The Second Great Awakening: A Democratization of Religion

The early years of the nineteenth century were a time of great religious upheaval, with many new and exciting ideas. Old traditions were overturned and a general religious fervor swept the United States. This period was known as the Second Great Awakening.
The impact the Second Great Awakening had on the nation was truly remarkable. Happening alongside a continuing call for freedom and reform in all parts of life, it fulfilled the call for an increase of freedom and diligence in the church. This change can be termed a “democratization of religion.” With this ever increasing desire for freedom also came an eroding respect for authority, tradition, and station. Its numerous effects were both positive and negative.
The first effect can be seen in the drastic increase of Christian ministers. At the time the United States won its independence, there were fewer than 2,000 ministers across the nation. By 1845, there were 40,000. This huge growth is not necessarily attributed to more people attending seminaries or religious colleges, but rather, a democratization occurred in religion in that fewer and fewer preachers felt the need to be trained or ordained by an authoritative religious figure. Instead, they gained their knowledge and preaching style mainly from the Bible.
There was also a democratization in the doctrinal emphasis. In colonial times, most churches taught predestination, or the belief that a person is predestined to be saved or damned, and no work you do on your part can change that. In the Second Great Awakening, there was a change to emphasizing instead a person’s free will and their ability to work towards salvation. This was the beginnings of “fire and brimstone” preaching, where preachers used intense, frightening descriptions of hell in order to call their congregations to repentance.
In stressing the importance of industry, sobriety, and self-discipline as examples of freely chosen moral behavior, evangelical preachers promoted the very qualities necessary for success in a market culture.
With this democratization of religion came the breakdown of traditional churches and the creation of many new denominations. There were suddenly large numbers of Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Baptists, and other Christian sects. Some had ordained pastors leading dutiful congregations while others had self-appointed ministers leading camp revivals and almost out-of-control congregations. Never before had American religion seen such passion and emotion shown in regular meetings of Christian denominations. This was especially true of the frontier camp revivals. The lack of need for tradition or authority made these meetings new and exciting and they quickly grew in number, with hundreds of converts spreading the word like wildfire.
These effects of democratization created a fertile ground for new and exciting ideas, which consistently brought in hundreds and thousands of converts each year. The cause of freedom moving throughout the land stirred its religious sects in ways not seen before. The Second Great Awakening was a huge success in calling people from their idleness to a new commitment to salvation through Jesus Christ. 

Works Cited
Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty!, Second Edition, Volume 1 (Give Me Liberty). 2nd ed. New York: W. W. Norton, 2007. Print.

Angel Tree - Something else to consider this Christmas

 If any of you are looking for a way to serve your community this Christmas, please consider Angel Tree. As a non-profit branch of the Prison Fellowhip Ministry, Angel Tree gives Christmas gifts to children in the name of imprisoned parents. It is a beautiful way to serve those children who may not be having much of a Christmas. In return for a donation, the website gives you a small thank-you of mp3 downloads from the Angel Tree Children's Choir CD of Christmas Carols. They are the most angelic voices you will ever hear. 
Give it a thought!
Thanks and Merry Christmas!

Angel Tree Promo Video
Angel Tree website 

Something to think about...

Here is a little something to think about. It is one of my all-time favorite quotes and is found in Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail :


"Right defeated is stronger than evil triumphant."

