10 - Major Events in the Colonies: Great Awakening Synthesis

•Exordium: "Not only does religion affect society, but society can affect religion."
•Recall the narratives of Edwards & Whitefield
•Read the last paragraph on pg 35 till before the transitionary phrase "But religion"
•Slowly discuss each sentence to determine the extent to which American society impacted the religious transformation of the Great Awakening:
•In what other ways did American social novelty fuel the novel experience of the Great Awakening? (1st generationcolonial religious expression differed from Anglicanism/Catholicism, now this generation's expressions differ from their forebearers'.)
•How does conversion and behavior mirror American values, as opposed to doctrine and forms? (Previous colonial generations still mirrored British ways of life, but later generations developed unique American perspectives.)
•Why did the "democratic" (appealing to everyone), emotional, innovative, and personalized presentation of Christianity appeal to this generation of colonists?
•The Bible has remained the same throughout Christian history, and yet Christianity has taken very different formats depending on when/where it grows. As such, not only does religion form society, but also society has the capacity to shape religious expression, just like during the (first) Great Awakening.