REVIVAL, the act of reviving; the state of being revived; most commonly used in a religious sense. Revivals oc cur in all religions. When one takes place a large number of persons who have been comparatively dead or indif ferent to spiritual considerations, simul taneously or in quick succession become alive to their importance, alter spirit ually and morally, and act with exceed ing zeal in converting others to their views. A Mohammedan revival takes the form of a return to the strict doctrines of the Koran, and a desire to propagate them by the sword. A Christian minor ity living in the place is in danger of being massacred by the revivalists.
Christian Revivals.—Pentecostal effu sion of the Holy Spirit (Acts ii) pro duced a revival within the infant Church, followed by numerous conver sions from outside. Revivals, though not called by that name, occurred at intervals from apostolic times till the Reformation, the revivalists being some times so unsympathetically treated that they left the Church and formed sects, while in other cases, and notably in those of the founders of the monastic orders, they were retained and acted on the Church as a whole. The spiritual impulse which led to the Reformation, and the antagonistic one which produced or attended the rise of the Society of Jesus, were both revivalist. It is, how ever, to sudden increase of spiritual ac tivity within the Protestant churches of the English-speaking peoples that the term revival is chiefly confined. The
enterprise of the Wesleys and of White field in this country and England from 1738 onward was thoroughly revivalist. There were revivals at Northampton, in Massachusetts, in 1734, and throughout New England in 1740-1741, the Rev. Jonathan Edwards being the chief in strument in their production. A great one arose in America in 1857, after the financial crisis of that year. It spread in 1859 to Ireland, and in 1864 to Scot land and to parts of England. Since then various revivals have from time to time occurred, and nearly all denomina tions aim at their production. One of the most remarkable movements of mod ern times, properly coming under the head of a revival, is that of the SALVA TION ARMY (q. v.) , founded by the Rev. William Booth, a Methodist minister of Nottingham, England. This movement has been recognized since 1880 as a dis tinct sect, and with its essential military organization has become an immense power among the poorer classes both in this country and in Europe. In the United States the commander, Balling ton Booth, withdrew from the Salvation Army and organized the Volunteers of America. Modern revivalists include J. Wilbur Chapman, "Gypsy" Smith and William A. Sunday. See also MOODY.