Theo 425 Session 8: First Great Awakening, pt 2
Rev. Jacquelyn E. Winston, Ph.D.
Page 1
Reading assignment: Stark 55-68; 71-84b
I.
Finke & Starke – Decline of Mainline Denominations & the Great Awakenings
A.
Thesis of F & S in this chapter: Decline of mainline denominations between 1776-1850
was caused by their inability to cope with new religious freedoms & rise of
competition between religious groups (“free market religious economy”) – 55.
1. From 1776-1850 – Congregationalists, Episcopalians, & Presbyterians shrank to
19.1% of religious adherents in environment of increasing religious adherents (55),
meaning their ratios were even more greatly diminished.
(Methodological
problem – still lack of reliability in quantifying religious adherents)
2. From 1776-1850 – Baptists grew through conversion, Catholics grew through
immigration, and Methodists grew significantly to become largest denomination,
1/3 of American church members (57).
B.
Traditional view among historians (Ahlstrom, Sweet) to view period surrounding
American Revolution as the collapse of religious adherence, but F & S state this is due
to their insistence on only considering the 3 traditional religious groups (57-60).
1. Historians based their interpretations on primary sources such as those of Lyman
Beecher who viewed the Methodists and Baptists with contempt, discounting
their influence or effect (59).
2. However, statistics demonstrate the growth of Methodists and Baptists (in spite
of views of Martin Marty (59). Data culled from minutes of annual Methodist
conferences, church reports and the American Quarterly Register (59)
C.
F & S analyze why mainline denominations crumbled (what they did wrong) while
the Methodists and Baptists grew during the Great Awakenings (what did they do
right?) 60.
1. The rise of religious voluntarism after the Revolution through process of
disestablishment (60).
a)
Disestablishment – the legal institution of separation of church &
state, not allowing taxes to be used to support an official church.
b)
New England Congregationalists wanted taxpayer support for the
church but they were defeated by rationalists & freethinkers and the
newer evangelical Protestant sects – freethinkers didn’t want their
taxes going to any religion, sects didn’t want their $ to go to “false”
religions (60).
c)
Result: the rise of a “free market” religious economy by 1833. Some
mainline groups did continue to benefit from support on the local level
(61).
Theo 425 Session 8: First Great Awakening, pt 2
Rev. Jacquelyn E. Winston, Ph.D.
Page 2
2. Itinerant ministry following Whitefield’s model:
a)
Rejected by mainline ministers who denounced it as invading the
province of others (62):
(1) They said the gospel prohibited itinerancy (62) (Is this true?)
(2) Connecticut clergy passed 3 statutes in 1742 prohibiting
itinerancy, clergy without college degrees, and forcing Yale
students & faculty to take oath of orthodoxy (62)
(3) Established churches said itinerants threatened social order (63).
(4) 1801 Plan of Union between Presbyterians & Congregationalists –
created a noncompeting approach to western frontier missions,
dividing the areas into exclusive markets (similar to what was
done by Pope Alexander VI in 1493 dividing the western & eastern
hemispheres between Spain & Portugal) (64).
(5) Local political and economic elites aligned with mainline church
groups, allowing them to hold services in schools & public
buildings without charge (64).
b)
Successful itinerant ministry such as Methodist Peter Cartwright attacks from local ministers increased attendance at his meetings (64).
3. Formation of voluntary associations to support home missions among mainline
groups (e.g. American Home Missionary Society AHMS). Mainline groups
couldn’t sustain churches without these types of organizations since they
emphasized well paid & educated clergy (66) but they implied that this money
was being used to church the unchurched when in actuality the areas of their
ministry had fruitful Baptist and Methodist ministries.
4. F & S state that if Cartwright & other Methodists & Baptists had been denied
the freedom to preach, the religious landscape of American religion would have
been different (67) (Is this true?)
5. Different status of American vs. British Methodists – British Methodists
acquiesced to demands of the Church of England, avoiding itinerancy & camp
meetings (67) which limited revival in England (68).
D.
American Religion by 1850 –
1. Western frontiers had greater percentage of males, but were deficient in churches
(71).
