In Nathan O. Hatch’s “The Democratization of American Christianity” he quickly forms his thesis and expands on the argument “both that the theme of
Democratization is central to understanding the development of American
Christianity, and that the years of the early republic are the most crucial in revealing that process. (Hatch 3)” Hatch leads the reader through the American Revolution and the generation after the American Revolution explaining how the networks of religious communication changed and helped democratize the United States. Also by adopting the powerful leaders of American Christianity as beacons of hope. Hatch uses Charles Finney, Lorenzo Dow, Joseph Smith, Barton Stone, and Francis Asbury as his beacons of American Christianity and its democratization. Lastly how the Second Great Awakening democratized American Christianity.
Hatch tells the reader that the religious communication changed in only two ways in the years following the American Revolution. The first way in which religious communication was that “clergy men lost their unrivaled position as authoritative sources of information (Hatch 125).” The second way in which the religious communication changed “was an explosion of popular printed material (Hatch 125).” This explosion of printed word changed Protestant Christianity. Exploiting of the press many pamphlets, tracts, books, songs and newspapers were published in order to extend the reach of Christianity and to battle other religions and naysayers. But even men of proper learning and character found it difficult to infuse elitist communication and gospel for the common man (Hatch 128). Elias Smith contented, “and all Christians have a right to propagate it, I do also declare, that every Christian has a r...
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...ips were twice that number. The Baptist memberships grew ten fold in the three decades following the Revolution; the number of churches increased from five hundred to around twenty five hundred. Then the black church was born in this age of movements and quickly found its character and appeal. (Hatch 3) “In total these movements eventually constituted two-thirds of the Protestant ministers and church members in the United States” (Hatch 3).
The Second Great Awakening employed a lasting impact on American society more than any other revival. While its zeal let up, The Second Great Awakening left a legacy of many established churches, democratization, and social reform through the networks of religious communication, adopting powerful leaders of American Christianity as beacons of hope, and lastly that the Second Great Awakening democratized American Christianity.
The first event I will be analyzing is The Great Awakening. “The Great Awakening cut across lines of class, status, and education” (Boyer “Bonds of Empire”, P. 86). “The American Protestantism was split” (Boy “Bonds of Empire”, P. 87). “In 1741 Old and New Light Presbyterians formed rival branches that reunited in 1758 when the revivalists emerged victorious” (Boyer “Bonds of Empire”, P. 87). “Members of Anglican churches started leaving and going to New Light Presbyterians and Baptists” (Boyer “Bonds of Empire”, P. 87). “The Great Awakening stimulated the founding of new colleges unscarred by religious wars” (Boyer “Bonds of Empire”, P. 87). With the Great awakening for the cultural effect was that they found different churches for others to go to and enjoyed more. They also found colleges that are really well-known colleges today. The next event I chose to analyze is The Revolution.
The Second Great Awaking consisted of new applications of religion that deviated from rationalism, which sparked promotion of democracy and freedom. The message of salvation rather than condemnation was evident in this movement as spoken by Charles G. Finney. He sought to remove sin from reformed churches and organize sinners to unity and freedom (Doc B). This practice showed the crucial democrati...
The Second Great Awakening began in 1790, as numerous Americans experienced uncertainty as they confronted a rapidly changing society with increases in urbanization and technology. The movement focused on the ability of individuals to change their lives as a means of personal salvation and as a way to reform society as a whole, which opened the door for many reform movements. The Second Great Awakening shaped reform movements such as temperance, abolition, and women’s rights in the nineteenth century because of the increase in concern for the morality of the American people.
People of all groups, social status, and gender realized that they all had voice and they can speak out through their emotional feels of religion. Johnathan Edwards was the first one to initiate this new level of religion tolerance and he states that, “Our people do not so much need to have their heads filled than, as much as have their hearts touched.” Johnathan Edwards first preach led to more individuals to come together and listen. Than after that individual got a sense that you do not need to be a preacher to preach nor you do not need to preach in a church, you can preach wherever you want to. For the first time, you have different people coming together to preach the gospel. You had African American preaching on the roads, Indian preachers preaching and you had women who began to preach. The Great Awakening challenged individuals to find what church meets their needs spiritually and it also let them know about optional choices instead of one. The Great Awakening helped the American colonies come together in growth of a democratic
The Second Great Awakening started the was a religious revival movement during the early 19th century in the United States, it sparked the building and reform of the education system, women's rights and the mental health system. It was also the start of many different denominations of churches such as the, Churches of Christ, Seventh-day Adventist Church, and the Evangelical Christian.
