Second Great Awakening Research Paper

During both the 1700s and 1800s, religion played a part in a citizen’s everyday life. However, there were periods of time where citizens became less religious. In order to bring people back into churches, and increase piety, religious revivals took place. Most people view the First Great Awakening as more influential than the Second Great Awakening, but the Second Great Awakening is far more influential politically and socially despite both of their striking similarities. The First Great Awakening was a religious revival that occurred around the 1730s-’40s. This religious revival was based around Puritan and Congregational ideas. The emotion in preaching converted numerous people to Christianity. During the time of this revival the country was under distress and disunity, and through religion, the country became more united. The Enlightenment was dividing the people, and they needed to …show more content…
The Second Great Awakening was a second religious revival that occurred in the 1800s. The main reason why the Second Great Awakening was more influential than the first is because it played a huge role in several movements such as abolitionism, prison reforms, and women’s rights. The Second Great Awakening was based on the Puritan vision of a perfect society: no cruelty, no war, no intoxicating drinks, no discrimination, and no slavery; this is why several movements took place. This also created somewhat of a divide in the country because hundreds of people still wanted all of the things that the Christians did not want. The Second Great Awakening was based more around Methodist and Baptist ideas. Both religious revivals were based around Christian ideas, emphasized religion, and created new religious sections, and had political and social significance. Even though the First Great Awakening was influential, the Second Great Awakening was more influential because of all the movements it