Great Awakening – American History to 1877

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In his chapter on the religious revivals that transpired in British colonial America during the eighteenth century, Taylor debunks the popular myth that North America was colonized solely for the purposes of religious freedom. Aside from the Quakers, who genuinely sought a plurality of religions in the colonies, the majority of the colonists who settled North America intended to replicate the homogenous religious atmosphere that dominated England during this time period (339). He explains that every region of colonial America was peppered with different congregations, each competing for religious dominance. The Congregationalists primarily dominated New England, the Anglicans largely controlled the South, while the Quakers and the Presbyterians composed the largest denominations of the Protestant faith in the middle colonies (342).

As the author of “Religious Awakening in the Colonies” astutely notes, religion in the colonies was far more complex than numerous denominational divisions. In addition, each congregation was internally divided between rationalists and evangelicals. The rationalists rejected the traditional foundations of Christianity, opting instead to focus their faith on science. They believed that God never interfered with the laws of the natural universe since he had created it. Therefore, rationalists believed epidemics and natural disasters to be “natural” instead of interpreting them as divine anger. Additionally, rationalists preached eternal salvation through good behavior (344 – 345). Evangelicals, on the other hand, believed eternal salvation could only be attained through God’s grace. The evangelicals emphasized emotions and individualism, disturbing listeners with images of terror during their sermons to remind them of “their impending and eternal sentence in hell.” They balanced these depictions however, with images of eternal joy in heaven. The purpose of these “revivals” was to get their listeners to surrender to God and ultimately feel the exhilaration of God’s saving grace (345). Known as the Great Awakening, these series of revivals were led by prominent religious figures such as Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, and Gilbert Tennents.

The evangelicals would eventually be referred to as the New Lights while their opponents – those who dismissed the emotional sermons of the evangelicals and defended the traditional foundations of the Christian faith – became known as the Old Lights (351). In addition to this divide, the evangelicals split into moderates and radicals. The moderates rejected the radicals’ belief in the free flow of divine grace and attack on the establishment of the Christian church. They accepted evangelical preaching, conversions, and most of the professional clergy who supported the revivals, but denounced the emotional outbursts of the poorly educated exhorters in order to maintain their own power and authority in colonial society (353). Overall, I enjoyed and favorably received Taylor’s take on the Great Awakening. His account thoroughly dissected the religious complexity of colonial America that is noticeably absent from traditional American history texts.

In Chapter 15 of American Colonies, Taylor describes the resurgence of religion in colonial America during the 18^th century. Known as “The Great Awakening,” widespread religious revival spread across the colonies in response to sweeping religious reform. Religious institutions began to become widespread across the colonies, and many adopted a more compelling form of preaching. Moreover, the evangelists in particular promoted a more “equal” society that accepted all classes of people, and attempted to further the rights of the individual.

As mentioned in the previous post “Religious Awakening in the Colonies,” Taylor does a particularly good job of painting a clear picture of the religious diversity in the colonies. His use of numerical statistics, particularly the number of churches in each specific region, clearly demonstrates the power and prominence of religion within the colonies. Taylor’s decision to discuss religion in a regional context is particularly effective. He discusses religion separately in the northern, southern, and middle colonies, allowing the reader to clearly understand the diverse and various religious differences in each of these geographic regions. By discussing the impact of religion on each separate region, Taylor allows the reader to grasp how religion uniquely impacted the social and political hierarchy of the colonies.

I found religion’s role within the colonies particularly fascinating. Having just discussed the ideas of tolerance and certain freedoms within social class, it was interesting to see that religion was being used to better the colonists lot in life. As Taylor notes, religion allowed women to have a voice that was previously denied to them in the colonies. The Quakers in particular, valued the voice of women in their service. Moreover, the Baptists and other evangelists began to become interested in including African slaves and Indians in salvation, allowing them to attend service and worship as equals with the other members. However, fearful of the Africans unifying under a singular identity, the Anglicans soon put an end to the baptism of slaves. A pattern we see continued from earlier readings.

Overall, I feel as if Taylor has done an exceedingly good job in portraying religion in the colonies. He discusses each religion separately, and narrates a compelling story about the role of each early religion. My one complaint with Taylor comes early in the chapter. Taylor writes that it is a myth that “English colonists fled from religious persecution into a land of religious freedom” (339). However, I feel as if in previous chapters, religion was portrayed by Taylor as a major factor in the emigration of the early English colonists. While he made it clear that economics certainly played a role in people flocking to the new world, I feel as if he almost perpetuates the very myth that he warns us against earlier in our readings.

Tag: Great Awakening

Religious Awakening in Colonial America

Chapter 15: Religious Revival