It was a revitalizing movement that spread throughout the thirteen American colonies of the British Empire between 1720 and 1770. It was characterized as a huge Christianizing wave that transmitted the Word through massive preaching made, in many cases, outdoors.
Between 1720 and 1770, a Christian revitalization movement, called the First Great Awakening, impacted colonial America with the Word of God. Far from traditional rituals and ceremonies, it was characterized as a great evangelizing wave that conveyed the good news through many preaching sessions conducted in many cases outdoors. It was a revolutionary form of faith that fostered a deep spiritual sense through introspection and offered the light of the Gospel to Native Americans and slaves from Africa.
The First Great Awakening, which placed the Scriptures above human reason, was also part of a much broader religious restoration current, an evangelical revival that took place simultaneously on the other side of the Atlantic, especially in England, Scotland and Germany. In all these nations during the central decades of the 18th century, a new era of faith arose to counter the currents of the Age of Enlightenment. The main objective was to reaffirm that true religiosity meant trusting with the heart and not with the head.
Contrary to the dogmas of the classical church, the First Great Awakening also emphasized the importance of the individual and his personal religious experience. Under the protective mantle of the Lord, he had a great role in the unification of the colonies and set a precedent in the ideas that led to the American Revolution. Similarly, he left the right to question the authority imposed by the religious establishment and to seek freedom on the path of faith. The Christian preachers of this era were the best defenders of autonomy.
