Religious+Reform

= Religious Reform =

Religious reform in the early to mid-1800s was a major turning point in United States history. toc During this time period, many religions would make revivals, especially the many forms of American Protestantism. Many new religions and sects would also appear during this time, including Brigham Young's Mormons and Mother Ann Lee's Shakers. The national conscience inspired by the religious reforms would inspire people to join other reforms, such as temperance, abolitionism, and education. =Causes of Reform= The Second Great Awakening was mostly caused by movements against alcohol, tobacco, and profanity. These movements against the bad things in society led to more people attending the “camp meetings” that preachers spoke at. The ideas that alcohol, tobacco, and profanity were not a good part of life, and this is exemplified through the beliefs of the Shakers, the Mormons, and the Transcendentalists and other religions. =Goal of the Reformers= The leaders of the religious reform movements felt obligated to protect the unreligious people from themselves and their sin. While America was still a highly religious society, with nearly three quarters of Americans attending church, some religious leaders felt that religion was still on the decline. In response to this, many leaders felt the need to convert nonbelievers and spread faith to all. =Tactics of the Reformers= >> = = =Successes and Failures= There were many successes of the religious movement of the 1800’s. It led to inspirational books like //Civil Disobedience// by Henry David Thoreau, and also the Mormon religion. The Mormon religion is a success even today. Preachers started to be more intense with their preaching. But most importantly, women were encouraged to pray aloud in church. This gave them more freedom than they used to have, and they felt a part of society. An awareness of how bad tobacco, alcohol, and profanity were also came around after the religious movement. Each sect also had its successes and failures. As shown by the chart, Mormonism has grown considerably since its creation. Mother Ann Lee's Shakers have nearly died out. =Key Figures= __Brigham Young__ (1801-1877)
 * social activism and social reforms
 * Abolition Reform
 * Education Reform
 * Temperance Reform
 * Women's Rights Reform
 * new denominations in new york
 * women involvement
 * "Circuit Riders"
 * Traveling frontier preachers
 * camp meeting
 * Several days of listening to preachers as repentant sinners would convert
 * Some engaged in rolling, dancing, barking, and jerking during intense sermons
 * Many "saved" soon went back to their sin
 * boosted church membership
 * Missionary groups
 * =  ||= Maximum Attendance ||= Current Attendance ||
 * = Mormonism ||= ~ 14 million ||= ~14 milliion ||
 * = Shakers ||= ~6000 ||= 3 ||
 * A founding member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, also known as Mormonism
 * After he overcame the death of his wife, he helped lead the Church (Mormons) west to their new settlement
 * Was a powerful speaker
 * His sermons were carefully recorded and written in the //Journal of Discourses//

__'Powerful' Peter Cartwright__ (1785-1872)
 * Was the best known Methodist "Circuit Rider"
 * Was poorly educated
 * He rode from Tennessee to Illinois, converting thousands on the way
 * Knocked out sinners who tried to break up his meetings

__Charles Grandison Finney__ (1792-1895)
 * Greatest of revival preachers, being said to have converted of half a million
 * Originally a lawyer, he abandoned it after a conversion experience
 * Held crowds spellbound
 * Led revivals in Rochester and New York City in 1830 and 1831
 * Created the "anxious bench" were repentant sinners could be seen by the congregation
 * Denounced alcohol and slavery
 * Eventually served as president and trained ministers at the Oberlin College in Ohio

__Mother Ann Lee__ (1736-1784)
 * Founded the Shaker sect
 * Shakers were a very strict sect
 * Men and women were kept separate and sexual relations were forbidden

=Key Events= =The Second Great Awakening= The Second Great Awakening was very similar to the first. It was marked by a resurgence of church attendance, powerful sermons meant to scare the litener towards God and faith, and a growing national conscience about many other topics. This national conscience was crucial to the reform movements that followed the religious reform, including temperance and education. The other reforms also bolstered the religious revival, because a temperance reformer would be rather likely to support religious reform in some way or another. Baptists and Methodists also saw their numbers grow during the Awakening, partly due to the Circuit Riders and other active converters.
 * Burned-Over District
 * Western New York where there were many sermons of "hellfire and damnation"
 * Feminization of religion
 * middle-class women the biggest followers of religious revivalism
 * made up majority of new church members
 * most likely to stick with new life
 * evangelicals offered an active role in bringing their families back to God
 * [[image:Moby_Dick_cover_mockup.jpg width="153" height="215" align="right"]] many women also turned to the rest of society
 * formed charitable organizations and crusades for all of the era's reforms
 * By 1844-1845 both the southern Baptist and southern Methodists split with their northern counter parts over issues of marriage
 * Transcendentalism also played a moderate role in the religious reforms
 * Transcendentalism stated that inner knowledge could not come from the material world or directly from God, but rather from the inner bit of God everyone has within themselves.
 * This belief was hotly contested by many great writers of this period
 * A firm Transcendentalist, Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote in his essays about Transcendentalism's benefits
 * Opposing him were two other writers, Herman Melville, the author of //Moby Dick//, and Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author of //The Scarlet Letter//
 * Both books by these authors have a major downfall caused by Transcendental beliefs

=Works Cited=

The American Pageant