CHHI 670 - History of Evangelicalism
Introduction
Evangelicalism is the global protestant movement with core beliefs that
include the total reliance on the Bibles, the acknowledgement of the fact that
conviction of the sins and surrender to Jesus Christ are essential, the act of preaching
the gospel and lastly, accepting death and crucifixion of Jesus as the means of
atonement. It includes nearly all Protestant churches, this has various evangelical,
mainline and conservative Protestant denominations, several theological positions and
practices but has these key beliefs in common. Saving is a crucial doctrine in
evangelicalism and it is generally taken from John 3:16 and Acts 16:30, 31 as
meaning that a person needs to have faith and repent to have Jesus become their
Savior and Lord.
The term evangelical itself is from the Greek term ‘euangelion,’ which means
‘good message’ or ‘gospel. ’ This underscore the propagating aspect of the movement.
Historically evangelicalism differs from the other protestant world by its zeal which
focuses on the revival, evangelism, and activism resulting from beliefs in the biblical
socially reform gospel.
Importance of Studying its History
The history of evangelicalism should be studied for several reasons. Initially,
evangelicalism has immensely impacted religious, social, and political aspects of
many countries especially in the western world. Studying its history helps to chart the
progress of the modern Christian ideas and the evolution of the Christian practices
and the changes to the culture and the society which were mainly caused by the
evangelism movements.
Evangelicalism has had its positive influence on different social and political
activities such as the abolition of black slavery, the civil rights movements,
humanitarian activities among others. Looking at its past, one will be able to detect
the social purposes and effects of such movements and religious ideas regarding
societal questions.
Thus, the analysis of the history of evangelicalism allows to delineate the
development of the internal conflicts in the movement, the disputes about the
doctrines, the division and the appearance of the new evangelical currents. This can
be informative for the modern religious groups and those who bear leadership
responsibility for them, since the insights into managing unity and conflicts in a large
and scattered movement would be important for the present generations.
Origins of Evangelicalism
Historical Context in the 16th and 17th Centuries
The evangelicalism can be traced back to 16th and 17th centuries which was a
volatile period of religious, political and ferment Europe. In Western Europe this
period marked the end of the medieval feudal age, the emergence of nation-states and
the preliminary phase of the Renaissance with its renewed relation to the classical
civilization and with anti-authoritarian tendencies – including those against the
monarchy and the Pope.
The 16th century was specifically unstable in continuation of the Protestant
Reformation which started in 1517 with the event involving the posting of ninety-five
theses by Luther on the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church. This act opposed
elements of the Catholic Church, most notably the sale of indulgences and sought to
restore the faith to the pure word of God in Luther’s interpretation. The Reformation
led many religious wars and conflict in Europe, which caused the dismantling of the
‘Christendom’ and emergence of the Protestantism. The seventeen century also did
not escape religious crusades, the worst of which remains the Thirty Years War
(1618-1648), which wreak havoc in the central Europe. This period also experienced
the reign of puritans in England who attempted at purging the Church of England of
any Catholic influences. Thus, the Puritans’ stress on the individual’s conversion, the
Bible, and ethical seriousness contributed to later developments in evangelicalism.
Influence of the Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation could probably be considered to be one of the
main factors that led to the birth of evangelicalism. It also focused on Bibles alone
(sola scriptura), people’s capacity to self-govern (sola suffragia) faith alone (sola
fide). These principles are formed the basis of evangelical belief and conduct.
This was ideally so subscribed to by reformers such as martin Luther and John
Calvin who aimed at assisting the church to get back to its initial form that adhere to
the teaching of the bible. Setting Luther’s Bible in German complemented the
Scriptures, the interpretation right to every layman leveled. Calvin’s doctrines of
predestination and the supremacy of God were as significant in the sphere of
Protestantism: It is these doctrines that religious feelings were especially experienced
in the Scotland and the Netherlands.
The Reformation brought various movements such as the vectors that
includes: The Anabaptists who supported the procedure of executing baptism to
anyone who believed it unlike the infant baptism supported by the Roman Catholic
Church; they also opposed the state religion. These groups, which were persecution,
injected their own character into the ‘Protestantism’ that later on went to form
evangelicalism.
The consequences of the Reformation did not end with theology and religious
belief system only. The methods encouraged an approach that questioned and
transformation which invited the followers to look at the Church and find faith based
on personality and existence. Therefore, the cultural stress on the change of heart as
well as on the private spirituality turned out to become one of the hallmarks of
evangelicalism which do not belong to conventional religious experiences.
