The Great Awakening was a period of great evangelical fervor in the British American colonies that is typically dated from 1740-43, yet had its roots back in the 17th century and which also lingered into the 1760s.  Prof. Thomas Kidd — associate professor of history at Baylor University, senior fellow at Baylor’s Institute for Studies of Religion, and co director of Baylor’s Program on Historical Studies of Religion — discusses his book The Great Awakening (Yale University Press).  We learn how this evangelical revival varied regionally in the colonies and how it was defined by a more heartfelt and charismatic spirituality.  Our conversation covers several of the most colorful characters of this movement including George Whitefield, James Davenport and Gilbert Tennent, and how established clergy pushed back at their emotionally-fueled evangelism.  Whitefield is discussed in particular detail.  We conclude our podcast with how The Great Awakening influenced the anti-slavery movement and the American Revolution.  Recorded: August 6, 2010.

RELATED LINKS

Prof. Thomas Kidd’s website.

Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion and Program on Historical Studies of Religion.

The Great Awakening: The Roots of Evangelical Christianity in Colonial America by Thomas Kidd.

God of Liberty: A Religious History of the American Revolution by Thomas Kidd.

The Protestant Interest: New England after Puritanism by Thomas Kidd.

The Churching of America, 1776-2005 by Roger Finke and Rodney Stark.

The Political Origins of Religious Liberty by Anthony Gill.

RELATED PODCASTS

Mark David Hall on Religion & the Founding Fathers.

Thomas Kidd on the Pilgrims.

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