Finney and Tocqueville: What America Needs
The second Great Awakening was another revival of man’s connection with God; however, this time God is reaching out to individuals and providing them with atonement and salvation. In this time period, America was beginning to expand out West. Religious lectures that lasted weeks, were known as “camp meetings” and they became popular in frontier culture. Frontiersmen would venture out into the wilderness and congregate to celebrate God with weeks of discussion and music. Similarly, in larger cities protracted meetings were trending. Protracted meetings brought city dwellers together each day for a few weeks to listen to a series of talks. One of the most important evangelical preachers in American …show more content…
Tocqueville noticed that peoples’ extreme connection with religion has a reflection in politics. Finding that since the country is enlightened and free, it was led to democracy. As a result, Tocqueville concluded that religion should play a larger role in government, because he believes that religion is necessary to maintain a republic institution. Tocqueville found that since liberty (from the second Great Awakening) is so important in both Christianity and American politics, church and state should be combined. Tocqueville even went on to say that by separating church and state, the government is holding man back from religion. Since religion played such an important in American culture, Tocqueville recommended that the country combines church and state. During the second Great Awakening, Charles Finney preached to revive that souls of many Americans. All over the country, in the East and West, in large cities and small ones, a spiritual transformation was occurring in the lives of many individuals. This brought about a natural shift in culture that brought fourth both camp and prolonged meetings. Noticing this culture, Tocqueville described that America might as well strengthen religion even further by incorporating it into government. Finney and Tocqueville both wanted to see a change that would help the country express religion even
The second Great Awakening was another revival of man’s connection with God; however, this time God is reaching out to individuals and providing them with atonement and salvation. In this time period, America was beginning to expand out West. Religious lectures that lasted weeks, were known as “camp meetings” and they became popular in frontier culture. Frontiersmen would venture out into the wilderness and congregate to celebrate God with weeks of discussion and music. Similarly, in larger cities protracted meetings were trending. Protracted meetings brought city dwellers together each day for a few weeks to listen to a series of talks. One of the most important evangelical preachers in American …show more content…
Tocqueville noticed that peoples’ extreme connection with religion has a reflection in politics. Finding that since the country is enlightened and free, it was led to democracy. As a result, Tocqueville concluded that religion should play a larger role in government, because he believes that religion is necessary to maintain a republic institution. Tocqueville found that since liberty (from the second Great Awakening) is so important in both Christianity and American politics, church and state should be combined. Tocqueville even went on to say that by separating church and state, the government is holding man back from religion. Since religion played such an important in American culture, Tocqueville recommended that the country combines church and state. During the second Great Awakening, Charles Finney preached to revive that souls of many Americans. All over the country, in the East and West, in large cities and small ones, a spiritual transformation was occurring in the lives of many individuals. This brought about a natural shift in culture that brought fourth both camp and prolonged meetings. Noticing this culture, Tocqueville described that America might as well strengthen religion even further by incorporating it into government. Finney and Tocqueville both wanted to see a change that would help the country express religion even