Understanding The Great Awakening

Evangelicals have made numerous strides in American Society throughout the years. Evangelicalism is a term referring to movements that brought forth a series of revivals in seventeenth through nineteenth centuries, also known as The Great Awakenings. Revivals have occurred in almost every church age. The First Great Awakening changed modern evangelism and how churches are conducted today. It is important to understand what the Great Awakening was, what caused it, and what effects the Great Awakening created.

These awakenings were movements within the church to revive the faith. Revivals were when people would have an increased interest for the church. Some people who were already believers would just renew their life within the church and with God. This was a commitment to religious faith or service in the church or missions. These revivals would usually occur when there was a large period of dull inactivity within the church which was followed by an increased amount passion toward religion.

This movement targeted every individual; male and female, poor and rich, and black and white. The focus was on the individual; the speakers and pastors simplified the verses in the bible to be more assessable and made them applicable to the daily life. The religious revivals focused more on personal experience rather than biblical teachings. The revivals protested against intellectual nature and promoted the idea of the heart being center for a relationship with God. The churches focus was personal with their members. They wanted converted Christians to pursue their own holiness. Revivals encouraged reading of and the idea of love for the bible. The revivals shook up the institutionalized Congregationalism with a new emphasis on perso...

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...em as a Christian. There was a new emphasis on education and people wanted their preachers to be well educated so this established colleges that were established by certain denominations. During this time there was also an increase in separation of the church and the state. Before the church was universal and now the church was breaking off into new denominations. People began to realize that they held the power in their hands not so much the state church.

The Great Awakening was a huge movement that has impacted society’s current church and evangelicals today. The religious revivals in America’s history cannot be forgotten. They have shaped evangelicals in every aspect from religious beliefs to sermon methods. Understanding what these awakenings are, what caused them, and what impact they have is important in understanding the current church in American society.