Christian revival
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Christian revivalism is increased spiritual interest or renewal in the life of a Christian church, congregation or society with a local, national or global effect. This should be distinguished from the use of the term "revival" to refer to an
evangelistic In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are ...
meeting or series of meetings (see
revival meeting A revival meeting is a series of Christian religious services held to inspire active members of a church body to gain new converts and to call sinners to repent. Nineteenth-century Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon said, "Many blessings may come t ...
). Proponents view revivals as the restoration of the church to a vital and fervent relationship with God after a period of moral decline.


Revivals within modern church history

Within Christian studies the concept of revival is derived from biblical narratives of national decline and restoration during the history of the Israelites. In particular, narrative accounts of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah emphasise periods of national decline and revival associated with the rule of respectively wicked or righteous kings. Josiah is notable within this biblical narrative as a figure who reinstituted temple worship of
Yahweh Yahweh *''Yahwe'', was the national god of ancient Israel and Judah. The origins of his worship reach at least to the early Iron Age, and likely to the Late Bronze Age if not somewhat earlier, and in the oldest biblical literature he poss ...
while destroying pagan worship. Within modern church history, church historians have identified and debated the effects of various national revivals within the history of the US and other countries. During the 18th and 19th centuries, American society experienced a number of "
Awakenings ''Awakenings'' is a 1990 American drama film directed by Penny Marshall. It is written by Steven Zaillian, who based his screenplay on Oliver Sacks's 1973 memoir '' Awakenings''. It tells the story of neurologist Dr. Malcolm Sayer (Robin Willia ...
" around the years 1727, 1792, 1830, 1857 and 1882. More recent revivals in the 20th century include the 1904–1905 Welsh Revival, 1906 (
Azusa Street Revival The Azusa Street Revival was a historic series of revival meetings that took place in Los Angeles, California. It was led by William J. Seymour, an African-American preacher. The revival began on April 9, 1906, and continued until roughly 1915. ...
), 1930s ( Balokole), 1970s (
Jesus people The Jesus movement was an evangelical Christian movement which began on the West Coast of the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s and primarily spread throughout North America, Europe, and Central America, before it subsided in the la ...
), 1971 Bario Revival and 1909 Chile Revival which spread in the Americas, Africa, and Asia among Protestants and Catholics.


17th century

Many Christian revivals drew inspiration from the
missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
work of early monks, from the 16th-century
Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...
(and Catholic Counter-Reformation) and from the uncompromising stance of the Covenanters in 17th-century Scotland and Ulster that came to Virginia and Pennsylvania with Presbyterians and other non-conformists. Its character formed part of the mental framework that led to the American War of Independence and the Civil War.


18th century

The 18th-century
Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...
had two camps: those who identified humans as only intellectual beings,
Rationalists In philosophy, rationalism is the epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification".Lacey, A.R. (1996), ''A Dictionary of Philosophy ...
, and those who believed humans to be only passionate beings, followers of
Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
. The philosophy of
Earl of Shaftesbury III Anthony Ashley Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury (26 February 1671 – 16 February 1713) was an English politician, philosopher, and writer. Early life He was born at Exeter House in London, the son of the future Anthony Ashley Cooper, 2nd Earl ...
led to a proto-Romanticism that mixed with Christian worship to produce a tertium quid. The
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
revival of John Wesley,
Charles Wesley Charles Wesley (18 December 1707 – 29 March 1788) was an English leader of the Methodist movement. Wesley was a prolific hymnwriter who wrote over 6,500 hymns during his lifetime. His works include "And Can It Be", "Christ the Lord Is Risen T ...
and George Whitefield in England and Daniel Rowland,
Howel Harris Howell Harris ( cy, Howel Harris, italic=no; 23 January 1714 – 21 July 1773) was a Calvinistic Methodist evangelist. He was one of the main leaders of the Welsh Methodist revival in the 18th century, along with Daniel Rowland and William Wil ...
and
William Williams Pantycelyn William Williams, Pantycelyn (c. 11 February 1717 – 11 January 1791), also known as William Williams, Williams Pantycelyn, and Pantycelyn, is generally seen as Wales's premier hymnist. He is also rated among the great literary figures of Wale ...
in Wales and the Great Awakening in America prior to the Revolution. A similar (but smaller scale) revival in Scotland took place at Cambuslang (then a village), and is known as the
Cambuslang Work The Cambuslang Work (or ''Wark'' in the Scots language; February to November 1742) was a period of extraordinary religious activity, in Cambuslang, Scotland. The event peaked in August 1742 when a crowd of some 30,000
.


