A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada by Mark A. Noll

A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada by Mark A. Noll

Mark Noll canvasses the Great Awakening in Part II of Chapter 4 of his book A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada. The period of revivalism which was spread all over the colonies during 1730s to 1740s is called the Great Awakening. During this era, the established church doctrine was surpassed by the individual religious experiences which decreased the importance and power of the church and clergy in many occasions. New values grew at mass level which emphasized on individual salvation and faith. It helped unifying American colonies as it was preached by number of revivals and preachers. This kind of alliance was much greater than the colonies have ever witnessed before. The book states that John Edwards, who preached for ten years in New England, was a key American revivalist during the era of Great Awakening and George Whitefield was said to be the second important figure of the Great Awakening time.

This book in its pages from 114-162 also states that the revolution period did not bring an end to the traditionally established churches in America. Although, the legislatures continuously challenged the presence of churches during Revolution across many states, these churches remained and endured into the early nineteenth century very well. Despite of this persistence of church, many new groups recognized fundamental essentiality of the Revolution and stressed upon bringing more reforms against those established churches. They want to reduce the public taxation for their support and to guarantee the freedom of worships for all colonists. The reforms for freedom of worship for every individual and freeing church from government influence gave a flowering were to the Christian spirituality in America. The radical anti-establishment groups of the Great Awakening period gradually became largest churches of America. The Methodist Episcopal Church, by the 1840s, became the largest denomination in the country which had more than one million members. The book further discusses the era of Second Great Awakening in part III chapter 4, 5 and 6. The books states that religious revivals swept the nation from the 1790s to the 1830s in a movement called the Second Great Awakening; this commemorated the Great Awakening in the thirteen colonies in the 1730s and 1740s. The Second Great Awakening, especially under Charles ...