American evangelicalism

18th century

The roots of American evangelicalism lie in the merger of three older Protestant traditions: New England Puritanism, Continental Pietism and Scotch-Irish Presbyterianism. Within their Congregational churches, Puritans promoted experimental or experiential religion, arguing that saving faith required an inward transformation. This led Puritans to demand evidence of a conversion experience (in the form of a conversion narrative) before a convert was admitted to full church membership. In the 1670s and 1680s, Puritan clergy began to promote religious revival in response to a perceived decline in religiosity. The Ulster Scots who immigrated to the American colonies in the early 18th century brought with them their own revival tradition, specifically the practice of communion seasons. Pietism was a movement within the Lutheran and Reformed churches in Europe that emphasized a "religion of the heart": the ideal that faith was not simply acceptance of propositional truth but was an emotional "commitment of one's whole being to God" in which one's life became dedicated to self-sacrificial ministry. Pietists promoted the formation of cell groups for Bible study, prayer, and accountability.