American colonies

In the American colonies the
First Great Awakening The First Great Awakening (sometimes Great Awakening) or the Evangelical Revival was a series of Christian revivals that swept Britain and its thirteen North American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s. The revival movement permanently affecte ...
was a wave of religious enthusiasm among Protestants that swept the American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s, leaving a permanent impact on American religion. It resulted from powerful preaching that deeply affected listeners (already church members) with a deep sense of personal guilt and salvation by Christ. Pulling away from ancient ritual and ceremony, the Great Awakening made religion intensely emotive to the average person by creating a deep sense of spiritual guilt and redemption. Historian Sydney E. Ahlstrom sees it as part of a "great international Protestant upheaval" that also created
Pietism Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christian life, including a social concern for the needy an ...
in Germany, the
Evangelical Revival The First Great Awakening (sometimes Great Awakening) or the Evangelical Revival was a series of Christian revivals that swept Britain and its thirteen North American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s. The revival movement permanently affected ...
and
Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's br ...
in England. It brought Christianity to enslaved Americans and was a ground-breaking event in
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
that challenged established authority. It incited rancor and division between the traditionalists who argued for ritual and doctrine and the
revivalists Revivalist may refer to: * A person involved in language revitalization * Revivalist (person) involved in a movement of Christian revival * Islamic revivalist * Revivalism (architecture) * Revivalist artist, a performer dedicated to reviving a ...
who ignored or sometimes avidly contradicted doctrine, e.g.
George Whitfield George Whitefield (; 30 September 1770), also known as George Whitfield, was an Anglican cleric and evangelist who was one of the founders of Methodism and the evangelical movement. Born in Gloucester, he matriculated at Pembroke College at t ...
's being denied a pulpit in Anglican Churches after denying Anglican Doctrine. Its democratic features had a major impact in shaping the
Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...
,
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
,
Dutch Reformed The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family and ...
, and German Reformed denominations, and strengthened the small
Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...
and
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
denominations. It had little impact on
Anglicans Anglicanism is a Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia ...
and
Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...
. Unlike the
Second Great Awakening The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival during the early 19th century in the United States. The Second Great Awakening, which spread religion through revivals and emotional preaching, sparked a number of reform movements. R ...
that began about 1800 and which reached out to non-believers, the
First Great Awakening The First Great Awakening (sometimes Great Awakening) or the Evangelical Revival was a series of Christian revivals that swept Britain and its thirteen North American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s. The revival movement permanently affecte ...
focused on people who were already church members. It changed their rituals, their piety, and their self-awareness.


19th century


Transylvania

The Hungarian Baptist Church sprung out of revival with the perceived liberalism of the Hungarian Reformed Church during the late 1800s. Many thousands of people were baptized in a revival that was led primarily by uneducated laymen, the so-called "peasant prophets".


Britain

During the 18th century, England saw a series of Methodist revivalist campaigns that stressed the tenets of faith set forth by John Wesley and that were conducted in accordance with a careful strategy. In addition to stressing the evangelist combination of "Bible, cross, conversion, and activism," the revivalist movement of the 19th century made efforts toward a universal appeal – rich and poor, urban and rural, and men and women. Special efforts were made to attract children and to generate literature to spread the revivalist message. Gobbett (1997) discusses the usefulness of historian Elie Halévy's thesis explaining why England did not undergo a social revolution in the period 1790–1832, a time that appeared ripe for violent social upheaval. Halévy suggested that a politically conservative Methodism forestalled revolution among the largely uneducated working class by redirecting its energies toward spiritual rather than temporal affairs. The thesis has engendered strong debate among historians, and several have adopted and modified Halévy's thesis. Some historians, such as Robert Wearmouth, suggest that evangelical revivalism directed working-class attention toward moral regeneration, not social radicalism. Others, including E. P. Thompson, claim that Methodism, though a small movement, had a politically regressive effect on efforts for reform. Some historians question the Halévy thesis. Eric Hobsbawm claims that Methodism was not a large enough movement to have been able to prevent revolution. Alan Gilbert suggests that Methodism's supposed antiradicalism has been misunderstood by historians, suggesting that it was seen as a socially deviant movement and the majority of Methodists were moderate radicals. Early in the 19th century the Scottish minister
Thomas Chalmers Thomas Chalmers (17 March 178031 May 1847), was a Scottish minister, professor of theology, political economist, and a leader of both the Church of Scotland and of the Free Church of Scotland. He has been called "Scotland's greatest nine ...
had an important influence on the evangelical revival movement. Chalmers began life as a moderate in the
Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...
and an opponent of evangelicalism. During the winter of 1803–04, he presented a series of lectures that outlined a reconciliation of the apparent incompatibility between the Genesis account of creation and the findings of the developing science of geology. However, by 1810 he had become an evangelical and would eventually lead the
Disruption of 1843 The Disruption of 1843, also known as the Great Disruption, was a schism in 1843 in which 450 evangelical ministers broke away from the Church of Scotland to form the Free Church of Scotland. The main conflict was over whether the Church of S ...
that resulted in the formation of the Free Church of Scotland. The Plymouth Brethren started with
John Nelson Darby John Nelson Darby (18 November 1800 – 29 April 1882) was an Anglo-Irish Bible teacher, one of the influential figures among the original Plymouth Brethren and the founder of the Exclusive Brethren. He is considered to be the father of moder ...
at this time, a result of disillusionment with denominationalism and clerical hierarchy. The established churches too, were influenced by the evangelical revival. In 1833 a group of Anglican clergymen led by
John Henry Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English theologian, academic, intellectual, philosopher, polymath, historian, writer, scholar and poet, first as an Anglican ministry, Anglican priest and later as a Catholi ...
and
John Keble John Keble (25 April 1792 – 29 March 1866) was an English Anglican priest and poet who was one of the leaders of the Oxford Movement. Keble College, Oxford, was named after him. Early life Keble was born on 25 April 1792 in Fairford, Glouce ...
began the Oxford Movement. However its objective was to renew the Church of England by reviving certain Roman Catholic doctrines and rituals, thus distancing themselves as far as possible from evangelical enthusiasm.


