The Great Awakening

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What Was It?

• A period of religious revival in the colonies in the 1730s and 1740s

• Traveling preachers told listeners to commit to God

• Emphasized separation of church and state

What was the goal of the Great Awakening?

Revive religious feeling

How did the Great Awakening contribute to increased tolerance of religious differences

in the American Colonies?

• Increased number of different denominations (churches)

• New churches, such as Methodists and Baptists, started and grew quickly

• Different kinds of church services offered increased

• Population diversity among congregation.

What effects did the Great Awakening have on organized

religion in the colonies?

• Made Christianity more diverse ethnically and racially • Strengthened new denominations and weakened

older ones (Puritan)

• Colonists:– Began to question religious and political authority– Felt empowered to worship as they pleased – Wanted to govern themselves