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The Great Awakening was a religious revival that occured in the American colonies from the late 1720s to the 1740's. It sparked the development of various Protestant religions in the colonies. Several groups that grew in this period were the Baptists,  Methodists, and Prebyarians. This movement drove many to question their belief in higher power and shift their focus towards God.

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Whitefield was a British minister and icon who led many revival meetings in the colonies. He directed his sermons towards the idea of personal salvation through God.

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Edwards was one of the fathers of the Great Awakening, and is said to be America's most important philosophical theologian. He preached on the ideas of the power God has in people's lives, and the beauty behind it all.

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Tennet was a Presbyterian clergyman, licensed to preach, and a public figure in the religious revival. He was one of the main leaders of the movement, along with Whitefield and Edwards

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Eric Foner on Religious Freedom in the 18th Century

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Eric Foner on Religious Freedom in the 18th Century

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Eric Foner on religious freedom in the 18th century

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1730's: The first Great Awakening causes a revival in spiritual and religious devotion

Ideas:

Encouraged the people to question everything

Preachers stressed the importance of a personal relationship with God

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“I came to a church crowded with people; the church-yard was full likewise, and a number of people were even mounted on ladders, looking in at the windows. . . When I got into the church I saw this pious man exhorting the people with the greatest fervour and earnestness, and sweating as much as I ever did while in slavery on Montserrat beach. I was very much struck and impressed with this . . . “

-Olaudah Equiano (former slave), on observing a Whitefield sermon in Philadelphia, 1766

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Large growth of Protestant religions.

The American colonies became more diverse

Greater religious toleration in the colonies

American colonists began to feel separated from Britain because they now associated with their own religious groups and communities.

Decline in Quakers, Angelicans, and Congregationalists

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Cause | Effect

New religious denominations are established, which leads to a sense of religious diversity arising in the colonies

Preachers such as Whitefield cause people to question the heirarchy of England, establishing the concept of individualism among the colonists.

Created an accepting society, which ultimately led to the unification of the colonists under religion.

The movement taught people how to be bold when confronting religious authority, which would prove useful in the coming years, when the colonists rose against Great Britain

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Poster for a sermon by Jonathan Edwards- 1741

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Poster for a sermon by Jonathan Edwards- 1741

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Map of the religious diversity in the Colonies

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Map of the religious diversity in the Colonies