The First Great Awakening arose as a reaction to increasing spiritual indifference and ritualism within established churches. This era of intense religious passion left a lasting impact on American religious culture.

Leading figures included Jonathan Edwards, whose renowned sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" powerfully illustrated humanity's reliance on God's grace, while his theological writings offered intellectual support for the revival movement.

George Whitefield, an evangelist from England, became arguably the most prominent leader of the awakening. His traveling ministry attracted huge audiences and crossed social boundaries, showing that spiritual experiences could unite people across class and educational lines.

John and Charles Wesley, mainly known for their influence on British Methodism, also played important roles in the awakening. Their focus on personal holiness, group accountability, and practical faith shaped revival preaching in both Britain and America. The movements they inspired eventually led to new denominations centred on individual religious experience.

The Second Great Awakening (1790s–1840s) was a major revival movement that expanded church membership, introduced new denominations, and sparked significant missionary activity. Charles Finney, a leading evangelist, promoted innovative methods and connected individual conversion with social reforms like abolition and temperance. The Third Great Awakening (1850–1900) continued religious innovation, with urban revivals, holiness movements, foreign missions, and the rise of the social gospel. These awakenings led to new denominations and reform organizations, encouraged personal religious experience over tradition, and often caused church divisions due to differing views on revival theology.

The Charismatic renewal of the 1960s and 1970s, which stressed the gifts of the Holy Spirit, influenced both Protestant and Catholic groups in many Western countries. Pentecostal churches grew rapidly during this period, often drawing members from mainline denominations. The movement echoed previous awakenings with its focus on direct spiritual experiences, modern worship, and personal empowerment. Recurrent themes across such religious renewals include the importance of personal conversion, individual encounters with God, emotional involvement, and linking faith to social change, all challenging institutional complacency and fostering new forms of Christian expression.