Australia

Many say that Australia has never been visited by a genuine religious revival as in other countries, but that is not entirely true. The effect of the Great Awakening of 1858–59 was also felt in Australia fostered mainly by the Methodist Church. Records show that the Methodist Church grew by a staggering 72% between 1857 and 1864, while the Baptists, Anglicans, Presbyterians and other evangelicals also benefited. Evangelical fervor was its height during the 1920s with visiting evangelists, R. A. Torrey, Wilbur J. Chapman, Charles M. Alexander and others winning many converts in their Crusades. The Crusades of American evangelist Billy Graham in the 1950s had significant impact on Australian Churches. Stuart Piggin (1988) explores the development and tenacity of the evangelical movement in Australia, and its impact on Australian society. Evangelicalism arrived from Britain as an already mature movement characterized by commonly shared attitudes toward doctrine, spiritual life, and sacred history. Any attempt to periodize the history of the movement in Australia should examine the role of revivalism and the oscillations between emphases on personal holiness and social concerns.


Scandinavia

Historians have examined the revival movements in Scandinavia, with special attention to the growth of organizations, church history, missionary history, social class and religion, women in religious movements, religious geography, the lay movements as counter culture, ethnology, and social force. Some historians approach it as a cult process since the revivalist movements tend to rise and fall. Others study it as minority discontent with the status quo or, after the revivalists gain wide acceptance, as a majority that tends to impose its own standards. The Grundtvigian and Home Mission revival movements arose in Denmark after 1860 and reshaped religion in that country, and among immigrants to America.


United States 1800–1850

In the U.S. the
Second Great Awakening The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival during the early 19th century in the United States. The Second Great Awakening, which spread religion through revivals and emotional preaching, sparked a number of reform movements. R ...
(1800–30s) was the second great religious revival in United States history and consisted of renewed personal salvation experienced in revival meetings. Major leaders included Asahel Nettleton, James Brainerd Taylor,
Charles Grandison Finney Charles Grandison Finney (August 29, 1792 – August 16, 1875) was an American Presbyterian minister and leader in the Second Great Awakening in the United States. He has been called the "Father of Old Revivalism." Finney rejected much of trad ...
,
Lyman Beecher Lyman Beecher (October 12, 1775 – January 10, 1863) was a Presbyterian minister, and the father of 13 children, many of whom became noted figures, including Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry Ward Beecher, Charles Beecher, Edward Beecher, Isabella B ...
,
Barton Stone Barton Warren Stone (December 24, 1772 – November 9, 1844) was an American evangelist during the early 19th-century Second Great Awakening in the United States. First ordained a Presbyterian minister, he and four other ministers of the Washingt ...
, Alexander Campbell, Peter Cartwright and James B. Finley. Rev. Charles Finney (1792–1875) was a key leader of the evangelical revival movement in America. From 1821 onward he conducted revival meetings across many north-eastern states and won many converts. For him, a revival was not a miracle but a change of mindset that was ultimately a matter of an individual's free will. His revival meetings created anxiety in a penitent's mind that their soul could only be saved by submission to the will of God, as illustrated by Finney's quotations from the Bible. Finney also conducted revival meetings in England, first in 1849 and later to England and Scotland in 1858–59. In
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
, the renewed interest in religion inspired a wave of social activism, including abolitionism. In the West (now upper South), especially in
Cane Ridge, Kentucky Cane Ridge was the site, in 1801, of a huge camp meeting that drew thousands of people and had a lasting influence as one of the landmark events of the Second Great Awakening, which took place largely in frontier areas of the United States. T ...
and
Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
, the revival strengthened the Methodists and Baptists. The Churches of Christ and
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The denomination started with the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening, first existing during the 19th ...
arose from the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement. It also introduced a new form of religious expression to America: the Scottish
camp meeting The camp meeting is a form of Protestant Christian religious service originating in England and Scotland as an evangelical event in association with the communion season. It was held for worship, preaching and communion on the American frontier ...
.