Art Exhibit - Types and Shadows: Intimations of Divinity

In the exhibit Types and Shadows: Intimations of Divinity at the Brigham Young University Art Museum, a collection of art is brought together under theme found in the following scripture verse:
“And behold, all things have their likeness, and all things are created and made to bear record of me, both things which are temporal, and things which are spiritual; things which are in the heavens above, and things which are on the earth, and things which are in the earth, and things which are under the earth, both above and beneath: all things bear record of me” (Moses 6:63).
The string that ties together the different pieces of art is the belief that all things can be types, or symbols, of Christ. Some pieces are overtly religious, such as God Steadying the Ark by Boleslav Parasion, which depicts God guiding Noah’s ark (Pheysey 11). Others may be more difficult to relate, such as Daily Bread by Lee Bennion (14). This is a simple painting of a woman holding a loaf of bread in her apron. The challenge to the viewer is to find how each piece can be a type of Christ.
The piece that was most interesting to me was The Prodigal Son painted by Bruce H. Smith (19). To me, this seemed to be only a painting of a feast. However, the tour guide for our class led us through an analysis that uncovered the subtle meanings. The first panel is bright and colorful, symbolizing the Prodigal Son’s life before he left his home. The center panel is painted with different shades of gray. In the middle of the table are miniature pigs, a reflection of the low point of the prodigal Son’s journey and how he was forced to feed himself with the pigs. The last panel was bright, colorful, and abundant with food. In the front was a depiction of a tiny cow, signifying the slaughtered calf at the feast in honor of the son’s return. The different elements in this painting came together to portray the parable of the Prodigal son, which is representative of Christ’s willingness to readily forgive us. This seemingly simple painting became, through analysis, a type and shadow of Christ.
The opportunity to learn in this exhibit is exceptional; I would highly recommend attending it. If you are not usually interested in art, you are not alone. I do not usually appreciate art museums. A solution to this problem would be to sign up for a tour. The tour guides are very knowledgeable and can help you see the deep and beautiful imagery in each piece. The exhibition guides are also helpful. Don’t just walk through this exhibit—all you’ll see is a few paintings on a wall. However, if you take the time to understand each painting you will leave thoughtful and inspired. This is not an exhibit to see, but to experience.

Works Cited
Pheysey, Dawn C., and Herman C. Du Toit. The Image Speaks: A Study Guide for Religious Art. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Museum of Art and Religious Studies Center, 2009. Print.

Amistad Review

Note to Reader: This is my personal review of the movie Amistad. This film is rated R, however my class watched the version edited by “Family Flicks.” If you can obtain an edited copy, I highly recommend it as an inspiring and historically accurate film for mature viewers.

            The main theme that comes to my mind from our viewing of Amistad is the desensitization to slavery and the humanity the film tries to portray. I realized that even I, as a modern student, have been desensitized to the horrors of slavery through the memorized numbers, historical facts, and the common struggle to make history come alive. It was also surprising to me the amount of desensitization the politicians of that time period were accustomed to. They could look in the faces of slaves and call them property. This film tries to help the viewer find the humanity in the lives of the people in this story, both slaves and freemen, and, in my opinion, it succeeds.

            Mankind’s race for power and money was exposed well in both the politicians and the traders. It was almost surprising the completely corrupting effect that money and power have. There were at least four separate claims put to court over the slaves, each politician and tradesman believing they had a right to this “property.” They were each completely desensitized to the human life standing before them. It was only the money they cared for.

            The goodness of humanity was  represented in the diligence of the attorney fighting for the slaves’ freedom. The attorney, Baldwin, was hired by abolitionists and while he didn’t particularly care about abolition at first, he gave the case the best he had. He struggled to find a way to communicate with Cinque, the “spokesman” for the slaves,  and persevered through every loop the prosecution and court threw him. Even when he was persecuted physically and his law practice had practically disappeared, he kept working until he had won the trial. His diligence and perseverance were inspiring.

            Even more touching was the humanity represented in Cinque. He was completely humble in being the slaves’ chosen leader, even though they adored him. It was also amazing the amount of culture presented by him. We heard the story of his wife, his culture, his voyage, and we saw in him the sharp difference between the African and white cultures. We saw his desperation for freedom as he broke the chains on the boat and later pleaded for freedom in broken English in the courtroom. When another slave tried to interpret the pictures he saw in a Bible, the story of Christ, however vague, had an influence on him and Cinque, as it does on all truly humble men. This is the essence of humanity.

            Humanity was portrayed beautifully in this film, through the lows of corruption, the diligence and goodness of the lawyer, who made the slaves’ cause his own, and the depth of the slaves’ experience. It is a needed shock to the desensitized modern viewer and an inspiration for the cause of liberty for all people and all nations.