The Great Awakening was a religious revival that impacted the English colonies in America during the 1730s and 1740s. The Great Awakening gave colonial Americans the ability to forcefully challenge religious authority, effectively preparing them for political revolutions to come. [a]Characterized by religious fervor and passionate affirmation of faith, The Great Awakening changed the concept and structure of religion, giving colonists the experience to fight for what they believed in and make their voices heard against any power[b]. To many colonists, The Great Awakening was a crucial moment in history regarding the way they thought as individuals and thought as a colony.
To help colonists prepare for political revolutions, was the backlash given to supporters and Whitefield about his public passionate sermons. For example in 1763 an engraving was published in London expressing Whitefield's sinful behavior as the work of the devil. Whitefield only preaches for the fame and riches he receives from it ( visual document 3). Being bashed was a part of Whitefield's life in order to show colonists to continue to fight for what they believed in. In 1744 the president of Harvard made a statement saying that Whitefield is responsible for the entire destruction of the order of christ, which our fathers have taken such care to settle (document 2). Though not everyone agreed with Whitefield's sermons, citizens continued to support their beliefs and show people that their opinions matter, no matter who opposes them.
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Another way The Great Awakening helped prepare colonial Americans for religious authority, is how driven they were. In order to make history the colonist really had to believe in what they were doing and be passionate. For example on July 7, 1743, after being attacked for the revival for doctrinal errors and emotional excess, a group of New England pastors disagreed and met in Boston. These pastors told citizens that they have a new manner that has freed them from the sense of danger. This new manner gave them an overwhelming feeling of happiness and a sweet taste of redeeming love like they never had before (document 1). This is the attitude that helped prepare them for future religious authority by teaching them confidence in themselves and making them believe that they are important, these citizens no longer just sat around they forcefully made their voices heard.
Finally, the communication skills these colonists had during The Great Awakening are what united them and gave them the preparation they needed for future challenging religious authority. To unify them revivalist preachers would travel from place to place giving sermons. These sermons would leave people dissatisfied with their own pastors, making church leaders scared (document 2). The preachers traveling made religious leaders scared because they knew their colonists wanted a closer relationship with God and revivalists were giving that to them in only one passionate sermon. Without the message of the revivalist being spread the voice of each individual would have been as strong or confident. Communication was vital by enabling a strong force of passionate colonists to be a force to be reckoned with when going up against.
In conclusion, The Great Awakening was able to teach colonial Americans to forcefully challenge religious freedom, effectively preparing them for political revolutions to come. They were able to gain confidence in themselves and their opinions. It also made them learn to unite in order to become a stronger force. Lastly, it taught them how to best communicate with each to believe in the same thing and gain others in the process. For the first time, a group of colonists was ready to be heard and share their thoughts in a passionate and st
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The Great Awakening Essay.
(2023, March 01). Edubirdie. Retrieved November 17, 2024, from https://edubirdie.com/examples/the-great-awakening-essay/
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2023 Mar 01 [cited 2024 Nov 17].
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