2. Mainline denominations decreasing significantly (71).
E.
Why Methodists & Baptists Won:
1. Democratic structure of Baptists attractive to frontier people (72).
2. Hierarchical structure of Methodists with centralized authority more successful
(73). Methodists were democratic locally in their small groups called classes.
Theo 425 Session 8: First Great Awakening, pt 2
Rev. Jacquelyn E. Winston, Ph.D.
Page 3
a)
Classes met weekly w/ 12 members and were primary source of social
and spiritual support (73).
b)
Classes also source of local leaders.
c)
Result – despite hierarchical nature of Methodism, it was responsive to
people given the small group structures.
d)
Lay unpaid leaders did most of the pastoral functions (73).
3. Congregationalism dominated by professional educated clergy which led to
shortage of clergy and their connection to town structures and religious taxes in
New England gave them significant power in local govt (74). Congregational
churches outside New England were isolated, lacking regional support.
4. Episcopalians and Presbyterians had organizational problems (75):
a)
Episcopalians damaged by Revolution, lost their connection with
Church of England, supervision from Bishop of London, and $ and
clergy (75).
b)
Presbyterians divided by doctrinal controversies leading to regional
schisms (75-6). Divisions prevented nationwide missions efforts.
5. Education influenced patterns of interaction between minister and congregations
(80)
a)
Similarities in Baptist and Methodist ministers:
(1) Came from common people
(2) Had little education, spoke in vernacular, and preached from heart.
(Methodist ministers like Cartwright were opposed to man-made
ministers 77). Sectarian clergy believed “God never called an
unprepared man to preach.” (F & S 78)
(3) Clergy had same prejudices as their flock and maintained close
relationship between ministers and congregation (76). Minister
shared needs of people and related religion to their circumstances.
b)
Sectarian ministers had same level of education as their congregations
whereas mainline ministers were much more educated than their
congregations creating distance and snobbishness (79).
6. Use of educated clergy by mainline churches led to shortage of clergy (80),
allowing them to be selective in their placements and they chose well established
congregations (81).
7. Methodists & Baptists had many clergy who went west with people (81).
Baptists allowed gifted laymen to enter ministry creating abundance (82).
8. Itinerant Methodist ministers organized local churches with responsibilities
handled by locals (82).
Theo 425 Session 8: First Great Awakening, pt 2
Rev. Jacquelyn E. Winston, Ph.D.
Page 4
9. Low overhead costs of Baptists & Methodists since they didn’t receive salaries or
very small amounts while mainline churches received considerable salaries and
job security (84).
For Further Reading:
Blumhofer, Edith L. and Randall Balmer, ed. Modern Christian Revivals. Chicago: University of Illinois
Press, 1993.
Bushman, Richard L., ed. The Great Awakening: Documents on the Revival of Religion, 1740-1745. Chapel
Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, c. 1969, 1989.
Edwards, Jonathan. The Works of Jonathan Edwards, vol 2. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers,
1998, 42-44.
Finke, Roger and Rodney Stark. The Churching of America 1776-2005, Second Edition. New Brunswick,
NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2005, 55-84.
Gonzalez, Justo. A History of Christian Thought, vol. III: From the Protestant Reformation to the 20th Century,
Revised edition. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1992, 316-317.
____________. The Story of Christianity. Peabody, MA: Prince Press, 1985: vol. 2: 228-255.
Marsden, George M. Jonathan Edwards: A Life. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2003.
Noll, Mark. A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans
Publishing Company, 1992, 83-105m, 110m-113.
____________. The Rise of Evangelicalism: the Age of Edwards, Whitefield, and the Wesleys, vol. 1. Downers Grove,
IL: Intervarsity Press, 2003.
Spickard, Paul A. and Kevin M. Cragg. A Global History of Christians. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker
Academic: 1994, repr. 2003, 273-292.
Stoeffler, F. Ernest, ed. Continental Pietism and Early American Christianity. Grand Rapids, MI:
Eerdmans Publishing, 1976, 184-219.