Key Figures and Early Movements
It would be beneficial to identify several people and the initial movements for
the formation of evangelicalism as well. The most prominent those initiated
movements for evangelicals were John Wesley and George Whitefield. Both played
vital roles in the Methodist movement in eighteenth century which had a great
influence in the evangelicalism.
John Wesley, being an Anglican cleric, underwent a powerful conversion in
1738 known as his “heart strangely warmed. ” Therefore, Wesley stressed on the
sinner’s heart conversion along with entire sanctification. Wesley’s preaching and
forming of societies to travel to different locales were the ideal of evangelical
revivalism centered on Holy Spirit sentimentality and public works.
The methodists’ founder and another prominent figure during the same period
as Wesley was George Whitefield who was famous for his eloquent speaking and
crowd-pulling skills. Sermons in the park and fields, emphasizing the necessity of the
individual conversion and the doctrine of the new birth touched the hearts of many
and the movement founded by Whitefield contributed greatly to the spreading of
evangelical spirit through Great Britain and the colonies in America.
Other contributors to the early evangelicalism include the group of Puritans, as
well as Pietsim – an awarness movement. With regard to the concentrations within
Protestantism, Baxter group of Puritans advocated for a vigorous and intense applied
Christianity, along with ministerial concern,BSpener and Francke’s group of piety or
pietists advocated for sentimental and fervent Christianity, alongside other emphases
on simple, group specific study and support systems.
Their organizations and activities provided the basis for the evangelical
awaking that was to take place in Europe and North America in the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries. Their focus on individual change, the use of the Bible, and
involved faith was the foundation of what would emerge as the evanjelical tradition
that led to the Great Awakenings and around the world evangelism.
The Great Awakenings
First Great Awakening (1730s-1740s)
The first Great Awakening was a revival of the religious movement that began
in the middle 1730s and persisted till 1745 in the American colonies which has a
crucial role in the development of evangelicalism. This movement was pioneered by
two people namely Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield.
Jonathan Edwards, Congregationalist minister in Massachusetts was regarded
as the prominent theologians of the Great Awakening. His best known sermon is
undoubtedly, ‘Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God’, delivered in 1741 which
depicted the spirit of revivalism. Edwards’ main focus was on the godly
predestination, depravity of man, and the reality of conversion. Oppold’s theological
writings include A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God, which described
the developments of the revival, and Developing by Developing, Developing a
theology that described the plan and purpose of God along with the responsibility
required from individuals.
The leader of Methodism was an English Anglican evangelist named George
Whitefield, who had an outstanding, bold and intense speaking, attracting people all
over the American colonies and Great Britain. Whitefield’s nomadic form of
preaching was from the year 1730s to 1760s or early 1770s. He stressed the
importance of a “born anew” experience with belief in Jesus Christ, which targeted on
the people’s emotions and called for an immediate and intimate encounter. GE
Whitefield’s meant to intercessional turns and address all types of congregations
contributed to the popularization of the revivalist temper and to the production of the
sense of unity among the colonies.
Major Events and Impact
The major events of the First Great Awakening for America can be summed
up in the following in the following ways. The most prominent one was the
Northampton revival of 1734-1735 begun by Jonathan Edwards. This revival resulted
into many people’s conversion and also led to such revival in other towns of New
England.
The other great event of the First Great Awakening was the preaching tours
conducted by George Whitefield. He made his visit to the American colonies in
1739/41 and was received with very huge turnouts with many Americans changing to
the evangelist way of Christianity. Whitefield’s sermons tended to be stirring and
dramatic, which combined with the preaching itself brought forth such attitudes as
weeping and shouting, fainting from the members.
The Great Awakening can be considered as a significant milestone of the
American history with numerous positive and negative effects. This impacted the
creation of new religious organizations, for example, colleges and seminaries, and
expanded the quantity of evangelical churches, with the Baptists and Methodists being
among the most significant ones. The revival also helped generate colony unity to
accomplish a common goal, therefore promoting the formation of a unique American
identity. In addition, the focus on personal repentance and holiness, on the one hand,
undermined the institutional and hierarchical Church and, on the other, paved the way
to Protestantism with its stressing on the believers’ equality and activity.
Second Great Awakening (1790s-1840s)
Second Great Awakening was a movement of religious revival in United
States of America which occurred between the period of 1790-1840. It is
characterized by the mega camp meetings, high pitch in delivery, tuned to the
conversion of souls along with social reform. Of all the people who have defined this
movement, two were Charles Finney and Lyman Beecher.
