by Fred Moleck
Great Awakenings – Part 1
Every one hundred years—take or leave twenty years—American spirituality goes through a revival. Somewhere in the Anglo-American psyche something starts to rumble and urges the owner of the rumble to “get right with God.”
There appears to be four Great Awakenings in the religious history of the USA.
We are living in the fourth one now.
If you don’t think so, then you haven’t been following the daily news reports of Christians vs. Darwin or the issue of religion in the lives of Supreme Court nominees.
(The following dates are taken from The Fourth Great Awakening and the Future of Egalitarianism by Robert William Fogel, 2000)
The First Great Awakening (c. 1730–c. 1830) was New England based and swept through the northeastern seaboard and on southward. Jonathan Edwards is seen as one the more eloquent and influential preachers.
Then there is John Whitefield (c. 1714–c. 1770) who made seven trips to America from England preaching salvation and conversion.
If you ever had a course in early-American literature you would have run across him and his famous sermon, “Sinners in the hands of an angry God,” which reminded his followers that any moment you would die and could be thrown into the burning fires of hell.
The preaching was impassioned. Evangelism, as we see it today, was born. Rationality was not a priority.
The Second Great Awakening (c. 1800–c. 1920) took nonrational, passionate preaching into the field. Camp meetings became a familiar scene in rural America. Singing was loud. Emotional outbursts were required. Everyone got religion. “Holy Rollers” were what the established religious leaders called the newly and quickly converted.
It was not totally mindless. Contrary to the fire and thunder of frontier religion, the movements against slavery and “demon rum” were generated.
The Third Great Awakening (c. 1890– ) was not as much fun, but exerted a strong influence on social reforms. Propriety in religion is still Victorian based but contrasts with the continuation of the “revival meeting ethos.” Holy Rollers were everywhere, living in peaceful coexistence with high-church churches.
The Fourth Great Awakening is going on now. Religion is the litmus test of many social decisions. Conversion into Evangelist-style worship and prayer life is evident in both neighborhood megachurches and TV megachurch programs.
The logistics of rally, persuasive preaching, and promises of fixing whatever is wrong appeals to the American religious psyche, which apparently is still being awakened.With so many Great Awakenings in the span of three centuries, one has to wonder when the American religious person had time to sleep. They seem to be always in an awakening state. You can’t wake up if you’re not asleep!
I think you see what I mean. My question is, What did they sing in the process of getting religion and getting awakened? More on that next week.You can reach Fred Moleck via email at fmoleck@earthlink.net