On Revivals of Religion

On Revivals of Religion is Finney‘s programmatic account of how spiritual awakening occurs and how churches may responsibly seek it. Combining theological argument, pastoral counsel, and practical instruction, the book treats revival not as an inexplicable miracle but as a divinely governed response to repentance, prayer, preaching, and disciplined moral action. Its direct, forensic style reflects Finney‘s legal training and the reforming energy of the Second Great Awakening, while its controversial confidence in human responsibility places it at the center of nineteenth-century evangelical debate. Charles Grandison Finney, a former New York lawyer converted in 1821, became one of America‘s most influential revivalists. His itinerant ministry, use of new measures, emphasis on the anxious bench, public prayer, and immediate decision shaped urban evangelism and provoked fierce criticism from more traditional Calvinists. Later a professor and president at Oberlin College, Finney joined evangelism to moral reform, especially abolition and social holiness, concerns that inform the book‘s urgent insistence that true religion must transform conduct. This volume is recommended for readers seeking a primary text in American religious history, revival theology, or practical ministry. Even where modern readers question Finney‘s assumptions, his clarity, seriousness, and strategic imagination make the book indispensable for understanding evangelical activism and the enduring hope that communities can be spiritually renewed.