Immigration and the Great Awakening

The extent to which the Great Awakening and immigration contributed to to a more democratic society in the American colonies was that the Great Awakening while being in part a religious revival, weakened many of the main churches by creating many schisms allowing government to be more powerful than the church; immigration brought a mix of people from all over Europe ( for the time being) and common laws for everyone needed to be established to keep the peace between nationalities. The Great Awakening was a movement in which a new preaching style was introduced, this style conflicted with the traditional style and those who wished to preserve it. Churches began to spilt up and so did once stable communities and ways of life as people adjusted. The number and competitiveness of Churches was increased. A government could not be made of a church since there was not a head Church or one with a vast majority of followers. There had to be laws separate from Church because one law while just and fair in one denomination, could be rejected and unjust in another. The Great Awakening contributed to democracy in the colonies by making a gap of laws to which people lived under by weakening the churches. Immigration let in a flood of people, all who spoke different languages, had different beliefs, and were in the colonies for unique reasons. These people all needed to be ruled by one set of laws to which they all were somewhat satisfied with or else there would be many riots, civil wars, and possibly large acts of violence by one group on another. A government that the people chose themselves and one that was in the hands of many and not a few would be the obvious answer in time. All of the immigration caused the need for democracy, so while the Great Awakening helped democracy emerge, there would have been other ways for that to happen so it was not necessary to the cause.