Religion Revival in the 19th Century

706 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: economic

The latter half of the 19th century marked a time of major changes that sweep the American landscape. Changes included: the second industrial revolution, the third great awakening, abolitionism, immigration, and new religious movements (NRMs). This time period is referred to as the “Gilded Age”; there was rapid economic growth which spurred wage increases, immigration, and technological advances. During the postbellum and early 19th century, people started to challenge what religion meant to them. Lincoln questioned how warring factions could both pray to the same God, yet he concluded that God had “his own purpose” for this war. From these notions, such thought as “the Lost Cause”, was spurred. Another important aspect is people started to challenge their theology with the advent of new science and technology. The effect was to create a competitive marketplace in religion that allowed men and women to shop for religious institutions that they thought best meet their needs. The growing prestige of science compelled Americans reformulating theology; two popular theologies include New Theology, Theodore Munger, and Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy (Goff and Harvey 21-25). These religions are known as NRM, encompassing newer religious groups and old alternative groups, which, together, have challenged mainstream religious traditions and the secular society back in the 19th century, and still to this day. The three popular NRMs during the 19th century are Christian Science, Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormonism), and Jehovah’s Witnesses. According to Daschke and Ashcraft, people are intrigued by NRMs for a number of reasons: new understanding, new self, new family, new society, and new world (Daschke and Ashcraft 1-13). Conversely... ... middle of paper ... ... centering on work, frugality, and temperance that served to empower converts for a measure of economic success in the industrial order (Goff and Harvey 281). rephrase paragraph] Increasingly, he depended on the financial support from the business community. John Wanamaker, one of his primary patrons, supported Moody through giving him a place to preach and then turning said place into a business (Goff and Harvey 55). It appeared that people were fed up with having to follow a certain thought and therefore questioned the religion. Therefore lead them to “sculpt” religion to meet their needs and beliefs. Similar proselytization entered an area of mass marketing where people were fervent to convert and send missionaries out. This also includes fervent revivalism to get people excited and in the moment to convert. During this period of time, proselytization prospered.

Show More
Related

  • 1800-1850

    975 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the first half of the 19th century, and especially after the War of 1812, America has taken on yet another revolution. In this time period, the country saw a rapid expansion in territory and economics, as well as the extension of democratic politics; the spread of evangelical revivalism; the rise of the nation’s first labor and reform movements; the growth of cities and industrial ways of life; a rise in abolitionism and reduction in the power of slavery; and radical shifts in the roles and status of women.

    Read More

  • U.S. History 1877-1933

    1025 Words  | 3 Pages

    The period from 1877 to 1901 in American history was known as the Gilded Age, it was titled so because during this time things on the surface seemed peaceful and good but underneath lay corruption in the society. This era was marked by the end of Reconstruction of the South, as well as the presidencies of Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Cleveland, Harrison, and McKinley. Significant events of this time were the 1878 Bland Allison Act in which the federal government bought silver and turned it into cheap money. The 1881 Chinese Exclusion Act which banned all Chinese immigrants coming into America because they were hurting employment opportunities for American laborers. The 1883 Pendleton Act that ended Jackson’s spoils system in the government and made the Merit System based on intelligence and ability. The 1887 Interstate Commerce Act which regulated the railroads. The Sherman Antitrust Act which outlawed any combination in restraint of trade. And last, the Gold Standard Act of 1900 that made the American monetary unit based on gold.

    Read More

  • The Democratization of American Christianity

    948 Words  | 2 Pages

    This mass enterprise is reviewed through five traditions in the early nineteenth century: the Christian movement, the Methodists, the Baptists, the black churches, and the Mormons. Hatch explains that these major American movements were led by young men who shared “an ethic of unrelenting toil, a passion for expansion, a hostility to orthodox belief and style, a zeal for religious reconstruction, and a systematic plan to realize their ideals” (4). These leaders changed the scope of American Christianity by orientating toward democratic or populist ideals. Their movements offered both individual potential and collective aspiration, which were ideas ready to be grasped by the young and booming population. These early leaders had a vision of a faith that disregarded social standing, and taught all to think, interpret, and organize their faith for themselves. It was a faith of “religious populism, reflecting the passions of ordinary people and the charisma of democratic movement-builders” (5).

