revivalism
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What is revivalism in Christianity?
Revivalism in Christianity is a movement to revitalize members' spiritual passion and attract new followers, primarily in some Protestant churches. It emphasizes personal religious experience, the priesthood of all believers, and holy living.
Modern revivalism began with Anabaptism, Puritanism, German Pietism, and Methodism, protesting established church systems. The Great Awakening in the British American colonies between the 1720s and 1740s was part of this religious reawakening. Another revival, the Second Great Awakening, started in the United States around 1795–1835, increasing church membership and stimulating reforms. Later revivalists held annual meetings, and the American lay evangelist Dwight L. Moody's tours in the 1870s sparked a new wave of Anglo-U.S. revivalism.
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How do revivals typically begin in Christian communities?
Christian revivals generally start with a renewed religious passion within a Christian group, church, or community. These movements often emerge in some Protestant churches with the goal of revitalizing the spiritual fervor of their members and attracting new followers.
Revivalism is rooted in the shared emphasis on personal religious experience, the priesthood of all believers, and holy living, as seen in Anabaptism, Puritanism, German Pietism, and Methodism during the 16th to 18th centuries. A key element of these movements was the focus on personal conversion.
The Second Great Awakening (c. 1795–1835) saw meetings in small towns and large cities, and the rise of camp meetings. This revival led to increased church membership and spurred moral reforms.
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What are some common features or practices of Christian revivals?
Christian revivalism is a movement within some Protestant churches to revitalize members' spiritual fervor and gain new adherents. It traces back to the 16th–18th centuries, emphasizing personal religious experience and the priesthood of all believers.
Common features and practices include:
* Emphasis on personal conversion Central importance is placed on the emphasis on personal conversion.
* Camp meetings Unique frontier institutions known as camp meetings began during the Second Great Awakening.
* Gospel music The intersection of various European American musical traditions, including Protestant Christian hymnody, revival-meeting spirituals, and assorted popular styles.
* Mass evangelism Revival "crusades" were conducted in major metropolitan centers.
* Moral and philanthropic reforms Stimulating reforms, including temperance, emancipation of women, and foreign missions.2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Why do people participate in revival meetings?
Revival meetings in Christianity serve to revitalize the spiritual enthusiasm of church members and attract new followers. These meetings often feature charismatic leaders who inspire devotion through trust and faith, emphasizing personal religious experience and the importance of conversion.
The Second Great Awakening (c. 1795–1835) saw meetings in towns and cities and the rise of camp meetings. These revivals led to increased church membership and stimulated moral reforms. From 1835 onward, revivalists organized annual meetings to reinvigorate churches. Though interest waned in the early 20th century, revivals remained significant in some regions, with mass evangelism gaining renewed interest after World War II.
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What important revival movements have occurred in Christian history?
Several significant revival movements have occurred throughout Christian history, aiming to revitalize religious fervor and attract new members. These movements share an emphasis on personal religious experience and holy living.
Key revivals include:
* The Great Awakening In the 18th century, this movement revitalized religion in the North American colonies and influenced Europe.
* The Second Great Awakening Beginning in the late 18th century and extending into the early 19th century, this revival led to increased church membership and stimulated moral reforms.
* The Methodist Revival Led by John Wesley in England, this revival resulted in the Methodist movement.
* The Pentecostal Movement Originating in the late 19th century and early 20th century, Pentecostalism sought to revive the church through an outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
* Welsh Revival Beginning in 1904, this revival had a profound impact on the religious landscape of Wales.7 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How has revivalism influenced modern Christianity?
Revivalism has significantly shaped modern Christianity by emphasizing personal religious experience and active evangelism. The movement's core tenets, including the priesthood of all believers and holy living, have roots in Anabaptism, Puritanism, German Pietism, and Methodism.
The Evangelical movement in Protestantism created new forms of church life and organizations, identifying Protestantism with individualism in religion. Contemporary trends in biblical scholarship and openness to biological evolution have broadened the intellectual horizons of Evangelicals.
Despite a decline in church attendance in the West, conservative and evangelistic forms of Protestantism, such as Pentecostalism, Evangelicalism, and Fundamentalism, remain strong. Additionally, Protestantism is growing in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and Asia, with new churches incorporating indigenous beliefs and practices.
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revivalism, generally, renewed religious fervour within a Christian group, church, or community, but primarily a movement in some Protestant churches to revitalize the spiritual ardour of their members and to win new adherents. Revivalism in its modern form can be attributed to that shared emphasis in Anabaptism, Puritanism, German Pietism, and Methodism in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries on personal religious experience, the priesthood of all believers, and holy living, in protest against established church systems that seemed excessively sacramental, priestly, and worldly. Of central importance, however, was the emphasis on personal conversion.
Among the groups that contributed to the revival tradition, the English Puritans protested against what they saw as the sacramentalism and ritualism of the Church of England in the 17th century, and many migrated to America, where they continued their fervour for experiential religion and devout living. The Puritan fervour waned toward the end of the 17th century, but the Great Awakening (c. 1720–50), America’s first great revival, under the leadership of Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, and others, revitalized religion in the North American colonies. The Great Awakening was a part of a larger religious revival that was also influential in Europe. From the late 17th to the mid-18th century, Protestantism in Germany and Scandinavia was revitalized by the movement known as Pietism. In England a revival led by John Wesley and others eventually resulted in the Methodist movement.
Toward the end of the 18th century, another revival, known as the Second Great Awakening (c. 1795–1835), began in the United States. During this revival, meetings were held in small towns and the large cities throughout the country, and the unique frontier institution known as the camp meeting began. The Second Great Awakening produced a great increase in church membership, made soul winning the primary function of the ministry, and stimulated several moral and philanthropic reforms, including temperance, emancipation of women, and foreign missions.
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After 1835 revivalists traveled through the towns and cities of the United States and Great Britain, organizing annual revival meetings at the invitation of local pastors who wanted to reinvigorate their churches. In 1857–58 a “prayer meeting revival” swept U.S. cities following a financial panic. It indirectly instigated a revival in Northern Ireland and England in 1859–61.
The preaching tour of the American lay evangelist Dwight L. Moody through the British Isles in 1873–75 marked the beginning of a new surge of Anglo-U.S. revivalism. In his subsequent revival activity, Moody perfected efficient techniques that characterized the urban mass evangelistic campaigns of early 20th-century revivalists such as Reuben A. Torrey, Billy Sunday, and others. The interdenominationally supported revivalism of Moody and his imitators in 1875–1915 constituted, in part, a conscious cooperative effort by the Protestant churches to alleviate the plight of urban industrial society by evangelizing the masses and, in part, an unconscious effort to counter the challenge to Protestant orthodoxy—namely, an understanding of the Bible as literal and inerrant—brought on by the new critical methods of studying the Bible and by modern scientific ideas concerning evolution.
Although American Protestantism in general lost interest in revivalism in the first half of the 20th century, tent revivals as well as annual revivals in churches in the South and Midwest continued to be an important feature of Protestant church life. After World War II, however, a renewed interest in mass evangelism was especially evident in the widespread support given to the revival “crusades” of the American evangelist Billy Graham and various regional revivalists. Graham’s crusades, often conducted in major metropolitan centres, were but the best known of many such revivals.