U.S. Church History Blog

The Third Great Awakening The rise of the Social Gospel and protestants seeking a different theological path.  Have you walked "In His Steps"? This popular book was written by Charles Sheldon in 1896. The book is about following Jesus Christ's example and then applying Jesus Christ's example to practical social outcomes. If the Second Great Awakening was about reconciling emotional revival meetings with a reasonable faith, then the Third Great Awakening ushered in the idea of the social gospel.  The social gospel was a call to social reform, and not just a personal faith. In this, The Third Great Awakening emotionalism become institutionalized into groups like the Relief Society of the Mormon church, The Salvation Army, the Y.M.C.A, N.A.A.C.P., The American Protective Association, and The  National  Woman  Suffrage Association . Some of these organizations were uncomfortably nativist and anti-catholic, but all of them had a goal to reform social problems. 

The Second Great Awakening happened in the new American republic around 1790 and reached its height in the 1840s. The first great awakening was about reconciling the reason of the enlightenment with the faith of the established church in the colonies. In the Second Great Awakening there was tremendous growth in the Methodist and Baptist denominations. If the First Great Awakening had created a diversity of protestant beliefs, such as the  separation of church and state , congregational sects based upon a democratic church government, and individual revelation, then the Second Great awakening represented an expansion of the congregational revivalist movement most represented by the these denominations. Rather than faith being reconciled with enlightened reason, emotion and personal revelation was being reconciled with a newly contextualized faith. The Methodist circuit riders used the worn paths of canal routes to spread their message of holiness to the unchurched. The Presbyterian

The open air and circuit riding preachers following in the tradition of Whitfield and Wesley were new lights. This was not the only difference. The new lights also were a work in progress much like the colonial governments of that time. The intersection of church and government was a conflict that created a diversity of church experiences. These differences spurred the creation of many Protestant denominations. The conflicts were based upon Calvinism versus Arminianism, the place of the sacraments in the Christian Faith, and the individual revelation of believers versus the theologically schooled ministers who had gained degrees. Jonathan Edwards was also a new light that led a revival at Princeton University as a student. But, he also preached in church pulpits, and was removed from a Presbyterian Old Light church. At the end of his life he became president of Princeton University. He was one of the few crossover preachers who went from open air to pulpit reformer. The desire for

U.S. history is filled with misconceptions about the role of the church and government. I first became interested on this topic while teaching AP US history (APUSH) to 9th grade students in a gifted program in Pennsylvania.  This is a work in progress, and I will ask friends to help me along the way. I am completing research from the following sources that I will draw from to create these posts. The Aeneid, Virgil (Is there a parallel between ancient and modern church history?)  City of God, Augustine (Ancient politics and church government)  America's History, Henretta  (my textbook in APUSH)  Jargal a novel Victor Hugo  (The myth of the noble savage)  God Bless America, Dean C. Coddington (Traditional views)  A Religious History of the American People, By Sydney E.Ahlstrom, (A criticism of traditional views) Religious Affections, Jonathon Edwards (First Great Awakening)  John Wesley, Albert C. Outer (First Great Awakening)  The Autobiography of Charles Fin