New Ideas: Liberalism in Religion (jan 1, 1800 – jan 1, 1848)

Description:

Second Great Awakening
- reasons
- concern over lack of religious zeal
- ideas of Deism and Unitarianism
- Wave of revivals spread across the country
- Charles Finney
- revival preacher who lead revivals in NY
area in 1830s
- numerous citizens converted
- new religious sects
- Methodists and Baptists
- personal conversion (control their
lives, OPTIMISM)
- Democratic control of Church affairs


Enlightened Religion
- Deism
- less revelation, more reason
- less Bible, more science
- they believe that God have humans
capacity for moral behavior
- Unitarianism
- less extreme version of past Puritanism
- free will and possibility of salvation by
good works (God is a loving Father)
- no hellfire doctrines, predestination, or
human wickedness


Age of Reform
- increase of evangelism (emotion) (optimism)
- prison reform
- temperance
- women's movement
- anti-slavery (abolition was "radical")
- education


Women in Religion
- women are majority of new Church members
- role of bringing family back to God
- inspired involvement in various other reform
efforts (questioned lack of political power)


Mormons
- Joseph Smith
- Church of Latter Day Saints
- Illinois
- controversial (polygamy)
- Brigham Young
- leads followers to Utah
- "New Zion" (separate community)
- prosperous, cooperative
- immigrants and missionaries

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