The Puritan religion was the main religion of the New England colonies, and it played a significant role in forming their home and work life. Over time, the Puritan religion started to diminish because of the strictness of the church. The English people wanted to live a free life, so they started to break away and create new churches. For example, The Halfway Covenant allowed the adults who had been baptized as children to baptize their children in the Puritan religion which caused a major shift of harsh and rigid feelings towards the church. New ideas about the Church directly led to the First Great Awakening from the 1730s-1750s. Later on, during the eighteenth century, the idea of the Market Revolution sparked a light in America that broadcasted new ideas. The First and Second Great Awakenings were similar in the fact that they were both expanded by passionate speakers and that they both involved an increase in the woman’s role in the church. However, they were different because the First Great Awakening was mainly focused on new religious revivals such as the New Harmony and the reform of religion while the Second Great Awakening focused on the idea of moral reform and the importance of American Society.

The First and Second Great Awakening were similar because they were both spread due to passionate speakers and both increased the women’s role in the Church. Influential speakers such as George Whitfiield and John Edwards influenced the First Great Awakening. George Whitfiled was an emotional speaker that spread “New Light” ideals. New Light idealists were modern-thinking members of the clergy who supported the Great Awakening. John Edwards was also an emotional speaker during the First Great Awakening who had powerful sermons that talked about how sinners face the angry hands of God. His sermons motivated people to look for a change in their religion, or it motivated them to grow closer in their faith; therefore, creating a split in their church causing the First Great Awakening. Similar to these men, emotional speakers such as Charles Finney influenced the Second Great Awakening. Charles Finney was a powerful speaker who’s sermons focused on spiritual rebirth, self-improvement, and perfectionism. Perfectionism according to Finney was the idea that perfection was attainable in American society. This idea created movements to attain prison and education reform, temperance, and equal rights. Another similarity between the First and Second Great Awakening was the increase in women’s roles of the church. For example, due to the formation of the idea of equality, women were allowed larger roles. The church provided security for women because it gave them a chance to live a free single life rather than being tied down and having children with a husband. Preachers such as Charless Finney and John Edwards were able to capture the devotion of many young women. This caused an increase in women’s involvement in the Church because it gave many women an opportunity to have a voice and control. Therefore, the First and Second Great Awakening were similar because they both opened up women’s role in the church and were influenced by emotional preachers.

The First and Second Great Awakening were also different because while the First Great Great Awakening focused on the reform of religion, the Second Great Awakening focused on moral reform and the importance of American Society. Religious reform during the First Great Awakening was influenced by the ideas of John Locke who talked about how the people could take control and be leaders of their society. This sparked religious reform because people like puritans did not want to be seen inferior to the clergy which turned them to turn away from the church. For example, Methodist and Baptists were two major religions formed due to the idea of religious reform. Religious reform, however, did not play a role in the Second Great Awakening because the proposition for moral reform took more precedent. People wanted to make a difference in their new environment which caused movements such as education and equal rights took place. The education movement during the Second Great Awakening was focused on the enforcement of public schools. This motion brought the idea that all children should receive a free education that would teach them how to read and write. Another movement that was focused on during the Second Great Awakening was the equal rights movement. Equal rights was influenced by Utopian societies where all men and women, no matter their color, were seen as equal. These societies formed the impression of a perfect society that many people wanted to imitate. New Harmony was an example of a Utopian Community that focused on solving the problems of inequity and alienation caused by the Industrial Revolution. Therefore, the two awakenings differed on their focus of reform. During the time of the first Great Awakening, there was not a universal nationalism of Americans because the 13 colonies were divided for religious and economic reasons. While in the Second Great Awakening, nationalism played a huge role in determining the lifestyle of Americans. The Second Great Awakening, therefore focused on the importance of American society because Americans wanted to show that they could flourish without a mother country like England. Moreover, the First and Second Great Awakening differed on their views of reform and the role nationalism played during both Awakenings. 

The First and Second Great Awakening had many similarities and differences due to society at the time. The two were similar because they both focused on creating new opportunities for women in the church and were spread by powerful speakers. However, they were different because the First Great Awakening focused on religious reform while the Second Great Awakening focused on moral reform. Also, the First Great Awakening did not focus on nationalism while the Second Great Awakening focused heavily on nationalism and the significance of a fair American society.