Evangelicalism In Colonial South Carolina Summary

A Cautious Enthusiasm: Mystical Piety and Evangelicalism in Colonial South Carolina (2013), by Dr. Samuel C. Smith, explains the consequences Evangelicalism had on the government and people, both socially and religiously, in the low country of South Carolina during the eighteenth century. Smith begins with explaining the influences that initiated Evangelicalism, and moved into a discussion on how this movement had a significant impact during the revivalism of the Great Awakening. Evangelicalism politically and socially affected South Carolina’s culture by introducing a new form of spirituality, influenced the current Anglican clergymen and elite, and formed a new, Christian perspective on slavery. Evangelicalism is a subjective matter, but it nonetheless became a vital part of the Great Awakening. Anglicans manipulated it to progress in status and “spiritually”. However, it often did not appear to be sincere. Not all Anglicans found such benefits from it, however. Anglican laymen fought against Evangelicalism, but to little effect; the movement and the Great …show more content…
Many found the analogy of the ridding of the “old man” and gaining the ‘new man” as a symbol for an upcoming revolution. There was an optimistic and hopeful anticipation for the new birth of a country, America. This idea was popular among the lowlands of the colonies where there were close communities and slavery was a major role in their economic market. In addition, it acted as a formation of a status quo. Smith states, “evangelicalism’s transcendent and flexible qualities contributed to the formation of political and social consensus in the South, provided lowcountry Anglican elites a new means for perceived significance in the larger British world, helped transform in their minds the image of slavery into a uniquely Christian institution, and supplied impulse for a unified action into the revolutionary era” (Smith,