Europe: Le Réveil

A movement in Swiss, eastern French, German, and Dutch Protestant history known as ''le
Réveil The Réveil (French for "revival", "awakening") of 1814 was a revival movement within the Swiss Reformed Church of western Switzerland and some Reformed communities in southeastern France. The supporters were also called pejoratively ''momiers''. ...
'' (German: ''die Erweckung'', Dutch: ''Het Reveil''). ''Le Réveil'' was a revival of Protestant Christianity along conservative evangelical lines at a time when rationalism had taken a strong hold in the churches on the continent of Europe. In German-speaking Europe, Lutheran
Johann Georg Hamann Johann Georg Hamann (; ; 27 August 1730 – 21 June 1788) was a German Lutheran philosopher from Königsberg known as "the Wizard of the North" who was one of the leader figures of post-Kantian philosophy. His work was used by his student J. G. ...
(1730–88) was a leader in the new wave of evangelicalism, the '' Erweckung'', which spread across the land, cross-fertilizing with British movements. The movement began in the Francophone world in connection with a circle of pastors and seminarians at French-speaking Protestant theological seminaries in
Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...
, Switzerland and
Montauban Montauban (, ; oc, Montalban ) is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department, region of Occitania, Southern France. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, ...
, France, influenced ''inter alia'' by the visit of Scottish Christian
Robert Haldane Robert Haldane (28 February 1764 – 12 December 1842) was a religious writer and Scottish theologian. Author of ''Commentaire sur l'Épître aux Romains, On the Inspiration of Scripture'' and ''Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans.'' Early ...
in 1816–17. The circle included such figures as Merle D'Aubigne, César Malan, Felix Neff, and the Monod brothers. As these men traveled, the movement spread to Lyon and Paris in France, Berlin and Eberfeld in Germany, and the Netherlands. Several missionary societies were founded to support this work, such as the British-based Continental society and the indigenous Geneva Evangelical Society. The Réveil also inspired the
International Committee of the Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...
, which was established in Geneva in 1863 by a group of young professional followers of the movement. As well as supporting existing Protestant denominations, in France and Germany the movement led to the creation of Free Evangelical Church groupings: the Union des Églises évangéliques libres and Bund Freier evangelischer Gemeinden in Deutschland. In the Netherlands the movement was taken forward by
Willem Bilderdijk Willem Bilderdijk () (7 September 1756 – 18 December 1831) was a Dutch poet, historian, lawyer, and linguist. Life Willem Bilderdijk was born on 7 September 1756 in Amsterdam in the Dutch Republic.Joris van Eijnatten,Bilderdijk, W., ''Bio- en ...
, with
Isaäc da Costa Isaäc da Costa (14 January 1798 – 28 April 1860) was a Sephardi, Jewish poet. Da Costa was born in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. His father, an aristocratic Sephardic Spanish and Portuguese Jews, Portuguese Jew, Daniel da Costa, a relativ ...
, Abraham Capadose, Samuel Iperusz Wiselius, Willem de Clercq and Groen van Prinsterer as his pupils. The movement was politically influential and actively involved in improving society, and – at the end of the 19th century – brought about anti-revolutionary and Christian historical parties. At the same time in Britain figures such as
William Wilberforce William Wilberforce (24 August 175929 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist and leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becom ...
and
Thomas Chalmers Thomas Chalmers (17 March 178031 May 1847), was a Scottish minister, professor of theology, political economist, and a leader of both the Church of Scotland and of the Free Church of Scotland. He has been called "Scotland's greatest nine ...
were active, although they are not considered to be part of the ''Le Reveil'' movement.


