APUSH notes The Great Awakening
Jonathan Edwards
Another key figure in GA • Minister of a Congregational church in Mass. • Wrote a series of sermons that were republished throughout New England. His most famous was "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" (1741) • Motive ○ Edwards felt his congregation had gotten too comfortable. Too materialistic ○ People didn't seem to realize that they were damned § People forgot about how they were going to Hell • Message ○ Reaffirmed that the Devil is real, and so is Hell. And as a sinner, you were likely going to Hell. ○ God is the only thing keeping you from Hell-- which you richly deserve ○ Material comfort is not security--don't be deceived, Don't feel comfortable ○ Be aware for signs of God's Grace ○ Empowers the elect, but not a happy message for most. Whitefield and Edwards excited people. Even though Edwards was sad, he was exciting.
Great Awakening
• By the 1700's Puritans sermons became unemotional and overly intellectual ○ They were a very boring, dry lecture about how you were going to Hell • GA emphasized ritual and doctrine, and a more emotional attachment to religion • Stressed God as a creator of a perfectly ordered universe ○ One could learn about God through studying nature • Less emphasis on human sinfulness and damnation [no emotional attachment to religion] • In the 1730's a dramatic change swept through the colonies • The so-called "Great Awakening" was a movement characterized by fervent expressions of religious emotion among masses of people (strongest between 1730 and 1740) • GA wanted to get them to care again The GA people felt that people had lost sight of Religious life, and were too focused on business and wealth (which was wrong)
Religious Impact
• Profound effect on religious practice in the colonies • Emotionalism became a common part of Protestant services as sinners tearfully confessed their guilt and then joyously exulted in being "saved" ○ Basically religion was not as boring • Puritan ministers lost some of their former authority among those who now studied the Bible in their own homes and challenged their ministers interpretation of it. • Caused a major division within churches, between those supporting the new style and teachings--"New Lights"-- and those condemning them (new Lights) became "Old lights" ○ New lights- who were mad at ministers ○ Old lights- who were not mad at ministers • More evangelical sects such as the Baptists and Methodists attracted large numbers, especially on the frontier • Resulted in greater competition to attract followers, increased religious diversity, and they beginnings of a call for separation of Church and State ○ People taxes were supporting the older churches, and not their new ones
Public Influence
• Unifying- For the first time, the colonists, regardless of their national origin, shared in a common experience. • Spread the belief that people are equal
George Whitefield
• Whitefield, declaring the whole world his "Parish", came from England in 1739 and traveled from one end of the colonial America to another-- starting in Georgia, just preaching ○ George starts in GEORGIA • Often seen as igniting the Great Awakening with his rousing sermons on the hellish torments of the damned. • Preached "open air" in barns, tents, and fields, sometimes attracting 10,000 people. ○ He wanted to preach to as many people as possible, and the most people were in the country and not cities. • Stressed that God was all-powerful and that ordinary people could be part of the elect and could understand the Bible without need of Ministers. *Not just the well off, You could be some oppressed farm wife or a slave and still be part of the elect. Very liberating. This made Whitefield very popular because he preached to a lot of people who were not in the elect.