Essay on Second Great Awakening: The Spread of Protestantism and Reform Movements

Introduction

The second great awakening was characterized by several reform movements, which facilitated the spread of religion. Many revival seminars were used to spread religion. Though it started in early 1800, it gained momentum by 1820, and by 1870, it began to decline. In the eighteenth century, American Christianity was predominantly Calvinist. In the nineteenth century, the focus was mainly put on a doctrinal shift, which led to the spread of Protestantism. Dynamism was the main feature of this movement. The most distinguishing feature that differentiates Calvinism from Protestantism is that their views regarding sin and salvation. Calvinists emphasized on the sinfulness of man and taught that only God could dispense salvation. On the other hand, evangelicals in the nineteenth century taught that though men were sinful, they have the capacity for moral behaviour. Therefore, effort is required for sinless living.

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The religious reforms, just like any other reforms during the great awakening, had its measure of challenges. First, the country was comprised of different cultures and beliefs, and it was hard to bring the people together under one common religious inclination. The tension was created between European immigrants and Native Americans. The Europeans believed in the Calvinistic gospel. Any attempts by the reformers to turn their thinking faced a lot of opposition. On the other hand, native-born Americans were aligned with Protestantism. This paper presents a discussion on the ways in which evangelicals tried to reform American society. Aspects of conversion, emotional conviction, and revivalism were the core features in these reforms.

Conversion

Conversion is one of the primary ways which evangelicals used in their attempts to reform American society. Their message was intended to cause humans to have the consciousness of sin. They preached that after the fall of Adam, all humans were prone to sin and that God alone has the power to deliver men from their sinfulness. Conversion entailed a deep conviction of one's sinfulness, acknowledgment of God's power, and a desire to turn from sin to righteousness. The conversion was the biggest experience for the converts. It entailed intense emotions whose end was a psychological transformation. The conversion only came after the converts had gone through several steps, after which the terror of hell-fire brought them to seek salvation,

Repentance, as the evangelicals taught, was the only thing the penitent were expected to do. Repentance implied surrender to the will of God, knowing that there was nothing anyone could do to earn salvation. The moment of surrender meant that a person was willing to accept God's mercy. The conversion was taught as a complete transformation that made the convert a new creature. The only desire in the heart of the convert was pleasing God and preaching the good news to unconverted family members and friends. A sure mark of conversion was the continued participation in the 3evangelical campaigns (Chacon & Scoggins).

This attempt of reform brought about some differences and confrontations between native-born Americans and European immigrants. The European immigrants were more Calvinistic than Protestants. To them, salvation was God's gift, and not even repentance could make one earn it. Probably due to the nature of their relationship with Native Americans, they felt that they deserved salvation more than the Americans. The idea that one had to be a follower of the movement and participate in the evangelistic missions was not welcome to them. Many of the Europeans failed to join the evangelistic movements and left it for the Native Americans.

Revivalism

Before the great awakening, a revival was interpreted as an outpouring of God's grace, which brought many to salvation. However, evangelicals sought to reform the way religious revival was perceived (Chacon & Scoggins). According to them, the revival was a human event as well as divine. It was for the people to do revivals. They intended that revival be self-conscious in that people would willingly participate in the revival meetings to experience total conversion. The revival meetings targeted the young generation. After the revival meetings, the new converts were expected to go and act as preachers top their unconverted friends. While the Calvinists also appreciated revival, their view on its impact and men's salvation was different,

The reform was intended to divert people from the Calvinist way of thinking. The Calvinists believed that there were people already predestined for salvation. According to them, not everyone would receive salvation. This made them lack devotion towards repentance and seeking transformation. The 19th-century evangelicals came preaching salvation for all men regardless of the weight of their sins. Revivalism and the evangelical fervor came to be described as the great awakening. Evangelicals believed that in this wave of awakening, sectarian and denominational boundaries were overruled. The result of these reforms is the conversion of many into Christianity and an increase in the number of evangelists charged with the zeal of spreading the word of God.

Abstaining from alcoholic drinks

Evangelicals during the great awakening taught people to abstain from alcoholic drinks. This came at a time when alcohol consumption was on the rise. Young, together with the old, everyone was caught up in the habit of alcohol consumption. As one would expect, the moral standards declined. Seeing this, the evangelicals sought to ignite reforms through teaching avoidance of alcohol and drug use. Some, especially native Americans, embraced the idea. However, Europeans were unwilling to quit alcoholism citing cultural orientation. Although the evangelicals encountered resistance, they did not give up on their quest for reforms. Eventually, many people came to appreciate the need for moral conduct.

Restricting the use of tobacco

Before the great awakening, tobacco use was extensive throughout the country. The evangelicals felt that some restrict had to be enforced to maintain a culture of godliness and temperance. Therefore, they sought to push for restrictions on the use of tobacco. This move sparked a lot of tension. The Europeans liked smoking, and any attempts to prohibit its use were unwelcome. However, tobacco use was not totally eliminated, but as the gospel spread, a change was observed. The number of smokers reduced. The minds of the people were opened during this time, and they began to see the effects of tobacco even on their bodies.

Dress reforms

Another important aspect of the reforms is the emphasis on the decent dressing. Moral codes demanded that people dress with decency. As taught in the gospel, the inappropriate dressing was likely to cause men to sin. Therefore, there was a big emphasis on the need for proper dressing to preserve the salvation acquired. The evangelicals believed that getting salvation was easy, but much effort was needed, especially on the side of the converts, to avoid backsliding. However, some people felt that this would interfere with their freedom. At that time, nobody cared about moral dressing, to sum up, the past has taught us how the reforms came about, and the future has to ensure these virtues are maintained. In the rise of modernism today, some of the things advocated by the 19th-century evangelicals may be lost. Religion has taken a different turn seeing that homosexuality has been permitted in the U.S and some Europe countries (vanderputten).

Works Cited

Chacon, R. J., and M. C. Scoggins. "The Great Awakening." SpringerBriefs in Anthropology (2014): 15-41. Web. <10.1007/978-3-319-04597-9_3>.

Vanderputten, S. "Reforms, Semi-Reforms, and the Silencing of Women Religious in the Tenth Century." Dark Age Nunneries (2018): 88-110. Web. <10.7591/Cornell/9781501715945.003.0005>.