1850–1900

In North America the
Third Great Awakening The Third Great Awakening refers to a historical period proposed by William G. McLoughlin that was marked by religious activism in American history and spans the late 1850s to the early 20th century. It influenced pietistic Protestant denominat ...
began in 1857 onwards in Canada and spread throughout the English-speaking world including America and Australia. Significant names include
Dwight L. Moody Dwight Lyman Moody (February 5, 1837 – December 26, 1899), also known as D. L. Moody, was an American evangelist and publisher connected with Keswickianism, who founded the Moody Church, Northfield School and Mount Hermon School in Massa ...
, Ira D. Sankey,
William Booth William Booth (10 April 182920 August 1912) was an English Methodist preacher who, along with his wife, Catherine, founded the Salvation Army and became its first " General" (1878–1912). His 1890 book In Darkest England and The Way Out o ...
and
Catherine Booth Catherine Booth (''née'' Mumford, 17 January 1829 – 4 October 1890) was co-founder of The Salvation Army, along with her husband William Booth. Because of her influence in the formation of The Salvation Army she was known as the 'Mothe ...
(founders of the Salvation Army),
Charles Spurgeon Charles Haddon Spurgeon (19 June 1834 – 31 January 1892) was an English Particular Baptist preacher. Spurgeon remains highly influential among Christians of various denominations, among whom he is known as the "Prince of Preachers". He wa ...
and James Caughey.
Hudson Taylor James Hudson Taylor (; 21 May 1832 – 3 June 1905) was a British Baptist Christian missionary to China and founder of the China Inland Mission (CIM, now OMF International). Taylor spent 51 years in China. The society that he began was respons ...
began the
China Inland Mission OMF International (formerly Overseas Missionary Fellowship and before 1964 the China Inland Mission) is an international and interdenominational Evangelical Christianity, Christian missionary society with an international centre in Singapore. It ...
and
Thomas John Barnardo Thomas John Barnardo (4 July 184519 September 1905) was an Irish-born philanthropist and founder and director of homes for poor and deprived children. From the foundation of the first Barnardo's home in 1867 to the date of Barnardo's death, ne ...
founded his famous orphanages. One representative was Rev. James Caughey, an American sent by the Wesleyan Methodist Church to Canada from the 1840s through 1864. He brought in converts by the score, most notably in the revivals in Canada West 1851–53. His technique combined restrained emotionalism with a clear call for personal commitment, coupled with follow-up action to organize support from converts. It was a time when the Holiness Movement caught fire, with the revitalized interest of men and women in Christian perfection. Caughey successfully bridged the gap between the style of earlier camp meetings and the needs of more sophisticated Methodist congregations in the emerging cities. In England the
Keswick Convention The Keswick Convention is an annual gathering of conservative evangelical Christians in Keswick, in the English county of Cumbria. The Christian theological tradition of Keswickianism, also known as the Higher Life movement, became popularised ...
movement began out of the British Holiness movement, encouraging a lifestyle of
holiness Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...
, unity and prayer.


1857–1860 revival in America

On 21 September 1857 businessman Jeremiah Lanphier began a series of prayer meetings in New York. By the beginning of 1858 the congregation was crowded, often with a majority of businessmen. Newspapers reported that over 6,000 were attending various prayer meetings in New York, and 6,000 in Pittsburgh. Daily prayer meetings were held in Washington, D.C. at 5 different times to accommodate the crowds. Other cities followed the pattern. Soon, a common mid-day sign on business premises read, "We will re-open at the close of the prayer meeting". By May, 50,000 of New York's 800,000 people were new converts. Finney wrote of this revival, "This winter of 1857–58 will be remembered as the time when a great revival prevailed. It swept across the land with such power that at the time it was estimated that not less than 50,000 conversions occurred weekly."


Britain and Ireland

In 1857, four young Irishmen began a weekly prayer meeting in the village of Connor near Ballymena. See also Ahoghill. This meeting is generally regarded as the origin of the 1859 Ulster Revival that swept through most of the towns and villages throughout
Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...
and in due course brought 100,000 converts into the churches. It was also ignited by a young preacher,
Henry Grattan Guinness Henry Grattan Guinness (11 August 1835 – 21 June 1910) was an Irish Protestant Christian preacher, evangelist and author. He was the great evangelist of the Third Evangelical awakening and preached during the Ulster Revival of 1859 which dr ...
, who drew thousands at a time to hear his preaching. So great was the interest in the American movement that in 1858 the Presbyterian General Assembly meeting in Derry appointed two of their ministers, Dr.
William Gibson William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as ''cyberpunk''. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, hi ...
and Rev. William McClure to visit North America. Upon their return the two deputies had many public opportunities to bear testimony to what they had witnessed of the remarkable outpouring of the Spirit across the Atlantic, and to fan the flames in their homeland yet further. Such was the strength of emotion generated by the preachers' oratory that many made spontaneous confessions seeking to be relieved of their burdens of sin. Others suffered complete nervous breakdown.


20th century

The most recent Great Awakening (1904 onwards) had its roots in the holiness movement which had developed in the late 19th century. The
Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement
revival movement began, out of a passion for more power and a greater outpouring of the Holy Spirit. In 1902 the American evangelists Reuben Archer Torrey and
Charles McCallon Alexander Charles McCallon Alexander (24 October 1867 – 13 October 1920) a native of East Tennessee, was a popular nineteenth-century gospel singer who worked the evangelistic circuit for many years. Over the course of his ministry, he toured with R. A. ...
conducted meetings in Melbourne, Australia, resulting in more than 8,000 converts. News of this revival travelled fast, igniting a passion for prayer and an expectation that God would work in similar ways elsewhere. Torrey and Alexander were involved in the beginnings of the great Welsh revival (1904). In 1906 the modern Pentecostal movement was born in
Azusa Street The Azusa Street Revival was a historic series of revival meetings that took place in Los Angeles, California. It was led by William J. Seymour, an African-American preacher. The revival began on April 9, 1906, and continued until roughly 1915. O ...
, in Los Angeles.


