The Great Awakening religious movement that occurred in the American colonies served to undermine established religions and political authorities in North America during the pre-Revolutionary period. The Great Awakening was characterized by a renewed focus on personal religious experience and an increasing number of religious revivalists who challenged the authority of established churches and the political figures who supported them. These ideas would later play a role in the development of ideas such as religious freedom and individual rights that were prominent in the lead-up to the American Revolution.