Clark, Jr., Clifford E. "The Changing Nature of Protestantism in Mid-Nineteenth Century America: Henry Ward Beecher's Seven Lectures to Young Men." The Journal of American History Mar. 1971: 832-46. Organization of American Historians. Web. 4 Nov. 2011. .
The Second Great Awakening was extremely influential in sparking the idea of reform in the minds of people across America. Most people in America just accepted things the way they were until this time. Reforms took place due to the increase of industrial growth, increasing immigration, and new ways of communication throughout the United States. Charles Grandison Finney was one of the main reasons the Second Great Awakening was such a great success. “Much of the impulse towards reform was rooted in the revivals of the broad religious movement that swept the Untied State after 1790” (Danzer, Klor de Alva, Krieger, Wilson, and Woloch 240). Revivals during the Second Great Awakening awakened the faith of people during the 1790s with emotional preaching from Charles Finney and many other influential preachers, which later helped influence the reforms of the mid-1800s throughout America.
Religion of the protestant church was an important factor in the pre-war timeline culture. The Second great awakening, which occurred in the 19th century, greatly impacted American society. This new point of view in terms and matters of faith led northerners to cherish the theory of Christian perfection, a theory that in fact was applied to society in an attempt to eliminate social imperfection. On the other hand, southerners reacted by cherishing a faith of personal piety, which focused mainly on a reading of the Bible; however, it expressed very little concern in addressing society’s problems.1
The Second Great Awakening was a religious revival. It influenced the entire country to do good things in society and do what was morally correct. The Second Great Awakening influenced the North more than it did the South and on a whole encouraged democratic ideas and a better standard for the common man and woman. The Second Great Awakening made people want to repent the sins they had made and find who they were. It influenced the end of slavery, abolitionism, and the ban of alcohol, temperance.
The fact that church involvement is voluntary also supports Lipset’s idea of Americans being very individualistic and therefore proves that giving citizens the freedom and choice for religion turns out in even greater religious participation. Once again proving that this individualistic ideology the nation is built upon helps to excel the country and makes it exceptional.
At this time in our nation's history, two-hundred thirty years and counting, there is a great debate raging on. In many peoples' eyes our country has made a turn for the worse. We have thrown our Forefather's to the wayside, and there belief in strong Christian influence along with it. To them all could be solved if we merely "re-instituted" the Christian morals and teachings that this country was founded on. On the other hand, there are many who are calling for the complete and utter extraction of all Christian and other religious beliefs from public life and governmental law. To these individuals nothing good and beneficial can ever come from religion. Both of these belief structures are sadly flawed to their very core. But where is the middle ground and why haven't we been able to find it. This is precisely where Jon Meacham's American Gospel shines like no other. If nothing else Meacham's book is an answer to the times. American Gospel covers religion, philosophy, and ideology that shaped American law and thought from the birth of our rich and diverse nation to the time of the Reagan presidency.
In the North we saw a different religious awakening. Reform was popping up all over the Northeast. This reform came in different faces, depending on which state it wa...
views. One of the most dominant for civil religion is Jean-Jacques Rousseau, arguably the most
Church-state relations in America has been widely discussed and hotly debated. One school of thought holds that the church should be absolutely separated from the state, while another holds that the church plays a moral role in state building and its sanctity, without which the state risks falling apart. In my discussion of the church-state relations, I state that the history of church-state relations has a Constitutional basis. Next, I discuss the two schools of thought in context and how they have shaped contemporary American political thought. Finally, I argue that the two schools of thought have a common ground. This is followed by a summary of my key arguments and a conclusion to my essay.
Rather then working against each other like they had in the past, churches and religious leaders embraced each other and started to work together. “Religious leaders founded five interdenominational societies: the American Education Society (1815), the Bible Society (1816), the Sunday School Union (1824), the Tract Society (1825), and the Home Missionary Society (1826). Based in eastern cities — New York, Boston, and Philadelphia — these societies ministered to the nation, dispatching hundreds of missionaries to the West and distributing thousands of religious pamphlets.” People began to see themselves as a united cause rather than a bunch of