Saturday, February 26, 2005
Has the Fourth Great Awakening arrived?
The First Great Awakening, roughly 1730-60, established evangelical Protestantism as an American style of belief. It fed the colonies' egalitarian spirit and gave momentum to the American Revolution itself.
The Second Great Awakening, 1800-1830, intensified born-again enthusiasm and energized anti-slavery sentiment, fueling the Civil War.
A lesser-known Third Great Awakening, 1890-1930, generated a Social Gospel message, using Jesus' teachings to stir social reform, workers' rights and housing for the poor.
Has the Fourth Great Awakening arrived?
Recent stats don't suggest revivalistic outbreak. The number of Americans who identify with a religion (now around 80%) declined from 1990 to 2001, according to a study by the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. The number of people preferring ''No Religion'' rose from 8% to 14%. Even Gibson's Jesus movie reportedly has left scant impact in church growth and evangelism.
Today's spiritual energies make a splintered scene, more like a re-formation than reformation. For 20 years, believers have been realigning around ''conservative'' and ''liberal'' labels rather than expanding church influence. People split along another divide, too — personal spirituality vs. organized religion. Public theology has nearly vanished as seminary disciplines specialize and fragment. Traditional belief in God and devil is high, but post-1965 immigration etches unheard-of pluralism onto the canvas. The results will polarize the landscape — or cause new spiritual blends and tolerance.
If revival awakens, how will we know? Here's one index: An epidemic of compassion, decency, ecological responsibility, a progressive tax code, the Golden Rule. Fewer ideological loyalties, lotteries and public lies.
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