Another Presbyterian minister, Charles Finney was among the revivalists of
the Second Great Awakening movement. He is also frequently described as having
started inventing new techniques of evangelism such as provision of prayer and
counsel at the “anxious benches” to seekers of salvation. This evangelist’s campaigns
were well ordered and placed a lot of stress on the immediate response as well as
public professing of faith. His thoughts which are considered to be different from the
original Calvinist theology included a doctrine that people have the ability to chose
salvation and this led to the emergence of Arminianism in American evangelicalism.
Lyman Beecher was a Congregationalist minister, ora war against alcoholism
and slavery. The populared moral discourse by the divine and writings were also
centered on categories such as moral reform and social missions as important ways of
exhibiting faith. He also served an important role in setting up societies for the
promotion of various purposes including education, preventing the consumption of
alcohol, and missionary station. Through Beecher, the radical spirit of revivalism
crystallised and became far more integrated with society’s other processes, including
political ones.
Major Events and Impact
Being one of the major movements in the religious history of America, the
Second Great Awakening was accompanied by a number of significant events. It was
one of the earliest and among the largest was the Cane Ridge meeting of 1801 in
Kentucky . The Cane Ridge Revival consisted of emotional featured such as falling,
shaking, and shouting and became the standard to other revivals across the frontier.
People like Charles Finney who conducted revivalist campaigns in cities for example
Rochester, New York in the 1830s are other outstanding historical highlights of
Second Great Awakening. Finney’s “new measures,” of which the anxious bench and
protracted meetings were components, was indeed successful in the promotion of
conversions, as well as the stimulation of those local communities. These revivals
played a role in sprouting evangelicalism in urban society and developing a system of
evangelical organizations and societies.
Second Great Awakening had rather extensive effects on the society. This
created a massive growth in church membership and emergence of new
denominations including the Disciples of Christ as well as the Churches of Christ. The
revival also brought in other reform movements such as the temperance movement,
abolition movement, and the women’s right movements. These movements were
spearheaded by evangelicals believing in the reducing effect of conversion and the
society’s responsibility to foster a moral and right world.
It also served to popularize the religion of the people by supporting the
democratic and populist values of American religion as per the Second Great
Awakening. Therefore, the stress on the common’s perception and the actual
involvement of the laypeople disrupted organized religion and interpreted the
Christian message in a more emancipative manner. There were many societies and
organizations during this period that were largely non-sectarian but demonstrated the
dynamism and entrepreneurial spirit of American evangelicalism which new method
of voluntarism.
When comparing the First and the Second Great Awakening, it is possible to
analyze how these two phases in the religious history of America influenced the
evolution of evangelicalism and contributed to either American religious, social and
even political lives.
19th Century Evangelicalism
Expansion and Diversification
Evangelicalism also grew and developed in the 19th century with new
opportunities for outreach. ” Evangelical churches, missions and institutions grew and
developed along with the westward growth of the United States. Initially the frontier
could be a problem for evangelism; however, this led to the organization of various
churches and the revival of religion in the newly formed settlements.
The fact that Methodism enjoyed the period of tremendous numerical
expansion and by mid- nineteenth century it became the largest Protestant
denomination in America. Methodist circuit riders physically and constantly moved
around and preached in countryside and frontier regions and planted Methodist
Churches where none where existent. Another religious grouping to experience
tremendous expansion was the Baptists, especially in the Southern regions, through
independent churches and societies.
In the same century, there were new evangelical movements and formation of
different denominations. The movement originated from Methodism and called for
the individuals’ sanctification and the experience of entire sanctification. It was
further advanced by leaders like Phoebe Palmer and Charles Finney thus resulting in
church developments of; The Church of the Nazarene and the Wesleyan Methodist
Church.
The next major movement was the Adventist movement originating from the
Millerite movement around the 1840s. Millerite movement caused a wave of
expectation and let down through prediction of the return of Christ but through the
prophetic movement established the Seventh-day Adventist Church and other similar
group of churches that largely minister on the second coming of Christ and the
observance of Sabbath on Saturday.
Social Reforms and Abolitionism
The evangelicals themselves launched many social reform movements in the
nineteenth century using the keywords such as salvation, Gospel and redemption
emphasizing the need to change the society for the better. A very important aspect of
evangelical activism was the abolitionist movement, which aimed at the Southern bill
of removing slavery in America.
