Comparison Of The Enlightenment And The Great Awakening

The Enlightenment and the Great Awakening brought with it the transitioning from old ideas about authority and religion towards individuality, and this was an important part of the process of freedom to come in the near future (Schultz, 2014). Moreover, prior to the Enlightenment and Great Awakening, the Western world believed that their rulers were more important than them, that a person could not change society, and that the life was a temporary stop between heaven or hell (Schultz, 2009). However, educated thinkers were beginning to question the old beliefs and instead hypothesized that: a person’s environment helped shaped who they became, each individual had the undisputable right to live freely with land, and that the price of a product should be in direct correlation to its availability and consumers desire for it.
Additionally, some of the colonists still preferred the old hierarchal and traditional style of religion; however, there was certain colonist that felt that as in their secular beliefs they were individuals before God as well, and were not dependent on the church (Schultz, 2009). This new style of Christianity was emotional allowing the view that Christ viewed everyone as contemporaries, despite status, and that if one was to work hard enough that they might reach heaven. The Great Awakening brought about an upsurge of churches in the colony, new denominations, religious schools, which in turn brought the coexistence of faith in God and the belief of science (Schultz, 2014). Consequently, the last important change due to the Awakening was that it questioned established religious convictions, and if you can question religion than it was a small step to question British authority. The Enlightenment and Great Awakening set the stage for the free thinking necessary for the