The Great Awakening was a response to what was happening in the New England churches. What was happening?

In New England the churches were changing because pastoral styles were changing. Most pastors read their sermons, but the pastors of the Great Awakening were more interested in advancing the intellectual and emotional aspect of the church and of the people they were preaching to, so this gave the pastors more of an interpretive side. The Great Awakening also pushed for religious freedom and that information should be unbiased, uncontrolled and transparent so that everyone in the colonies could know what was going on.