Great Awakening And Enlightenment

352 Words2 Pages
The Great Awakening and the Enlightenment were both movements that greatly affected the Western world; however, they affected the people in different ways. Both movements revolutionized the way Western people think. There are several similarities and differences between the two movements. The Great Awakening was a spiritual change that revolved around faith. The Enlightenment was an intellectual change which emphasized human reason. The Great Awakening affected people on a large scale, while the Enlightenment had its greatest effect on the intellectuals and philosophers. The Great Awakening reinvigorated individual faith of people in all socioeconomic classes. The Enlightenment was a movement mostly amongst the educated people of the Western world. Although the ideas were brought down to and understood by the common people, the movement’s impetus was a group of philosophers. The Great Awakening was about faith and spirituality. The renewed faith amongst individuals changed the way people saw their own established Churches. This movement affected the established Churches; some were even undermined by the idea that one could receive God’s grace without the clergy. While the Awakening affected the Church, the Enlightenment affected government. For example, John Locke’s Two Treatises on Government changed the way people viewed government. John Locke emphasized the idea that the government should serve the people and he justified revolting against unjust rulers. The Great Awakening and the Enlightenment also brought different ideas to the people. The ideas from the Enlightenment were based on rationalism and human reasoning. Using human reasoning to solve humanity’s and society’s problems was the basis of most Enlightenment philosophies. The Great Awakening was based on faith and individual salvation. Enlightenment ideas were meant to improve the big
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