Beginning shortly before the 17th century, Religious toleration was increased in the British colonies due to The Protestant Reformation, The Great Awakening, and The Enlightenment. The Protestant Reformation was a religious movement set to reform the Roman Catholic Church. The Enlightenment was a movement in which intellectuals and philosophers came and began to think reasonably and for themselves. The Great Awakening was a movement that was brought about by Jonathan Edwards in which the terms “Old Lights” and “New Lights” came into play. Through the recognition of false dogmas in the Catholic Church, The ability of people to have control on what is happening in their lives, and The upbringing of new denominations;The Reformation, The Great
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Individualism is defined as “the habit or principle of being independent and self-reliant.” This has an effect on religion because people began to think that they didn’t need any outside source to come to God. They thought they could find him and salvation through their own ways of thinking and doing. The Enlightenment had a negative effect on the church because once people started believing they could find God on their own they made up their own “standards” for God which challenged the church leaders. One major effect that emerged was deism. They were people who still believed in God, but thought he let the universe run its course and didn't interfere. Religious toleration was increased by the Enlightenment, but in my opinion in a different …show more content…
The Puritans and everyone else who decided they wanted to get away from the Church of England were known as the Congregationalists. However, then there was the people who were still apart of the Church of England known as Anglicans. Both of these religions would be known as the “Old lights.” When the Great Awakening occurred in 1730 The “New lights” appeared. The “New lights” were the new denominations that uprooted. The “New lights” gave the people the ability to choose which religious suited them best. Two major ministers named Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield were both major factors in The Great Awakening by delivering loud and harsh sermons to the people. This gave a whole new perspective to the people on how different the “New lights” were from the “Old
Individualism is defined as “the habit or principle of being independent and self-reliant.” This has an effect on religion because people began to think that they didn’t need any outside source to come to God. They thought they could find him and salvation through their own ways of thinking and doing. The Enlightenment had a negative effect on the church because once people started believing they could find God on their own they made up their own “standards” for God which challenged the church leaders. One major effect that emerged was deism. They were people who still believed in God, but thought he let the universe run its course and didn't interfere. Religious toleration was increased by the Enlightenment, but in my opinion in a different …show more content…
The Puritans and everyone else who decided they wanted to get away from the Church of England were known as the Congregationalists. However, then there was the people who were still apart of the Church of England known as Anglicans. Both of these religions would be known as the “Old lights.” When the Great Awakening occurred in 1730 The “New lights” appeared. The “New lights” were the new denominations that uprooted. The “New lights” gave the people the ability to choose which religious suited them best. Two major ministers named Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield were both major factors in The Great Awakening by delivering loud and harsh sermons to the people. This gave a whole new perspective to the people on how different the “New lights” were from the “Old