Religion In Early America

After reading the article, my view and opinion of religion in early America hasn't changed that much. America was founded somewhat on religious roots, and this chapter helped to show that. While I did know that there was a split in several different denominations early on in American history, I didn't realize that this was because of the Second Great Awakening, which I didn't even know existed. People began experimenting with and developing new ways of looking at the Christian bible, and as a result new denominations naturally formed. These denominations were much newer than the other existing denominations, like the Episcopals, and gave its members a refreshing view of old doctrine; emotions became more important, Calvinism was looked at differently, and many different ideas were developed that made this new set of denominations very desirable to people at the time. Ministers from these denominations also began holding revivals, just like in the First Great Awakening, which brought more people into the fold, so to speak.

One important idea that became quite important in early America, and that continues to influence us today, was the doctrine of "Perfectionism". Perfectionism stated that true Christians would naturally want to do the good works that God commanded them to do, hence the name; since God was perfect, Perfectionist Christians were to be perfect themselves. Revivals led by Perfectionist preachers helped to spread this ideal and make it popular. Soon, people started to form "committees" to help attack specific injustices and problems that they saw in society. These committees helped lower alcoholism, decrease violence, spread Christianity, and create many important institutions, such as hospitals, orphanages, and prisons. Some of these same ideals have survived since early America, existing in certain denominations, nonprofits, and charities, and thus influencing how we live and work today.