase in democracy and social mobility within the community. Moreover, the divisions inspired by the Great Awakening and the subsequent decline of the Congregational monopoly, presented other denominations with the opportunity to establish new churches. Ironically, the Great Awakening promoted religious tolerance as the Congregational Church split into Old Light and New Light factions and new denominations, such as the Baptist Church, attracted new members. The Awakening also established voluntarism, asserting that religious affiliation was not an obligation but a right that men and women could freely exploit.
The Essay on Women In The Catholic Church The Great Debate Affirmative
H2>SHOULD WOMEN BE ORDAINED IN THE PRIESTHOOD? The question of the ordination of women to the priesthood has moved to the forefront of theological controversy in recent years, prompting a swamping of books, and religious opinions. This controversial issue stems not only from the renewed interest of the Catholic Church in the nature of its priesthood, but also, and perhaps predominantly, from ...
The first Great Awakening in Connecticut, which occurred nearly two hundred and fifty years ago, dramatically affected the lives of Americans. A reaction to a laxity in morals within the church, the Great Awakening spread through the words of nomadic evangelists and stimulated dramatic conversions and a powerful commitment to the church. Although the movement ultimately subsided as excesses alienated established members of the church, its repercussions extended beyond colonial borders and the year 1745. All religions depend on revivals to awaken piety and complete a steady, devout place to live in. The Great Awakening of 1735, though all-encompassing and dramatic, was one in a number of recorded revivals throughout church history.
