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There are three commonly accepted Great Awakenings, and a possible Fourth:
A Great Awakening happens when social change renders traditional religion (or the thesis in Hegel's terminology) no longer able to answer the questions posed by modern life. A certain disconnect occurs between religion and the real world. New belief systems attempt to fill the gap, eventually leading to a full Great Awakening. Examples of such precursors to a Great Awakening are the Spiritualism movement, which preceded the Third Great Awakening, and the BeatnikBeatnik can refer to two different things: A member of the Beat Generation An esoteric programming language The Beatnik Stereotype The term " Beatnik" was coined by Herb Caen of the San Francisco Chronicle on April 2, 1958 as a derogatory term, a referenc movement, which preceded the Fourth.
A Great Awakening consists of the rise of a multitude of new denominations, sects, or even entirely new religions. In addition to completely new belief systems, existing belief systems gain new popularity. Since, by its nature, religion is traditional and hard to change, many of the new beliefs attempt to do an end-run around tradition by appealing to even more ancient (and usually fabricated, or at least distorted) tradition, dismissing current beliefs as innovations. This is why Great Awakenings are often referred to as revivals.
In response to this new antithesis, fundamentalist sects form, which oppose some of the new ideas (while quietly accepting others).
Over the course of roughly the next 40 years, a form of natural selectionAlternative meaning Natural Selection (computer game . Natural selection is the primary mechanism within the scientific theory of evolution, i. it alters the frequency of alleles within a population. It was first proposed as the main mechanism of evolutio takes place, as the more radical sects on both sides are defeated, and new moderate sects arise. Eventually, a peaceful continuum of belief emerges, a new synthesis of belief. A crucial step is the coming-of-age of a generation raised in the beliefs of the newest Great Awakening. For them, the new beliefs, even if they are not their own, are a fact of life, and not dangerously radical ideas.
But this new synthesis eventually ossifies, becoming the new thesis, starting the cycle over.
Although the Great Awakenings influence and are influenced by religious thought from throughout the world, the cycle of Great Awakenings appear to be unique to the United States. This could be because the United States is home to many different denominations and sects, while remaining largely Protestant ChristianChristian is: a follower of the faith of Christianity a popular first name and surname, especially in Northern Europe According to the New Testament, those who followed Jesus as his disciples were first called Christians by those who did not share their f. The lack of a single dominant faith or state-sanctioned religion means that new ideas can be spread without having to slowly reform existing institutions from within, or allowing pressures to build up until the existing institutions are violently overthrown. On the other hand, the established sects have enough prestige and inertia that the pressure for new ideas build into a regular cycle of (relatively - there are riots involved) bloodless revolution.
Since religion dictates morality, or at least provides its justification, the Great Awakenings exert influence on the politics of the United States. For example, the abolitionAbolition is the act of formally destroying something through legal means, either by making it illegal, or simply no longer allowing it to exist in any form. Famous things that have been abolished include: Slavery; see also: Abolitionism The Soviet Union movement, part of the wider Second Great Awakening, eventually contributed to the American Civil War.
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