The major religious changes in the United States during this period were associated with the advent of new religious groups, or sects, and a new way of conceptualizing religious faith. Most of these changes were associated with the so-called "Great Awakening," which heralded a new, more individualistic way of thinking about religion, one that rejected the hierarchical model of the Church of England. So-called "New Lights" emphasized individual conscience and emotional experience over the rigid formality of Anglicanism. The Great Awakening had a strong component of evangelism, and this would become a major theme in American religious history. While Deism may have been popular with highly educated elites (and there is some debate about its influence among these men), ordinary people were more taken in by these evangelical movements. The late eighteenth and early nineteenth century witnessed the rise to prominence of Methodists alongside the Presbyterians and Baptists that had emerged during the eighteenth century. This trend continued into the nineteenth century, with revivalism ushering in the Second Great Awakening. Like its predecessor, the emphasis in this movement was on individual spirituality. Where the Second Great Awakening went further was in the notion that Christians ought to try to create a perfect world here on Earth, a belief that both encouraged the creation of utopian societies and led to the rise of reform movements that were motivated by religion. Another enormous change that took place in the nineteenth century was the split of religious denominations along regional lines. From the late 1830s to the 1850s, the Presbyterians, Baptists, and Methodists all split over the issue of slavery. This formal split only made official a debate that had been raging for decades within each denomination. These essentially political changes obscured an ongoing focus on revivalism and evangelical faith.
http://www.pbs.org/thisfarbyfaith/journey_2/p_5.html
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The changes in American religion from the period of 1750 to 1830 were significant as it transitioned from the Era of Enlightenment into the early days of the Industrial Revolution and the Romantic Era, although certain aspects remained the same.
Religion in this eighty year time period was heavily influenced by both the First and then Second Great Awakenings, with the first one having already happened before the period began and the second one occurring at the dawn of the 19th Century.
Some continuities in American religion during this time were that religion remained mostly Protestant Christian without any large influxes of either non-Christian religions or even Catholicism. Additionally, Americans turned to religion for comfort in times of great change or crisis as seen earlier in this period when people feared for their economic future due to the lack of new available frontiers to settle and then later in this period as people adjusted to the new economic realities of the Market Revolution.
Some changes that occurred in this period were that Christianity was introduced to slaves on a mass scale, particularly in the early years of this time frame. Many free whites who had previously been "unchurched" began to attend Protestant churches through religious revivalism, which in particular had a huge impact on the young who began to attend church in greater and greater numbers. It has been said that religious preaching in this time became more emotional compared to the "cold" style that preceded this era. This was the result of the First Great Awakening, which although began before 1750, had lasting impacts on American religion for most of the rest of the 18th Century. This also had a divisive effect on the religious population as many people split up into rival factions, mostly along the lines of old and new. This new approach and revivalism in religion also got people to start questioning their leaders, both religious and political, which would prove crucial for the upcoming Revolution.
The second half of this era saw further changes to American religion with the advent of the Second Great Awakening. This initially took place in (then) Western frontier areas but soon spread to those whose lives were experiencing the dramatic changes caused by the Market Revolution. There was more of an emphasis on peoples' willingness to be saved and accept Jesus as their personal savior. The processes of conversion and admitting to sin were no longer private affairs carried out between priest and parishioner but became part of huge public spectacles in front of thousands of people with preachers who would often travel all over the vast frontier areas. People now had an individual responsibility to live up moral behavior after their public confession or conversion, creating a greater sense of self discipline and individuality in religion. Areas such as the Ohio River Valley, Erie Canal area and Western New York State in particular became hotbeds of this new religious revivalism. It was quite inclusive and appealed to rich and poor alike. The Market Revolution had changed the way Americans worked and made a living, which required more self discipline and emphasized individual achievement. The ethos of the Second Great Awakening went hand in hand with the needs of people in this era by also emphasizing these traits.
Additionally, some religious "utopian" communities were formed in this time and others formed later as a result of the religious changes that occurred from the Second Great Awakening. The most notable of these is the Mormon religion started by Joseph Smith in 1830, which has become a major American religion that continues to this day and has spread to countries throughout the world. Nearly all religious utopian communities formed in or shortly after this time did not last.
Religion in America underwent some fundamental changes in the period 1750-1830. During the latter part of the eighteenth century (the Revolutionary Era), religion in America was dominated by the Deist movement, a product of the Enlightenment. Primarily influenced by Spinoza and Locke (both of whom wrote from Amsterdam in the 1600s), the Deists believed in a sense of "god" that was rooted in "Nature." For example, in The Declaration of Independence, Jefferson refers to the "laws of Nature" and "Nature's God." Franklin was also an avowed Deist and believed that knowledge and truth was attainable more through science than divine revelation.
As the young nation turned into the nineteenth century, it experienced a religious movement termed, "The Second Great Awakening." This constituted a return to fundamentalist Protestantism and Calvinism. It stressed the idea of salvation through divine intervention and one being "chosen." It represented a backlash against reliance on science and empiricism as the primary epistemological methods and a return to revelation from a supernatural God. Nonetheless, the Deist movement survived into the nineteenth century, largely through the Unitarian Church.
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