The Enlightenment and the Great Awakening, The Enlightenment in America  Most Christians believed God intervened directly in human affairs to punish sin & reward virtue  Enlightenment thinkers believed people could observe, analyze, understand, and improve their world  John Locke – lives not fixed by God’s will & can be changed through education & purposeful action; also said political authority not divinely ordained but came from social compacts people made to preserve life, liberty, & property

Ben Franklin European enlightenment ideas influenced colonists’ beliefs about science, religion, and politics Ben Franklin, (inventor, printer, politician), turned to deism; which is the belief that God created the world to run according to natural law without his interference The enlightenment added a secular dimension to colonial intellectual life

American Pietism & the Great Awakening Many colonists turned to pietism, which came w/ German migrants in 1720’s & sparked religious revival Pietism emphasized pious behavior, religious emotion, and the striving for a mystical union w/ God

American Pietism & the Great Awakening cont’d In 1739, George Whitefield transformed local revivals into a “Great Awakening” 100’s of colonists felt the “New Light” of God’s grace & followed Whitefield Conservative, or “Old Light” ministers condemned the emotional preaching of traveling “new light” ministers for their emotionalism & allowing women to speak in public; in Conn. traveling preachers prohibited from speaking to estab. congregations w/out minister’s consent “Old Lights” condemned as unconverted sinners

Legacy of Great Awakening Undermined support of traditional churches & challenged authority of ministers Gave a new sense of religious authority to many colonists in North & reaffirmed communal ethics as it questioned pursuit of wealth Many colleges founded to train ministers for various denominations (Princeton, Columbia, Brown) A new sense of religious & political authority felt among many of the common people