missionary societies, such as the Baptist Missionary Society in 1792. Continental Europe Historian Sydney E. Ahlstrom sees the Great Awakening as part of a "great international Protestant upheaval" that also created pietism in the Lutheran and Reformed churches of continental Europe. Pietism emphasized heartfelt religious faith in reaction to an overly intellectual Protestant scholasticism perceived as spiritually dry. Significantly, the pietists placed less emphasis on traditional doctrinal divisions between Protestant churches, focusing rather on religious experience and affections. Pietism prepared Europe for revival, and it usually occurred in areas where pietism was strong. The most important leader of the Awakening in central Europe was Nicolaus Zinzendorf, a Saxon noble who studied under pietist leader August Hermann Francke at Halle University. In 1722, Zinzendorf invited members of the Moravian Church to live and worship on his estates, establishing a community at Herrnhut. The Moravians came to Herrnhut as refugees, but under Zinzendorf's guidance, the group enjoyed a religious revival. Soon, the community became a refuge for other Protestants as well, including German Lutherans, Reformed Christians and Anabaptists. The church began to grow, and Moravian societies would be established in England where they would help foster the Evangelical Revival as well. Evangelical Revival in Britain England While known as the Great Awakening in the United States, the movement is referred to as the Evangelical Revival in Britain. In England, the major leaders of the Evangelical Revival were three Anglican priests, the brothers John and Charles Wesley and their friend George Whitefield. Together, they founded what would become Methodism. They had been members of a religious society at Oxford University called the Holy Club and "Methodists" due to their methodical piety and rigorous asceticism. This society was modeled on the collegia pietatis (cell groups) used by pietists for Bible study, prayer and accountability. All three men experienced a spiritual crisis in which they sought true conversion and assurance of faith. George Whitefield joined the Holy Club in 1733 and, under the influence of Charles Wesley, read German pietist August Hermann Francke's Against the Fear of Man and Scottish theologian Henry Scougal's The Life of God in the Soul of Man (the latter work was a favorite of Puritans). Scougal wrote that many people mistakenly understood Christianity to be "Orthodox Notions and Opinions" or "external Duties" or "rapturous Heats and extatic Devotion". Rather, Scougal wrote, "True Religion is an Union of the Soul with