Great Awakening

The Great Awakening arose at a time of questioning how an individual’s role manifested itself in religion and society. These ideas were brought about by Henry Thoreau and John Locke during the Enlightenment Era, which emphasized reason and logic and it allowed for one to realize the power of the individual and to view the universe in the light of scientific law. In response to the current Enlightenment ideas the Great Awakening went against these current popular beliefs and affirmed that in order to be truly religious one must feel and think with their heart and not so much their head. Although the Enlightenment Era was one of quarrel and question, The Great Awakening unified colonists and helped to set boundaries further in the separation of church and state. To better understand how this era came about it is important to know why it came about. During the 1700’s colonist were unhappy with how life was progressing. The Church of England had been established as the reigning church of the country. From a political standpoint having all the members of a society believe in one religion, made things easy, however this idea did not sit well with the people. The dryness of the church and its old ways of teaching made its members feel complacent with no emotional attachment. With doubt and the ideas on Enlightenment spreading like wildfire, colonists began to now feel segregated from mainstream society. They also felt as if these Enlightenment ideals were allowing too much spiritual freedom with no emphasis on regular church attendance and rather on progression of the individual. In a response to these ideas ministers and other church workers worked at creating a plan to underline how an individual could find heaven through work rather that predestination. These new ministers invited a more emotional approach to religion. Many people related to these teachings as it was stressed that in the eyes of God all men were equal.