CHAPTER 7 –HollitzBy Sara Emami

GROUP ASSIGNMENTStudents, in your groups of 4-5, describe

what an “awakening” is as it relates to the historical sphere. Create a list of words, themes or ideas to describe an awakening. Can you think of modern day examples that would describe the phenomena of “a great awakening”? Spend 5-7 minutes and be prepared to discuss.

Also, note that I will discuss the new paper deadlines in addition to Paper # 3 (Option B) criteria.

What was the Second Great Awakening?The Second Great Awakening was a

religious revival movement during the early 19th century in the United States by which every person could be saved through revivals. It enrolled millions of new members, and led to the formation of new denominations

. Many converts believed that the

Awakening heralded a new millennial age.

The Second Great Awakening stimulated the establishment of many reform movements designed to remedy the evils of society before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ

Causes are there for the advent of the Second Awakening?

Waning religious zealDeclining church membership Increasing moral waywardnessLessening respect for religious

authoritiesDeism and rational religion –

Enlightenment thought generallyDisestablishment of churchesSeparation of church and stateFears among Easterners that

those in the west were sinking into “violence, vice and immorality”

Absence of churches on the frontier – reliance on “circuit riders”

HISTORICAL EXPLANATIONBroad disruptive economic or

social changes (a response to a rising market economy of the 19th century?)

Changes in the family (large number of women participants indicate a changed role for women within the family, more freedom from male dominance)

Class tensions: changed relations between employers and employees as a result of the changes in workplaces

Important Influential People:Charles Finney “Father of Modern Revivalism”

Charles Finney was born in Warren, Connecticut, on August 29, 1792. As a child, he lived in western New York but returned to Connecticut for his education.

Studied as a lawyer but soon gave up his practice of the law in order to become a Presbyterian minister in 1824.

Finney is probably best known for his contribution to the religious movement known as the Second Great Awakening during the 1830s.

At the heart of this movement was a series of revivals. Finney was an evangelist who spoke at these revivals, using emotional sermons to urge his audiences to devote their lives to God.

He was extremely successful in obtaining converts but also stirred up controversy wherever he went. He was an outspoken abolitionist and championed other social reforms in the nineteenth century.

religious beliefs and became an influential theologian. Although the Second Great Awakening eventually

ended, Finney continued to influence American religious thought. In 1835, Oberlin College hired him as professor of theology. Finney continued to preach on a local level but ceased to travel extensively as an evangelist after that point.

the Second Awakening - VIDEOGLENN BECK: AMERICA’S THIRD AWAKENING

9/2010