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Similarities Between The Enlightenment And The Great Awakening

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Impowering the Nation

The Great Awakening and the Enlightenment (Deism) were both important in shaping the religious, political, and social lives of Americans. However, the revivals of the Great Awakening were able to reach more of the population and therefore gave voices to those previously uncounted. The Great Awakening was a time of excitement that included all facets of society within the colonies. The message crossed barriers and spoke directly to the individuals, it awakened emotions and gave life to those that participated. The Awakening deemphasized the orthodox doctrines and the importance of the clergy. The evangelical ministers preached the importance of the individual’s spiritual, emotional and personal relationship with God. This new form of religion ushered independent ideas within the masses and fostered relationships between the colonies. Because the movement of the Great Awakening was so wide spread and “swept across all colonial boundaries, …” it produced “… common interest … loyalty … and a common …show more content…

Because the American version was “confined to a small number of educated and generally wealthy elites, …” it “was a largely private affair that sought to fly below the radar” (Darren Staloff, Deism and the Founding of the United State) might have helped to quench the harsh ideas of the movement by its founder Lord Edward Herbert. Therefore, this could have been the reason they did not attacking the theory of “revealed” religion (Corrigan, p.95) and were able to align with the Christians on shared political

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