Humanities

The Enlightenment and the Great Awakening – Savvy Essay Writers | savvyessaywriters.net

Place your order now – Savvy Essay Writers

respond to two discussion (1 full paragraph) each. Please provide college level responses

1-The Enlightenment was a European intellectual movement in the late 17 & 18th centuries. It emphasize that individualism was different than tradition. It influenced philosophers including popular people such as: John Locke, Newton, Rousseau, Adam Smith and more. It was characterized by belief, power of reason, political religious, and education. It stressed the importance of reason and gained knowledge spiritually as well as educationally. The impact it had on New England was it had a new way of thinking in many fields such as: politics, government, and science. People became less religious, because of the theory that the Enlightenment created. Both in the New England Colony and the Chesapeake Colony was that the Enlightenment initiated cooperation and tolerance which would be used between colonies. The Enlightenment was something that captured people’s attention. They believed in the theory and it had gotten really popular around the 18th century time. The Enlightenment served a great purpose to history.

The Great Awakening was a way for people to gain their religious form back. Everyone did not agree with the practical theory of the Enlightenment. The Great Awakening had an impact on the world, because it began preaching the word of God and these people were known as reverends or pastors. It also introduced many slaves who did not know about the spiritual life towards Christianity. Young people started attending the teachings of Christianity and it spread like wildfire. The Great Awakening developed a purpose for people believing in this new religious way called Christianity. They beloved in a higher power and it was a sufficient purpose behind all of it. It left a permanent impact on America Protestantism. Many people in the New England colony did not agree with the Great Awakening just as many did not believe in the Enlightenment. Some still practiced it and others still did not believe in anything at all or did not go along with the meaning of the Enlightenment. Both of these subjects have greatly significance of American History forever.

2-The Enlightenment, which was sometimes referred to as the “Age of Reason”, came about when the belief that the earth was at the center of the universe was challenged by a Polish astronomer who was also a Catholic Priest. Nicolaus Copernicus theory, that the earth orbits the sun, this was later empirically proven by other scientists. An enlightened person were those who questioned everything and needed answers; they looked for the truth and were not just accepting of the beliefs that were passed down through the times and the bible. Persons like Isaac Newton, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin challenged people to use their own understanding of what was around them, develop the confidence to think critically for oneself, and in turn giving way to the use of astronomy tools to broaden their knowledge of the universe among others. This period opened up the door for numerous scientific research and development of new age devices; this would be the beginning of things to come. Political freedom and faith in human progress were two important beliefs of the enlightenment, educating oneself and education for their children was paramount. The Enlightenment would help plant the seed of power and right to make one’s own decisions.

In the 1730’s a revival of faith known as the Great Awakening hit the colonies, a set of outspoken traveling evangelist called itinerants arrived in the colonies and would influence the beliefs of many. The itinerants claimed that the local ministers were not competent and that Christians needed to be reborn. Persons from all walks of life were affected by the arrival of the itinerants which caused a division among congregations, families, and towns and gave rise to the growth of new denominations, especially the Methodist and Baptist churches. In 1727, when Jonathan Edwards arrived in Northampton he was not happy with what he met and resorted to using coursing tactics to rekindle spiritual passion among people. Another radical, George Whitefield would come through and cause an uprising of self-ordained ministers and evangelists who would convince the people to pursue salvation on their own because the local ministers were not growing in the grace of God. The wealthy would become threatened by these radical evangelists because they believed that they were spreading “anarchy, leveling, and dissolution”(America 111). The Great Awakening allowed for women to speak at religious services; which was forbidden then, and also created a great sense of a spiritual remorse which made persons reexamine themselves and yearned for redemption. The foundation on which the established churches ran would be brought into question opening the doors to religious freedom which affected the New England religious life. In 1750 the Great Awakening subsided but the seeds planted would remain. The Awakening and the Enlightenment would both influence the revolution against Great Britain.

3-The Enlightenment began in Europe, later this intellectual movement would also sweep across the American colonies and Chesapeake region during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. During the Enlightenment knowledge, reason, scientific research, and individual freedom began to be viewed more importantly and greater influences over traditional religious practices and values of life. In 1533 a Polish astronomer and Catholic priest challenged interpretations about the earth and placement within the solar system. This new discovery in science greatly upset the Catholic church officials. Religious leaders did not reflect the Enlightenment positively as more people began to follow the time of reason, people began to lose faith in the church, challenging religious ideas and traditions. Education had great influence as most white men were able to read, though there were no public schools. Critical thinking and political freedom also held value during the Enlightenment. Isaac Newton challenged the Bible with math and science experiments. According to chapter three in “America”, the author states, “Enlightened people were those who sought the truth, wherever it might lead, rather than remain content with believing ideas… passed down through the ages or taken from the Bible” (Tindal p.105). During the Enlightenment, the idea of “natural law” was encouraged by John Locke a political philosopher, who insisted that everyone has natural rights, well known as inalienable rights. Meanwhile being able to read was common so there were more critical thinkers that questioned many truths of the time as the settlers began to reason rather than listen blindly. This wave of critical thinkers had a great effect on New England

Great Awakening was a religious movement during the 1730s and 1740s in response to the Enlightenment- an era with the advancement of human understanding, science, and intellectual activity. By the early 1730s, evangelists pressured Christians in the Colonies and Europe mandating them to be reborn, as religion revivals engulfed the American colonies. Johnathan Edwards and George Whitefield were ministers who overstretched their theories and practices onto Christians using ideas of fear and life after death as key preaching arguments of the importance of being “reborn”. Though the integrity of religion was re-established within the colonies, results were not so cut and dry. Enlightened men and women continued to challenge ideas and think for themselves. The revitalized settlers began to question the authority of the England Church as now the government is once again overbearing while lacking religious freedom and over behavior towards the Europeans and the “New World”. In chapter three the author states, “Ministers could no longer control the direction of religious life, as more and more people took charge of their own spirituality and new denominations…” (pp. 112) With this text, the reader can understand how the Enlightenment greatly impacted the colonist views and reflect on the effect it had not just in American history, but the history of religion and new denominations that were created and others such as the puritan’s views of religious unity were left behind. People continued to showcase their spiritual independence and some denominations moved to New England while others agreed to disagree, and further Christian reforms were developed, giving an innovative domino effect on religious advocates.

PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW

Savvy Essay Writers