Finding the Devil in America: Collective Forces

Last updated on: May 4, 2023 at 7:08 am by Brad Thibodeaux

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Finding the Devil in America: Collective Forces 2023-05-01T14:05:46-04:00 Brad Thibodeaux

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The devil and satan in the second great awakening

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While the First Great Awakening was a natural byproduct of the English settlers in America, the Second Great Awakening could be seen as the consequence of the Revolutionary War. The Colonists saw Satan as a physical entity acting in the world. Early America saw the devil walking the earth as the ultimate temper. America had just gained its freedom from England and was figuring out who it was going to be. Now, as the issues of the nation change, so does the personification of evil.

The Second Great Awakening (1790’s – 1850’s) saw a massive change in American Christianity. While some things stayed the same – the need for personal piety and barn revivals – the need for the awakening had shifted. It was in this time that new Christian denominations arise. Ellen G. White helps start the Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Michigan. Joseph Smith and his Church of Latter Day Saints roam the country before disaster. It was this religious populism that changed America.

The Need For Social Reforms

One thing that sets the Second Great Awakening apart from the first is the concept of collective reform. America was in trouble and the only way to solve the problem was conversion. This is where the temperance movement finds its first foothold. While the country expanded, the saloons were full. Presbyterian minister Lymam Beecher published six sermons in 1826 on the evils of alcohol. This idea of temperance was adopted by both Seventh-Day Adventists and Mormons. The goal of the temperance movement was to strengthen the family unit and discourage the men of the house from spending their time and money at the bars.

This period was also the rise of the abolition of slavery. Many evangelical Christians saw slavery as a violation of Christian principles. They worked to promote abolitionism through publishing anti-slavery literature and organizing abolitionist societies. The Quaker denomination was a major force in the religious abolition stance. Quakerism talks about the inherent value of all humanity. They were the first American denomination to decry slavery and see the force of collective evil.

Collective Resistance

Quakers rejected the notion of Satan as a literal being, instead viewing evil as a product of human actions. This belief led them to take a more active role in the abolitionist movement and to work towards the eradication of slavery. This was also a shift away from the literal, physical Satan that we see in other denominations.

Both Latter Day Saints and Seventh-Day Adventists see Satan as a physical entity. Even still, the fight between good and evil is more cosmic than physical. The Puritan and first Great Awakening was led by Calvinist theology. Here, we see the importance of human agency. It is our job to read the bible, pray, and rely on the Holy Spirit to guide our lives.

Therefore, each person must live a life that helps the entire community stay away from evil. Satan and evil were a force that was present in the world but could be defeated through collective action. Each individual (who was praying and leading good lives on their own) could come together to create the world God wanted. This collective action would weaken and destroy evil altogether.

They saw themselves as soldiers in a spiritual battle against the forces of darkness. They believed that by working together they could ultimately triumph over evil. This view of Satan and evil helped to inspire a wide range of social and political movements in the United States throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries.

What Now?

By shifting the concept of Satan from a physical entity to a force in the world, evil was broadened to systemic proportions. When Satan is ‘the spirit of the age’ instead of a thing, we need to cooperate. Who and what we think Satan is will determine how we live our lives. By opening up Satan to be more than just an entity, we allow ourselves to see the powers and the systems of our day to be operating against what God wants. These satanic frameworks (ways of operating in the world that are not of God) can be limited and destroyed by cooperative action and collective resistance.

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