Melanesia

The ''rebaibal'', as it is known in
Tok Pisin Tok Pisin (,Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''The Linguistics Student’s Handbook'', Edinburgh ; Tok Pisin ), often referred to by English speakers as "New Guinea Pidgin" or simply Pidgin, is a creole language spoken throughout Papua New Guinea. It is an ...
, had begun in the
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...
and reached the
Urapmin people The Urapmin people are an ethnic group numbering about 375 people in the Telefomin District of the West Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea. One of the Min peoples who inhabit this area, the Urapmin share the common Min practices of hunter-gath ...
by 1977. The Urapmin were particularly zealous in rejecting their traditional beliefs, and adopted a form of
Charismatic Christianity Charismatic Christianity (also known as Spirit-filled Christianity by its supporters) is a form of Christianity that emphasizes the work of the Holy Spirit, spiritual gifts, and modern-day miracles as an everyday part of a believer's life. Pract ...
based on Baptist Christianity. The Urapmin innovated the practices of
spirit possession Spirit possession is an unusual or altered state of consciousness and associated behaviors purportedly caused by the control of a human body by spirits, ghosts, demons, or gods. The concept of spirit possession exists in many cultures and re ...
(known as the "spirit disko") and ritualized confessions, the latter being especially atypical for
Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
.


Wales

The Welsh revival was not an isolated religious movement but very much a part of Britain's modernization. The revival began in the fall of 1904 under the leadership of Evan Roberts (1878–1951), a 26-year-old former collier and minister-in-training. The revival lasted less than a year, but in that period 100,000 converts were made. Begun as an effort to kindle nondenominational, nonsectarian spirituality, the Welsh revival of 1904–05 coincided with the rise of the labor movement, socialism, and a general disaffection with religion among the working class and youths. Placed in context, the short-lived revival appears as both a climax for Nonconformism and a flashpoint of change in Welsh religious life. The movement spread to Scotland and England, with estimates that a million people were converted in Britain. Missionaries subsequently carried the movement abroad; it was especially influential on the Pentecostal movement emerging in California. Unlike earlier religious revivals that pivoted on powerful preaching, the revival of 1904–05 relied primarily on music and on paranormal phenomena as exemplified by the visions of Evan Roberts. The intellectual emphasis of the earlier revivals had left a dearth of religious imagery that the visions supplied. They also challenged the denial of the spiritual and miraculous element of scripture by opponents of the revival, who held liberal and critical theological positions. The structure and content of the visions not only repeated those of Scripture and earlier Christian mystical tradition but also illuminated the personal and social tensions that the revival addressed by juxtaposing biblical images with scenes familiar to contemporary Welsh believers.


Korea

The Pyongyang Great Revival (1907-1910) in North Korea started when Korean
Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
was barely 20 years old. The effect was still strong in 1910.


21st century

Starting in February 2023, students at Asbury College in Kentucky, USA, participated in the 2023 Asbury revival.


See also

*
First Great Awakening The First Great Awakening (sometimes Great Awakening) or the Evangelical Revival was a series of Christian revivals that swept Britain and its thirteen North American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s. The revival movement permanently affecte ...
*
Second Great Awakening The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival during the early 19th century in the United States. The Second Great Awakening, which spread religion through revivals and emotional preaching, sparked a number of reform movements. R ...
*
Third Great Awakening The Third Great Awakening refers to a historical period proposed by William G. McLoughlin that was marked by religious activism in American history and spans the late 1850s to the early 20th century. It influenced pietistic Protestant denominat ...
* 1904–1905 Welsh Revival *
Brownsville Revival The Brownsville Revival (also known as the Pensacola Outpouring) was a widely reported Christian revival within the Pentecostal movement that began on Father's Day June 18, 1995, at Brownsville Assembly of God in Pensacola, Florida. Characteristic ...
* Church renewal *
Duncan Campbell (revivalist) Duncan Campbell (13 February 1898 - 28 March 1972) was a Scottish Evangelist, who is best known for being a leader in the Lewis Awakening or Hebrides Revival, a mid-20th century religious revival in the Scottish Hebrides. Early life Campbell wa ...
*
Jonathan Edwards (theologian) Jonathan Edwards (October 5, 1703 – March 22, 1758) was an American revivalist preacher, philosopher, and Congregationalist theologian. Edwards is widely regarded as one of America's most important and original philosophical theologians. Ed ...
*
Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...
*
Dwight L. Moody Dwight Lyman Moody (February 5, 1837 – December 26, 1899), also known as D. L. Moody, was an American evangelist and publisher connected with Keswickianism, who founded the Moody Church, Northfield School and Mount Hermon School in Massa ...
* Asahel Nettleton *
Revival meeting A revival meeting is a series of Christian religious services held to inspire active members of a church body to gain new converts and to call sinners to repent. Nineteenth-century Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon said, "Many blessings may come t ...
* Charles H. Spurgeon *
Billy Sunday William Ashley "Billy" Sunday (November 19, 1862 – November 6, 1935) was an American outfielder in baseball's National League and widely considered the most influential American evangelist during the first two decades of the 20th century. Bo ...
*
Welsh Methodist revival The Welsh Methodist revival was an evangelical revival that revitalised Christianity in Wales during the 18th century. Methodist preachers such as Daniel Rowland, William Williams and Howell Harris were heavily influential in the movement. Th ...
* George Whitefield *
Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...
* Toronto Blessing * New Calvinism


