The Great Awakening Essay

Following the spread of Enlightenment ideas to the American colonies, aspects of the intellectual movement bled over to influence religious aspects of American society, resulting in what became known as the Great Awakening. This religious movement placed increased focus on the individual and relied heavily on emotional sermons to encourage a deeper connection to Christ. While many saw the Great Awakening as a powerful, religious movement encompassing the ordinary classes of society, there were some discrepancies regarding the way in which it was received in society. According to the writings of Benjamin Franklin, for example, priests and religious institutions initially rejected evangelists such as George Whitefield and their new preaching
Franklin writes that Whitefield’s popular support was almost inconceivable to him given the preacher’s harsh treatment and “common abuse” of his followers, calling them “naturally half beasts and half devils” (Franklin, “The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin”). Preachers of Great Awakening tried to draw up feelings of guilt for sins and fear of persecution in their audiences, and the people responded positively to this. What Franklin called “abuse,” and what was essentially the verbal and emotional abuse of the audience, gave the people a deeper sense of spiritual connection to a higher being by making them realize their own flaws and
Despite initial unpopularity with the religious elite who looked down on their unorthodox methods, evangelists such as George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards gained popularity among the lower classes of society. Whitefield and Edwards both used threats of persecution and belittled their audiences to make them feel their sheer morality and feel repentant for their sins. These two evangelists played huge roles in the religion frenzy that was the Great Awakening and also set the stage for the emergence of televangelists in the 20th century, proving that their influence can still be felt