From: Lawrence Chen
Date: 3/30/00
Time: 7:28:37 AM
Remote Name: 209.244.81.251
Lawrence Chen Cutler History 67 3/30/00
Why was religion important in the United States at this time?
Religion was important in the United States around the nineteenth century because it gave Americans of the time a unity and sense of purpose. During this time Americans were swept with a wave of religious revivals. Many such as Charles G. Finney preached almost daily to crowds of people mostly whom were of respectable and prosperous citizens. Finney preached of a power to choose Christ and a holy life. During this time of religious reform doubled the number of church membership. Many businessmen not only limited the reform to them but extended this newfound sense of religion to their employees also. Finney encouraged the faith to be spread throughout to relatives, neighbors, and employees. “More rigorous standards of proper behavior and religious conformity unified Rochester’s elite and increased its ability to control the rest of the community.”(p.321) This kind of standard was not just subject to Rochester’s elite, but also the rest of America. With the tone on Christianity set in the nineteenth century Americans made more sense of self worth and purpose to themselves around this time. Finney and other preachers of the time hoped that a purification of the American society and politics would follow immediately after the reform in faith had been made. “The Pursuit of Perfection” so properly entitled for this chapter reflects what many were seeking of the time and religion was on agenda on the list.