Enlightenment and Great Awakening are two movements, rather
time periods in the history of the western world that have great
significance in terms of changing the lives of the people.
Great awakening took place after Enlightenment and some think
of it as a reaction to Enlightenment. While both movements affected
the western world, there were both similarities as well as
differences between Enlightenment and great awakening that will be
highlighted in this article.
Enlightenment is a period between late 17th century and the
entire 18th century that is characterized by reasoning and
scientific spirit in Europe. This was a movement that was
intellectual in nature as it rejected superstition and blind
observation of rituals and laid emphasis on observation and
experimentation.
Scientific spirit and reasoning dominated the mindset leading
to scientists arriving at natural laws. The period is characterized
by a belief in human thinking and reasoning and getting away from a
God centered life.
Scientists and humanists such as Galileo, Locke, Copernicus,
Newton, and Franklin believed that science could lead to a new
awakening in the society.
These and many more influential people made people believe that
they were basically good, and it was their environment that
affected their behavior and thinking.
Suddenly people began to believe in the power of science, and
that science could provide them with answers to the mysteries of
nature. Enlightenment affected all spheres of life, and religion
was not untouched by this mass movement.
People started to question the authority of the church and
believed they could themselves find their path to God. This
movement is credited with the development of Deism that said that
God created the universes but then stopped interfering in daily
affairs of the world and the people. King was rejected as a divine
ruler, and he could be thrown out if he did not govern
properly.
The Great Awakening is a mass movement in the history of the
western world that took place around the middle of the 18th
century. This movement centered on religion and individual faith of
people belonging to all socioeconomic classes.
There are many who feel that it was a reaction to the thinking
that developed as a result of Enlightenment and an attempt to turn
people’s attention back to church and god.
Important religious leaders such as Jonathan Edwards, Wesley
brothers, and George Whitefield had a feeling that people were
going away from religion as it was dry and appeared distant from
the people.
These influential leaders tried to emphasize upon individual
religious experience while at the same time denouncing the
doctrines and dogmas of the church. This caused a mass movement
that made people believe that they could attain salvation through
good deeds rather than having to depend upon dogmas and doctrines
of the church.
The direct outcomes of Great Awakening were the ideas of
equality, liberty, charity, and the belief that the authority could
be challenged.
Enlightenment was a movement started by the philosophers and
scientists and it slowly trickled down to the masses whereas, Great
Awakening was a movement of the masses.
Great Awakening was a religious and spiritual movement whereas
Enlightenment was a movement that centered on scientific spirit and
reasoning.
Great Awakening was when people woke up to the need of religion
in their lives, and it embraced the downtrodden such as farmers,
the blacks and the slaves. On the other hand, Enlightenment
remained in the hands of the intellectuals and the scientists.
The Great Awakening and the Enlightenment are two periods of
time with some combined views and objectives. The right to
challenge authority was a constant theme throughout the
Enlightenment and the Great Awakening.
John Locke, an Enlightenment thinker, had the idea that all
humans have three basic rights since birth: life, liberty, and
property.
The purpose of the government is to protect those rights. If
the government fails to protect, the people have the right to
overthrow the person with power. The people of the Great Awakening
used this idea and started a rebellion against the authoritarian
religious rule.
Helping prepare the way for the development of the
revolutionary war was another constant theme throughout the
Enlightenment and the Great Awakening.