Great Awakening
The Great Awakening The Great Awakening had many factors that triggered its beginning including the decline of the Puritan religion and the weakening of the church. ... Many documents have been written about the Great Awakening telling of the main ideas and people that caused this religious revival in the mid-1700s. First, an overview of the Great Awakening must be given to better understand the circumstances. The Great Awakening was started because Puritans began to lose interest in the church. ... There were also many main characters during the Great Awakening. ... Also, two groups resulted from the Great Awakening. The “New Lights” and “Old Lights” had different opinions on the Awakening. ... Lastly, widespread missionary work began because of the Great Awakening. ... (The American Pageant, 96-97) 2 The first signs of the Awakening were obvious and abundant. ... One of the main principle figures of the Great Awakening was George Whitefield. ... Whitefield traveled up and down the coast carrying the ideas of the Awakening with him. ... (The Great Awakening) Jonathon Edwards wrote a letter to the Reverend Thomas Prince explaining his account of the second wave of revivals. Edwards was another main character in the Great Awakening. ... (Jonathon Edwards: On the Great Awakening) There were two groups that were divided by beliefs on how the Awakening revitalized religion.