Second Great Awakening book recommendations

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PreservedKillick

PreservedKillick

Puritan Board Freshman
I would like to ask for recommendations for books about the Second Great Awakening. I am currently reading Nathan Hatch's The Democratization of American Christianity, which I highly recommend, and was thinking along the lines of a more general overview. Academic studies from a Christian scholar are preferred, but I'm open to suggestions.

Thank you in advance!
 
If you are referring to Finney I listened to Packer describing him as used of God in the first instance and then desperately trying to find the formula in the second part of his career. Apparently at one point Finney came to the conclusion that his ministry was not blessed because he did not emphasise vegetarianism enough.
 
Here are some general books to be aware of:

America's God by Mark Noll - tracing the changing shape of religion from the colonial period to the Civil War

The Churching of America, 1776-2005 by Finke and Stark - a more general overview, but very helpful to get the quantitative and sociological parts down

Revival and Revivalism by Iain Murray - pretty heavily biased toward Calvinism; argues that "revival" changed meaning between 1st and 2nd Awakenings
 
Yes. All 3 do to different extents. The Murray book gives the most concentrated focus, and is pretty much a book arguing how awful Finney was. The first two books I listed are much more important, though, for someone who is new to serious study of American history.
 
Mr. Johnson,

Thank you for your recommendations. I have been wanting to read the Noll book for some time, and will probably acquire it this week. I wasn't aware of the other two. Just to clarify, I'm not new to the study of American history, just to this topic apart from its social, cultural, and political impacts, which I've read about as it comes up in books on other topics. I have a couple of monographs and essays on specific aspects of the Second Great Awakening as well, but was looking for the best general overview--and your suggestions look great.

Eoghan,

I have read about Finney, and he certainly wasn't even the craziest of those who applied his philosophy of perfectionism to various reform schemes. Sylvester Graham was another minister/reformer of the period who did push vegetarianism to the point of inventing the flour for the Graham cracker, which you were supposed to eat instead of meat.
 
CharlieJ said:
America's God by Mark Noll - tracing the changing shape of religion from the colonial period to the Civil War
Click to expand...

Have you read the Mark Noll book, Charlie? I am also interested in a broad overview of this, as well as the history of American Christianity in general.
 
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