Second Great Awakening

==Women==
Women, who made up the majority of converts during the Awakening, played a crucial role in its development and focus. It is not clear why women converted in larger numbers than men. Various scholarly theories attribute the discrepancy to a reaction to the perceived sinfulness of youthful frivolity, an inherent greater sense of religiosity in women, a communal reaction to economic insecurity, or an assertion of the self in the face of patriarchal rule <sup>[which scholars?]</sup>. Husbands, especially in the South, sometimes disapproved of their wives' conversion, forcing women to choose between submission to God or their spouses. Church membership and religious activity gave women peer support and place for meaningful activity outside the home, providing many women with communal identity and shared experiences.{{sfnp|Lindley|1996|pp=59–61}}

Despite the predominance of women in the movement, they were not formally indoctrinated or given leading ministerial positions. However, women took other public roles; for example, relaying testimonials about their conversion experience, or assisting sinners (both male and female) through the conversion process. Leaders such as [[Charles Finney]] saw women's public prayer as a crucial aspect in preparing a community for revival and improving their efficacy in conversion.{{sfnp|Lindley|1996|pp=61–62}} Women also took crucial roles in the conversion and religious upbringing of children. During the period of revival, mothers were seen as the moral and spiritual foundation of the family, and were thus tasked with instructing children in matters of religion and ethics.{{sfnp|Ryan|1978|p=614}}

The greatest change in women's roles stemmed from participation in newly formalized missionary and reform societies. Women's prayer groups were an early and socially acceptable form of women's organization. In the 1830s, female moral reform societies rapidly spread across the North making it the first predominantly female social movement.<ref>"Introduction" in ''What Was the Appeal of Moral Reform to Antebellum Northern Women, 1835–1841?'', by Daniel Wright and Kathryn Kish Sklar. (Binghamton, NY: State University of New York at Binghamton, 1999).</ref> Through women's positions in these organizations, women re-gained influence outside of the [[private sphere]].{{sfnp|Ryan|1978|p=619}}{{sfnp|Lindley|1996|pp=62–63}}

Changing demographics of gender also affected religious doctrine. In an effort to give sermons that would resonate with the congregation, ministers stressed Christ's humility and forgiveness, in what the historian Barbara Welter calls a "feminization" of Christianity.<ref>Barbara Welter, "The Feminization of American Religion: 1800–1860," in ''Clio's Consciousness Raised'', edited by Mary S. Hartman and Lois Banner. New York: Octagon Books, 1976, 141</ref>