    Read More

  • American Economy During The Gilded Age

    575 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Gilded Age was a time period of rampant development in the American Economy with a policy that minimized the intervention of the government in economic matters. In the late 1800’s starting with railroads, small businesses evolved to the point where the nation’s economy was monopolized by wealthy industrialists and financiers.1 With all this control in the hands of few wealthy individuals critics began to point out several inequalities among Americans.

    Read More

  • American History, 1865-1900

    1131 Words  | 3 Pages

    The years after the civil war left one half of America, the north, satisfied and the other half, the south, mostly dissatisfied. Therefore the last third of the nineteenth century, 1865-1900, was a time period in which America was mending, repairing, improving, reshaping, and reconstructing its society, economy, culture, and policies. Basically it was changing everything it stood for. This continual change can be seen in the following events that took place during this time. These events are both causes and effects of why America is what it is today. These are some examples: the reconstruction of the south, the great movement towards the west, the agricultural revolution, the rise of industrialism, the completion of the transcontinental railroad, and America's growth to gaining world power. All of these are reasons and events that characterize America as being an ever-changing nation.

    Read More

  • Industrialists During The Gilded Age

    1005 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the turn of the 19th century, the American economy rapidly switched from an agriculture base to one of the largest manufacturers in the world through Industrialization. This movement could be tied to the Gilded Age, or the time between the Civil War and WWI, where the rich were extremely poor and vice versa. The wealthier Americans during the Gilded Age were the poster children of the nation, the picture of American opportunity, and a large contributor to the spike in immigration to the United States during the turn of the 19th century. With developments in manufacturing, these wealthy citizens capitalized on the opportunity and became leaders during Industrialization, earning themselves the title of Industrialists. Industrialists during

    Read More

  • Religion as a Major Organizing Ideology to the Social and Political Reality of the Nineteenth-Century

    3819 Words  | 8 Pages

    Religious scholar, Stephen Prothero, sees religion as a major organizing ideology to the social and political reality of the nineteenth-century. For Prothero, there is a close and intimate ideological relation between theological beliefs and a culture; therefore, they are not separable from characterizing the religious mood of the nineteenth-century. Prothero argues that many Americans were, “inspired by [the] republican rhetoric of liberty and equality, and by a popular revolt against deference and hierarchy” (47). This liberalizing spirit applied to the religious, political, and domestic spheres inspired women to protest against the narrow role to which they had been consigned by the existing hierarchy. The well-defined strictures of religion, like the law, were structured in dominance; black women encountered its hegemony in both their gendered and racial construction and white women principally by their gender.

    Read More

  • Situational Psychology of 19th Century America

    3685 Words  | 8 Pages

    Nineteenth century America was full of economic, political and social change. There were many fluctuations of economic prosperity and depression. Land size and population was expanding at an enormous rate. This time in American history was marked with turmoil and chaos as the young nation experienced rapid growth. African Americans dealt with slavery and subsequent freedom. Ex-confederate soldiers had to readjust to a changed society. Women fought for education, political rights and equality. Immigrants flooded the country and fueled industrialism. Native Americans fought a battle to preserve their heritage and culture as they faced white expansion and the loss of vital natural resources. Outside influences shaped the changes that occurred and these Americans responded to the situations of their time.

    Read More

  • Why The Gilded Age

    173 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Gilded Age was a time of transition for the citizens of the United States. They experienced great changes not only in economic status but also social change. This age witnessed the growth of many industries, unions, technology and the rise of many big businesses. However, there were some factors caused a great divide amongst Americans. Some of these factors include: the upper class reaping all the benefits that would not be possible without lower class workers, lower class workers demanding better conditions as they were usually underpaid and worked long hours, another factor was also the image of what the Gilded Age was to immigrants versus what the reality of it was. This is shown by John Mitchell in “The Workingman’s Conception of Industrial

