Awakening Religious Tensions

The Great Awakening and the Enlightenment were two of the most influential developments in the early eighteenth-century colonies. Although often considered as oppositional, some New Light ministers embraced Enlightenment ideas, and some advocates of the Enlightenment respected popular New Light preachers (Document 4.6). Ultimately, conflicts over the Great Awakening came mainly from Old Light preachers who feared the disruption of traditional church structures and discipline and from civic leaders who feared the social disruption fostered by New Light revivals.

Certainly there were significant differences between the rational approach of scientific observers like Benjamin Franklin and the passion of preachers like George Whitefield. Moreover, many colonists favored the emotional connections they found in religious revivals over the Enlightenment’s intellectual approach to social ills. Still, the two were not always in direct competition. Differences were at least as great between New Light and Old Light ministers. Old Light ministers initially embraced the Awakening as a way to revive religiosity in the colonies. The powerful preaching of George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards attracted thousands of people who were deeply moved by their sermons (Documents 4.5, 4.6, and 4.7). But as revivalist preachers grew more popular, Old Lights became increasingly uneasy. By 1742 the controversial actions of itinerant preachers like James Davenport led Old Light ministers as well as newspaper editors and civic leaders to critique the movement as a whole (Document 4.8). One concern of many critics was the challenge the Awakening posed to established relations of class and status. At mass revivals, women and men, old and young, upper and lower classes, and even blacks and whites mingled. And sermons often included pointed critiques of colonial elites (Documents 4.8 and 4.9). Thus New Light preachers revitalized but also challenged established churches and the established order.

The following selections reflect the views of the New Lights, advocates of the Enlightenment, and critics of the revivals. As you read, consider the religious, social, and political issues at stake in the Great Awakening.