Exercise:  The Great Awakening


Instructions: This exercise uses the Library of Congress's American Memory Project exhibition on “Religion and the Founding of America.” Navigate to the section of the exhibit on the eighteenth century at URL below.

After reading the text and viewing the artifacts (which can be done by clicking on the various thumbnail images), answer the following questions.

Visit URL:  Religion and the Great Awakening in the American Colonies

Question 1:  What were the differences in church architecture between various ethnicities and religious denominations? What significance did these various architectural features possess? What do you think that the architecture of churches tells us about the ways in which various groups worshiped their god and viewed their place in the world?

Question 2:  What was Deism? In what specific ways was it connected with the Enlightenment? Why was this such an appealing belief system for colonists, like Jefferson and Franklin, who were avidly interested in subjects like science and philosophy?

Question 3:  What were some of the specific reasons that George Whitefield was such a popular and effective preacher? How and why did the tactics of Whitefield and other “New Light” preachers antagonize more traditional ministers and congregants?

Question 4:  What were some of the general beliefs and religious approaches shared by the “New Light” denominations of the Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians? By what means were these denominations able to expand so dramatically in terms of both numbers and visibility?

Question 5:  From your perusal of the exhibition, what—in your assessment—were the most significant legacies of the Great Awakening? How did this phenomenon fit into the larger context of the eighteenth century? In what ways did the Great Awakening's ideas and practitioners interact with other key events and ideals of this era?