    Read More

  • Workers In The Gilded Age Essay

    662 Words  | 2 Pages

    American history between 1865 and 1900 is characterized as the Gilded Age. Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner coined this term; it means that this era, from the outside, appeared prosperous, but with a closer look, one could discover the corruption that lay beneath the thin layer of gold. This era was filled with urbanization, industrialization, and immigration; these three things gave the Gilded Age the appearance of being a prosperous time filled with progress. However, the American industrial worker, the bulwark of the age, did not prosper as much as one may have thought. American industrial workers faced extremely difficult lives, working very hard to receive little reward, and it did not take very long before they wanted reform. The industrial workers banded together, forming labor unions, in order to try to negotiate with their employers to have some of their demands met. Labor unions are generally thought of as having positive effects on workers, which certainly was true, but only to an extent. Labor unions also had some very negative effects on workers, specifically when their demands were not met, or when they were seen negatively by the government and the public. Immigration rates during the Gilded Age were extremely high, because the United States had great opportunities, especially in available jobs, which were greatly desirable to foreign people. Immigration generally had negative effects on American industrial workers. With large numbers of immigrants coming from foreign countries, there was a surplus of labor which caused unemployment and wages to remain low. Also, immigration had great effects on labor unions, generally negative as well, which would then in turn negatively affect the workers in that union. Last...

    Read More

  • Understanding The Great Awakening

    1027 Words  | 3 Pages

    This movement targeted every individual; male and female, poor and rich, and black and white. The focus was on the individual; the speakers and pastors simplified the verses in the bible to be more assessable and made them applicable to the daily life. The religious revivals focused more on personal experience rather than biblical teachings. The revivals protested against intellectual nature and promoted the idea of the heart being center for a relationship with God. The churches focus was personal with their members. They wanted converted Christians to pursue their own holiness. Revivals encouraged reading of and the idea of love for the bible. The revivals shook up the institutionalized Congregationalism with a new emphasis on perso...

    Read More

  • Entertainment In The Gilded Age

    1483 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the late 1800's, American society began to burst with cultural activity. After the Civil War and the Reconstruction, Americans were eager to return to their normal lifestyles. The period that followed, however, was quite different from what the country was used to. During the war, many pushed hard for a rise in industry, leading to an explosive industrial revolution far beyond what people had expected. America's business and economy had boomed, and, as the new century approached, many had a new outlook on life. They were eager to escape the dull regiments of both the past Victorian era and the new urban lifestyle. This was easy for the upper and middle classes, both of which were growing due to the rapid increase in industry. It was great news for entrepreneurs and business people of the time, because there was money to be made in this desire for amusement. Of course, this was not the whole story of the new Gilded Age, but it was definitely an era of growing leisure time and the business that came along with it.

    Read More

  • Social Welfare Movement Essay

    872 Words  | 2 Pages

    Economic activities in the nineteenth century led to significant changes in United States society. During this time, the US experienced economic growth which was fueled by industrialization. This industrialization, which began in the eighteenth century,

    Read More

  • Heaven's Gate: An Examination of Modern Religious Movements

    1816 Words  | 4 Pages

    Religious cults and their development in America has been an interesting topic in many sociological and religious studies. Since the begging of the 1800’s, certain religious cults and sects have been classified as new religious movements, specifically defined as “[Religious movements that] offer innovative religious responses to the conditions of the modern world,” according to Encyclopedia Brittanica (Rubinstein 2016). According to David Bromley’s book, Teaching New Religious Movements, “While the number of people involved in new religious movements (NRMs) is small, the attention they have received in the popular media and academic discourse suggest a greater significance. In the popular media, NRMs are most often seen as a social problem. In academic studies, they are more often associated with processes of social change and the critique of modernity” (Bromley 2007). UFO religions, defined as religious beliefs centrally

    Read More

  • The Revival Of Religion And The Awakening

    296 Words  | 1 Pages

    This document, the revival of religion was a favor to reverend Joshua Levitt by Charles finney. He did lectures every friday and recorded them and printed copies of the lecture.The purpose of revival of religion is to "wake up" the moral powers, or more like, it was to reform the moral standards of all the individuals. Through the revival of religion, people were expected to be educated on all their moral systems according to God, so that this nation, as a whole, could be way more civilized and healthy, because if you are not educated on all they moral systems according to God you are not civilized.. Finney believed that the revival of religion is obedience of God's manner; the revival of religion promotes so many different emotions for people

    Read More

More about Religion Revival in the 19th Century

Open Document