ABSTRACT
Change- adaptive and innovative- characterized the experience of Americans in the nineteenth century. Migration westward continued to recast geographical boundaries and the very existence of the frontier aroused a sense of adventure and exploration. Rapid social change had disrupted America's equilibrium and created a host of problems, such as overcrowding, poverty, and labor abuses. Revivalism was a technique, a spirit, and a theological perspective that profoundly affected American society. Revivalism identified the individual's place in the cosmos and in society, specifying the nature of his relationship with God and neighbor. Conversion altered the person's relationship to the community: the convert assumed new status and accepted new responsibilities. Conversion was essential to the prevailing evangelical ecclesiology: the true church was the society of those who had publicly accepted Jesus Christ and were saved. Evangelical Protestantism emphasized the importance of accepting Jesus over the significance of affiliation with a given denomination.
