Great Awakening

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The Great Awakenings refer to several periods of dramatic religious revival in Anglo-American religious history. They have also been described as periodic revolutions in American religious thought.

There are four generally accepted Great Awakenings in American history:

The First Great Awakening (1730s - 1740s)
The Second Great Awakening (1820s - 1830s)
The Third Great Awakening (1880s - 1900s)
The Fourth Great Awakening or Consciousness Revolution (1960s - 1970s)

[edit] American Great Awakenings

Although Great Awakenings influence and are influenced by religious thought from throughout the world, the cycle of Great Awakenings appears unique to the United States. This could be because the United States is home to many different denominations and sects, while remaining largely Protestant, which is known for its relative freedom in terms of expression of belief as opposed to Catholicism. The lack of a single clue faith or state-sanctioned religion means new ideas can be spread without having to slowly reform existing institutions from within, or allowing pressures to build up until the existing institutions are violently overthrown. On the other hand, the established sects have enough prestige and inertia that the pressure for new ideas builds into a regular cycle of bloodless revolution.

[edit] Influence on American political life

Since religion has often been used to dictate or justify morality, the Great Awakenings have exerted influence on the politics of the United States. Joseph Tracy, the minister and historian who gave this religious phenomenon its name in his influential (and still, to many, definitive) 1842 book The Great Awakening, saw the First Great Awakening as a precursor to the War of Independence. For another example, the abolition movement, part of the wider Second Great Awakening, eventually contributed to the crisis over slavery, which led to the American Civil War. The Third Great Awakening will go on to be a major influence in guiding the United States through the Great Depression and World War II. In fact the New Deal was originated from that same era. The Consciousness Revolution of the 1960's and 1970's is regarded as a major influence in the current Culture Wars era in the United States from the 1980's and 1990's as middle aged ex-hippie Boomers debate "Moral Values" while taking pluarity in the U.S. goverment and politics starting with the inaurguation of Bill Clinton as the first Boomer President of the US.de:Erweckungsbewegung nl:Opwekking (christendom) ja:リバイバル sv:Väckelse vi:Đại Tỉnh thức