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Inventing the Great Awakening: A Historical and Theological Reassessment of Revivalism in America

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By Frank Lambert

The Great Awakening was a series of religious revivals that swept through the American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s. It is often seen as a watershed moment in American religious history, marking the birth of evangelical Protestantism and the decline of traditional Puritanism. In his new book, Inventing the Great Awakening, Frank Lambert challenges this traditional narrative, arguing that the Great Awakening was not a spontaneous outpouring of religious enthusiasm but rather a carefully orchestrated campaign by a group of evangelical ministers.

Lambert draws on extensive research to show how these ministers used emotional appeals, mass media, and political alliances to create the illusion of a widespread revival. He argues that the Great Awakening was not a grassroots movement but rather a top-down phenomenon, led by a small group of charismatic preachers who were able to use the new technologies of print and mass communication to spread their message far and wide.

Inventing the "Great Awakening"

by Frank Lambert

4.5 out of 5

Language	:	English
File size	:	8597 KB
Text-to-Speech	:	Enabled
Screen Reader	:	Supported
Enhanced typesetting	:	Enabled
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Print length	:	377 pages

Lambert also argues that the Great Awakening had a profound impact on American religion, politics, and culture. He shows how the revivalists' emphasis on personal experience and emotionalism led to a decline in traditional Puritan values such as reason and self-discipline. He also argues that the Great Awakening helped to create a new sense of American identity, based on the idea of a chosen people who were destined to spread the gospel throughout the world.

Inventing the Great Awakening is a major new work that challenges our understanding of one of the most important events in American religious history. Lambert's meticulously researched and persuasively argued book will force us to rethink the traditional narrative of the Great Awakening and its impact on American society.

Reviews

"Lambert's book is a major contribution to the study of the Great Awakening. He challenges the traditional narrative of the revival as a spontaneous outpouring of religious enthusiasm and shows how it was carefully orchestrated by a group of evangelical ministers. Lambert's research is impeccable and his arguments are persuasive. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in American religious history."

—Jon Butler, Yale University

"Frank Lambert has written a brilliant and provocative book that challenges the traditional understanding of the Great Awakening. Lambert argues that the revival was not a spontaneous outpouring of religious enthusiasm but rather a carefully orchestrated campaign by a group of evangelical ministers. He shows how these ministers used emotional appeals, mass media, and political alliances to create the illusion of a widespread revival. Lambert's book is a major contribution to the study of the Great Awakening and American religious history."

—Mark Noll, University of Notre Dame

About the Author

Frank Lambert is Professor of American Religious History at Purdue University. He is the author of numerous books and articles on American religious history, including The Founding Fathers and the Place of Religion in America and The Religious History of the American Revolution.