First Great Awakening

Definition

The First Great Awakening was a significant religious revival movement that swept through the American colonies in the 18th century, particularly during the 1730s and 1740s. It emphasized a personal connection to faith, emotional expression in worship, and a rejection of established authority in favor of individual interpretation of scripture. This movement had profound impacts on American society, shaping religious identity and fostering a spirit of questioning traditional beliefs.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. The First Great Awakening marked a shift from traditional, formal worship to a more emotional and personal experience of faith, impacting various denominations including Baptists and Methodists.
2. It encouraged increased religious pluralism, leading to the establishment of new sects and denominations outside of the mainstream Puritan and Anglican traditions.
3. The movement fostered a sense of shared American identity among colonists, as revivals often brought together people from different social classes and backgrounds.
4. The First Great Awakening was characterized by outdoor revivals, which allowed preachers to reach large audiences and bypass traditional church structures.
5. It laid the groundwork for later social reform movements by promoting values such as individual liberty and questioning established authority, both in religion and politics.

Review Questions

• How did the First Great Awakening influence religious practices and beliefs in colonial America?
  • The First Great Awakening significantly transformed religious practices in colonial America by promoting emotional expression and personal connection to faith. It encouraged individuals to seek a direct relationship with God rather than relying solely on church authority. As a result, many colonists began to question traditional beliefs and established churches, leading to the growth of new denominations and increased religious diversity across the colonies.
• What role did key figures like Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield play in the spread of the First Great Awakening?
  • Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield were central figures in the First Great Awakening who utilized their preaching skills to attract large audiences. Edwards is best known for his intense sermons that called for personal repentance and awareness of sin, while Whitefield traveled extensively across the colonies, conducting open-air revivals that engaged diverse groups. Their dynamic styles helped to popularize the revivalist movement and fostered a greater sense of communal worship among colonists.
• Evaluate the long-term impacts of the First Great Awakening on American society and culture.
  • The First Great Awakening had lasting effects on American society by fostering a culture of individualism and questioning authority, which would later resonate in movements for independence and social reform. By encouraging religious pluralism, it paved the way for a more democratic approach to faith that valued personal interpretation over institutional dogma. This spirit of inquiry not only shaped American religious life but also influenced political thought, contributing to revolutionary ideas about liberty and equality that would define the emerging nation.

Related terms

Jonathan Edwards: A prominent preacher during the First Great Awakening known for his fire-and-brimstone sermons, particularly 'Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,' which emphasized the need for personal repentance.

George Whitefield: An influential evangelist and preacher whose charismatic style and mass gatherings helped spread the ideas of the First Great Awakening across the colonies.

New Light vs. Old Light: The division within colonial religious communities during the First Great Awakening, where 'New Lights' embraced revivalist ideas while 'Old Lights' adhered to traditional, established church practices.