References


Further reading


United States

* Ahlstrom, Sydney E. ''A Religious History of the American People'' (1972) the standard history * Birdsall Richard D. "The Second Great Awakening and the New England Social Order." ''Church History'' 39 (1970): 345–64
in JSTOR
* Bruce, Dickson D., Jr. ''And They All Sang Hallelujah: Plain Folk Camp-Meeting Religion, 1800–1845'' (1974). * Bumsted, J. M. ''"What Must I Do to Be Saved?": The Great Awakening in Colonial America'' (1976) * Butler, Jon. "Enthusiasm Described and Decried: The Great Awakening as Interpretative Fiction." ''Journal of American History'' 69 (1982): 305–25. in JSTOR, influential article * Butler, Jon. ''Awash in a Sea of Faith: Christianizing the American People.'' (1990)
excerpt and text search
* Carpenter, Joel A. ''Revive Us Again: The Reawakening of American Fundamentalism'' (1999), thorough history 1930-1990
excerpt and text search
* Carwardine, Richard J. "The Second Great Awakening in the Urban Centers: An Examination of Methodism and the 'New Measures,'" ''Journal of American History'' 59 (1972): 327–340
in JSTOR
* Coalter, Milton J. ''Gilbert Tennent, Son of Thunder: A Case Study of Continental Pietism's Impact on the First Great Awakening in the Middle Colonies'' (1986
excerpt and text search
* Cross, Whitney, R. ''The Burned-Over District: The Social and Intellectual History of Enthusiastic Religion in Western New York, 1800–1850'' (1950). * Dieter, Melvin Easterday. ''The Holiness Revival of the Nineteenth Century'' (1980). * Dorsett, Lyle W. ''Billy Sunday and the Redemption of Urban America '' (1991). * Dorsett, Lyle W. ''A Passion for Souls: The Life of D. L. Moody''. (1997). * Edwards, David. ''The Call for Revivalists: Raising Up a Supernatural Generation'' (2012
excerpt and text search
* Eslinger, Ellen. ''Citizens of Zion: The Social Origins of Camp Meeting Revivalism.'' (1999). 306 pp. * Evensen; Bruce J. ''God's Man for the Gilded Age: D.L. Moody and the Rise of Modern Mass Evangelism'' (2003
online edition
* Finke, Roger, and Rodney Stark. ''The Churching of America, 1776–1990: Winners and Losers in Our Religious Economy'' (1992). * Gaustad, Edwin S. "The Theological Effects of the Great Awakening in New England," ''The Mississippi Valley Historical Review,'' Vol. 40, No. 4. (Mar. 1954), pp. 681–706
in JSTOR
* Hatch, Nathan O. ''The Democratization of American Christianity'' (1989)
excerpt and text search
* Kidd, Thomas S. ''The Great Awakening: The Roots of Evangelical Christianity in Colonial America'' (2007), 412 pp
excerpt and text search
* Kyle III, I. Francis. ''An Uncommon Christian: James Brainerd Taylor, Forgotten Evangelist in America's Second Great Awakening'' (2008). Se
Uncommon Christian Ministries
* Lambert, Frank. ''Pedlar in Divinity: George Whitefield and the Transatlantic Revivals'' (1994) * Lloyd-Jones, Martyn. ''Revival'' (1987). * McLoughlin William G. ''Modern Revivalism'' 1959. * McLoughlin William G. ''Revivals, Awakenings, and Reform: An Essay on Religion and Social Change in America, 1607–1977'' 1978. * McClymond, Michael, ed. ''Encyclopedia of Religious Revivals in America.'' (2007. Vol. 1, A–Z: xxxii, 515 pp. Vol. 2, Primary Documents: xx, 663 pp. /set.) * Murray, Iain H., ''The Invitation System'' (1967) * Murray, Iain H., ''Pentecost Today: The Biblical Basis for Understanding Revival'' (1998) * Murray, Iain H., ''Revival and Revivalism: The Making and Marring of American Evangelicalism, 1750–1858'' (1994) * Ravenhill, Leonard. ''Revival God's Way'' (1986). * Ravenhill, Leonard. ''Why Revival Tarries'' (1979). * Shiels, Richard D. "The Second Great Awakening in Connecticut: Critique of the Traditional Interpretation." ''Church History'' 49#4 (1980): 401–15
online edition
* Sizer, Sandra. ''Gospel Hymns and Social Religion: The Rhetoric of Nineteenth-Century Revivalism.'' (1978). * Stout, Harry. ''The Divine Dramatist: George Whitefield and the Rise of Modern Evangelicalism'' (1991). * Thornbury, John F. ''God Sent Revival: The Story of Asahel Nettleton and the Second Great Awakening'' (1993) * Weisberger, Bernard A. ''They Gathered at the River: The Story of the Great Revivalists and Their Impact upon Religion in America'' (1958). * Wigger, John H. ''Taking Heaven by Storm: Methodism and the Rise of Popular Christianity in America'' (1998
excerpt and text search


