AMERICAN CHURCH HISTORY

Question

RESEARCH PAPER: AMERICAN CHURCH HISTORY ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS

OVERVIEW

The Protestant Reformation was the result of a unique situation in Europe. Once Christianity

spread to the USA, it continued to encounter unique situations. Three of these situations

produced the First Great Awakening, the Second Great Awakening, and Fundamentalism. These

three movements occurred at different time periods: the First Great Awakening occurred in the

eighteenth century, the Second Great Awakening in the nineteenth century, and the roots of

Fundamentalism began in the nineteenth century but did not fully flower until the early twentieth

century. Understanding the factors that caused the movements and the contribution of each

movement will bring about a deeper understanding of Christianity in the USA.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Write a 1,500-word research paper (using 12-point, Times New Roman font, 1-inch

margins on all sides). Be sure to write the total word count at the end of the paper. Please

note: The words in the cover sheet, footnotes, and bibliography are not counted in the

total world count.

2. Use at least 8 scholarly sources. Your textbook does count. You may use scholarly

websites, but also use at least 2 scholarly articles and/or books. Be careful to choose

scholarly sources; do not use Wikipedia, blogs, or opinionated websites. If you need help

finding scholarly books, you can use books.google.com. If you are uncertain whether a

source is scholarly, please ask your instructor.

3. Include a cover sheet, use current Turabian reference style with either footnotes or in-text

(parenthetical) notes, and place your bibliography as the last page.

4. Choose either 4.1 or 4.2 or 4.3:

4.1. The First Great Awakening: This will cover the beginning of Evangelicalism. The

two most important leaders were Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield. Your

paper will include the following:

4.1.1. Biographies of both men.

4.1.2. Comparing and contrasting their contributions and styles.

4.1.3. A short discussion of other leaders who played a lesser role.

4.1.4. A description of Evangelicalism and an explanation of how

Evangelicalism began during the First Great Awakening. (Think about it this

way: What was unique about the First Great Awakening, and how did that

contribute to the idea of Evangelicalism?)

4.2. The Second Great Awakening: Your paper will include the following:

4.2.1. A description of the camp meetings (starting with the Cane Ridge

Revival): How did they get started and, if you had attended one, what would it

have looked like?

4.2.2. Discussion of Charles Finney and his contributions.

4.2.3. An answer to this question: Why did the Baptists and Methodists greatly

increase during the 2GA? (Note: In 1776, Baptists and Methodists made up

19.4% of Christians in America; in 1850, they comprised 54.7%. From Mark

Noll, A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada [Grand Rapids:

William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1992], 153.)

CHHI 300

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4.2.4. Discussion of the rise of Utopian Communities (which came out of the

2GA): Over 100 existed in the 1800s, and only two exist today: the Shakers

have 2 members (as of 2018) and the Mormons have around 15 million.

4.3. The Rise of American Christian Fundamentalism (late 1800s and early 1900s): This

will include the Christian reaction to Darwinism and other scientific theories, the rise

of higher criticism of the Bible, the Social Gospel, The Fundamentals (a 12-volume

set of essays), and the Scopes Trial and its ramifications.

Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the SafeAssign plagiarism tool.

Textbook: Mark Nickens, A Survey of the History of Global Christianity, Second Edition.