Revival Of Religion In Joseph Tracy's The Great Awakening
2540 Words11 Pages
The Great Awakening was a religious event that took place in the American Colonies. Historians have generally accepted that the Awakening began in the 1730s and lasted until the 1760s. The Awakening was inspired by the preaching of Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield and their emphasis on the “new birth.” This theology emphasized the individual’s role in obtaining salvation. Their enthusiastic preaching invigorated the colonial churches and caused momentous changes to occur. This resulted in the reorganization of the traditional colonial state churches and the growth of new denominations such as the Methodists and Baptists. Though this account of the events is common among scholars, there are some who doubt the historical significance placed on the Great Awakening. This paper will address relevant scholarly literature relating to the Great Awakening and the various theories historians have proposed to…show more content… His work, The Great Awakening: A History of the Revival of Religion in the Time of Edwards and Whitefield, would be the first to bring historical attention to this early period of revival. Historians have debated the meaning and interpretation of the Great Awakening since the publication of Tracy’s work. The debate has become especially combative in the latter twentieth century. These debates have been concerned with a variety of issues, including whether the Awakening was an actual event or an invention of individuals from later religious movements. Besides these controversies, there have also been many different approaches to the study of The Great Awakening; some historians have approached it from an intellectual standpoint, others have attempted to show its importance as a precursor to the American Revolution, and others have seen it as a foreshadowing of the religious conservatism that gained popularity in the latter half of the twentieth