Opponents

* Bratt, James D. "Religious Anti-revivalism in Antebellum America." ''Journal of the Early Republic'' (2004) 24(1): 65–106. ISSN 0275-1275 Fulltext: in Ebsco. Examines oppositional literature of the antirevivalists, namely, the doubters and critics. The article includes an appendix of selected revivalist critiques. * Reeves, Russ Patrick. "Countering Revivalism and Revitalizing Protestantism: High Church, Confessional, and Romantic Critiques of Second Great Awakening Revivalism, 1835 to 1852." PhD dissertation U. of Iowa 2005. 290 pp. DAI 2005 66(4): 1393-A. DA3172430


Europe

* Carwardine, Richard. ''Transatlantic Revivalism: Popular Evangelicalism in Britain and America, 1790–1865'' (2008) * Coalter, Milton J. ''Gilbert Tennent, Son of Thunder: A Case Study of Continental Pietism's Impact on the First Great Awakening in the Middle Colonies'' (1986
excerpt and text search
* Kovács, Zoltán. "Methodism in Hungary," ''Methodist History,'' April 2009, Vol. 47 Issue 3, pp. 62–178 * Lambert, Frank. ''Pedlar in Divinity: George Whitefield and the Transatlantic Revivals'' (1994) * Latourette, Kenneth Scott. ''A History of Christianity, Volume 2: 1500 to 1975.'' (1975). * Luker, David. "Revivalism in Theory and Practice: The Case of Cornish Methodism," ''Journal of Ecclesiastical History,'' Oct 1986, Vol. 37 Issue 4, pp. 603–619, Cornwall, England, 1780–1870 * MacCulloch, Diarmaid. ''Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years'' (2010) * Schmidt, Leigh Eric. ''Holy Fairs: Scotland and the Making of American Revivalism '' (2001) * Strom, Jonathan et al., eds. ''Pietism in Germany and North America, 1680–1820'' (2009) * Wolffe, John. ''The Expansion of Evangelicalism: The Age of Wilberforce, More, Chalmers and Finney'' (2007)


World

* Aubert, Roger, ed. ''Church History: Progress and Decline in the History of Church Renewal'', in series, ''Concilium, Theology in the Age of Renewal'', vol. 27. New York: Paulist Press, 1967. viii, 183 p. * Freston, Paul, ed.. ''Evangelical Christianity and Democracy in Latin America'' (2008
excerpt and text search
* Lee, Timothy Sanghoon. "Born-Again in Korea: The Rise and Character of Revivalism in (South) Korea, 1885–1988" (PhD dissertation U. of Chicago 1996, 292pp.) ''Dissertation Abstracts International,'' 1996, Vol. 57 Issue 5, p 2089 * Lumsdaine, David Halloran, ed. ''Evangelical Christianity and Democracy in Asia'' (2009
excerpt and text search
* Ranger, Terence O., ed. ''Evangelical Christianity and Democracy in Africa'' (2008
excerpt and text search
* Olowe, Abi, ed. ''Great Revivals, Great Revivalist: Joseph Ayo Babalola'' (2007
excerpt and text search


Primary sources

* Bratt, James D., ed. ''Antirevivalism in Antebellum America: A Collection of Religious Voices'' (2006) 278 pp. * Edwards, Jonathan. (C. Goen, editor), ''The Great-Awakening: A Faithful Narrative'' Collected contemporary comments and letters; 1972, Yale University Press, . * Heimert, Alan, and Perry Miller ed.; ''The Great Awakening: Documents Illustrating the Crisis and Its Consequences'' (1967) * McClymond, Michael, ed. ''Encyclopedia of Religious Revivals in America'' (2007. Vol. 1, A–Z: xxxii, 515 pp. Vol. 2, Primary Documents: xx, 663 pp. /set.) * Rice, John Holt and Benjamin Holt Rice. ''Memoir of James Brainerd Taylor, Second Edition'' (American Tract Society, 1833)
online edition
* Taylor, Fitch W. ''A New Tribute to the Memory of James Brainerd Taylor'' (1838)
online edition
* Tyler, Bennet. ''Remains of the Late Rev. Asahel Nettleton, D.D.'' (1845)
online edition
{{Spirituality-related topics Ecclesiology, Revivalism Christian revivals, Christian terminology