WILL THE THIRD GREAT AWAKENING LEAD TO REVOLUTION?

The Third Great Awakening?

February 20, 2010

By Bruce Karlson

Most historians agree there were two “Great Awakenings” in American history, neither having a defined beginning or end. One might even argue neither really ended until the mid twentieth century with the growth of the welfare state.

The First Great Awakening (1730’s and 40’s) was, as was the second, profoundly religious in nature. It was not quite spontaneous, as George Whitfield, an itinerant preacher, is credited with sparking it throughout the colonies.

The white populace, although doing extremely well in terms of living standards, became disenchanted with a spreading materialism. Further, the traditional churches did not represent the newly developing individualistic American form of Christianity. Americans wanted something more of their religious lives and the dogmatic creedal established churches seemed stuck in Europe.

This movement was actually the first major step toward the American movement. Consider this: The American Revolution and the French Revolution were both events of the late 18th century. The results were disparate to say the least, with France covered in blood and trading a king for a new dictator, while the US began a long run of prosperity and representative government. The fundamental difference is that our revolution had its origins in a religious event, the French was anti-religious.

The Second Great Awakening began in the early years of the 19th century and bore similarity to the first. It was, to some extent, a reprise in that it put personal piety above theology and emphasized a personal faith.

It was also the beginning of incorporating the emotional along with the spiritual through fainting, dancing, shaking, or speaking out during a service. It was largely rural and based to an extent on disdain for increasingly doctrinal and comfortable churches in the prosperous cities.

It was the death knell for the institution of slavery setting the stage for the Republican Party, Abraham Lincoln and his war on the Confederacy. Hardly trivial.

Those who tend to discount the significance of these periods should bear in mind that while the first was a required precursor to the American Revolution, the second was critical precursor for abolition, temperance and women’s suffrage movements. Within 80 years all had been codified into law.

TEA Party: Our Third Great Awakening

The TEA party movement’s roots are rural and suburban; TEA partiers are either suspect of or contemptuous of self-appointed urban “elites” be they financial or political. It is largely spontaneous, as the Santelli rant on TV merely gave it a name.

It is decidedly an apolitical movement with neither national leader nor a desire for one. While it is not specifically religious, it has at its root firm principles that fit quite well with Christian or Jewish beliefs.

I submit that the current and growing Tea Party movement is the Third Great Awakening. The first two awakenings resulted in wars and three Constitutional Amendments. At the moment, the ruling (not governing) Democrat elites are about to be swept out. The soon to govern Republicans should read a bit of history, take a deep breath, then legislate the movement’s tenets. Movements of this sort that have set the stage for wars and changed the way we govern can easily sweep them out as well..

The TEA partiers are only the “tip of the spear” to quote my Navy pilot nephew. The unrest is both enormous and palpable.