Great Awakening

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The Great Awakening was a series of religious revivals in American Christian history. Historians and theologians identify three, or sometimes four, waves of increased religious enthusiasm between the early 18th century and the late 20th century. Each of these "Great Awakenings" was characterized by widespread revivals led by evangelical Protestant ministers, a sharp increase of interest in religion, a profound sense of conviction and redemption on the part of those affected, an increase in evangelical church comradeship, and the formation of new religious movements and denominations. George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, Gilbert Tennent, and the New Lights and the Old Lights highly influenced the First Great Awakening. The First Great Awakening in the American colonies is closely related to the Evangelical Revival in the British Isles. It incited division between traditionalists, who insisted on the continuing importance of ritual and doctrine, and revivalists who encouraged emotional involvement...

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