Black, Whites and the Great Awakening

Paper Summary:

This paper shows how, using Thomas Luckman's components of world view, Mechal Sobel combines these factors to exhibit a sense of life and its purpose for the blacks and whites that worshipped side by side in eighteenth century Virginia. It explains that time, the natural world and explanations for causality and purpose are the three basic values analyzed by Sobel to determine the integration of world views between blacks and whites in early America.

From the Paper:

"The Great Awakening was a spiritual event, and therefore the most notable example of the fusion of world views as presented by Sobel is the shared spiritual lives of the participants. The blending of beliefs created a religious structure that held components of both cultures, yet blended to form a uniquely American belief system. Whitefield's infusion of emotionalism into religious gatherings was an avenue for the music of the blacks to easily become a part of their religion. Unaccompanied song had been a tradition in Africa, both during the workday and as a method of celebration and ritual. The Anglican influence of the white worshippers was devoid of music, yet by adding emotion to the practice of religion, song was a logical extension of the emotion."

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