Conclusion

This chapter concludes the book by discussing how the Awakening movement may be conceptualized in five ways. The Awakening was orthodox. It was a response against certain doctrinal and theological developments that had appeared within the Protestant churches during the religious Enlightenment. The Awakening was pietistic. It sought to reform the Protestant churches of Germany through the spiritual revival of their constituent members. The Awakening was ecumenical. Lutherans and the German Reformed worked together with like-minded Catholics, who shared their conviction that the basic Christian message had become corrupted, forgotten, or ignored in many places in Germany. The Awakening was international. Awakened Protestants in Germany and evangelicals in Britain exercised influence upon each other through the exchange of models for new religious initiatives and works of academic theology. The Awakening was modern. The Enlightenment brought new civic freedoms to Germany, which enabled awakened Protestants to pursue their religious goals.