Burned-Over District and Religious Revivalism

 

I found that region of country what, in the western phrase, would be called, a "burnt district." There had been, a few years previously, a wild excitement passing through that region, which they called a revival of religion, but which turned out to be spurious. ... It was reported as having been a very extravagant excitement; and resulted in a reaction so extensive and profound, as to leave the impression on many minds that religion was a mere delusion. A great many men seemed to be settled in that conviction. Taking what they had seen as a specimen of a revival of religion, they felt justified in opposing anything looking toward the promoting of a revival.  –Charles Finney, Autobiography of Charles G. Finney (1876)

 

In the early decades of the 19th century, a region in upstate New York became the most  spiritually and socially combustible area in the United States. Known as the “Burned-Over District,” this stretch of land witnessed such intense waves of  religious revival that it was said there was no more “fuel” (souls) left to burn.

The term refers to western and central New York State, stretching roughly from Albany through Rochester and into Buffalo. This region lay along the Erie Canal, a major route of commerce and migration in the early 1800s. The rapid social and economic changes brought by the canal system created fertile ground for spiritual searching and new movements.

1. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons)

• Founder: Joseph Smith (1805–1844)
• Origin: Palmyra, New York
• Smith reported visions beginning in 1820, including visits from an angel named Moroni and the discovery of golden plates that became the Book of Mormon.
• The early Latter-day Saint movement reflected the district’s mix of revival fervor, millennial expectation, and belief in ongoing revelation.

2. The Millerite Movement

• Leader: William Miller (1782–1849), a Baptist lay preacher.
• Belief: Christ would return around 1843–1844. When this didn’t occur—the Great Disappointment—followers eventually formed the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

3. The Spiritualist Movement

Spiritualism, in religion, a movement beginning in the 19th century in America and Europe based on the belief that departed souls can interact with the living. Spiritualists sought to make contact with the dead, usually through the assistance of a medium, a person believed to have the ability to contact spirits directly. Some mediums worked while in a trancelike state, and some claimed to be the catalyst for various paranormal physical phenomena (including the materializing or moving of objects) through which the spirits announced their presence.

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