Eminent evangelicals who were also abolitionists of the time were William
Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. Garrison was an
extreme abolitionist and established the newspaper commonly known as ‘The
Liberator,’ one of the leading activists for the liberty of slaves and a believer in equal
rights for the black race initially borne of his religious convictions with reference to
the Christian faith. It is well-known that one of the most influential and active
Abolitionist was a former slave Frederick Douglass, who used to share the views on
the impact of Christianity on the abolition of slavery.
The headmistress of ‘Little Women’ and the writer of ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin,’
Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote to ensure the abolition of slavery was achieved and thus
change the collective public conscience of a nation. Her book which went through
numerous publications made her a bestselling author of her time and greatly
contributed to the abolitionist movement as she was an evangelical woman.
Also, temperance, women’s rights bob educators, and education were some
reform movements other Evangelicals were involved with. The goal of temperature
movement was to lessen the use of alcohol and eventually eliminate it, and to achieve
it many evangelical organizations such as the Women’s Christian Temperance Union
supported it. Women’s crusaders like the WCTU president, Frances Willard, provided
a quick solution to the fight against alcohol with the outlook to moral and social
reasons pertaining to the collapse of families and the spread of disease. \
On the historical side, evangelicals contributed huge efforts on the agenda for
women voting right as well as women education. African American Sojourner Truth
and the first women’s right activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton used the Christian
argument and cited it as the reason for fighting for women’s rights and equality.
Civil War and Reconstruction Era that involved them
These were the crucial years in America’s historical process the Civil war
1861-1865, the Reconstruction 1865-1877 and evangelicalism was actively
participating in the process. Slavery was also an influential factor in splitting the
evangelical Christian organizations: some supported Confederary, others – Union.
Religion played a great role with many of the North’s evangelical leaders and
denomination desiring abolition and the Civil War being a judgement from God for
the sin of slavery. Even religious leaders such as the famous Preachers like Henry
Ward Beecher brother to Harriet Beecher Stowe used the bellows of Churches to
encourage people to support the side of union by considering the war in terms of
moral and religious perspective. The war was viewed with various types of fight for
the unity of the country but the fight that reflected the fight for Christianity values
with justice and equality.
In the South, the majority of evangelical Church standing for pro-slavery
position and supported Confederacy. Some specific examples include the fact that in
the case of the United States, some African American churches such as Southern
Baptist and Methodist split with their counterparts from the north because the later
was pro-slavery, and formed a separate denomination that was supportive of the
Confederacy. For this division reflected the sectional tensions within American
evangelicalism and thus further explored such components of religious of politics.
As in the prewar era, evangelicals remained involved in the transformation of
society in the period of Reconstruction. The northern evangelist and many of the
former abolitionists supported the policies of assisting in the reconstruction of the
South and the African American cause. Missionary societies and freedmen’s aid
organizations opened schools, churches, and other facilities for newly freed African
Americans and for training them to become the Americans.
The goals of Reconstruction were not realized for long because there was
violence against the ex-slaves by the whites in the South, besides, the Northern
supporters of black people gradually lost interest in the issue. Nevertheless, there was
another transformative aspect: African American evangelical churches evolved as
important meeting and spiritual grounds as well as the part of the lengthy battle for
the black people’s rights.
Soltis’ volume underlines the fact that the nineteenth century was one of the
most dynamic, diversified and activist years in the history of Evangelicalism. ‘It has
opted for social reforms, expanded its activities during the Civil War and the
Reconstruction, and left its impact upon the religious and social life of America;
thereby, determining the further development of evangelical movement. ’
20th Century Evangelicalism
Fundamentalism vs. Modernism
The early twentieth century witnessed one of the most intense crises in the
American Protestantism: fundamentalism vs. modernism. This conflict was due to
varying behavior concerning new scientific advancements, theories of biblical
criticism and the social issues of the time. While the fundamentalist strived to
preserve the core teachings of the Christianity against what they deemed as threats,
the modernist wanted to initiate Christianity with scientific progression and
innovation of the twentieth century.
Fundamentalism was formed at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of
the twentieth century as a response to liberal ideas and the growing critiques of the
Bible and religious concepts such as the higher criticism and Darwin’s evolution
concept. There is the view that gained ground among the fundamentalists where they
stuck to beliefs such as the Bible is the inerrant word of God, Jesus Christ was born of
a virgin, Jesus died for the sins of mankind, Jesus rose again in the bodily form and is
expected to return to earth. These beliefs were detailed in certain set of essays known
as “The Fundamentals,” published between 1910 and 1915, hence the name of the
movement.
While one group of the reformers wanted to purify and maintain the
Christianity in its so-called pure form, the modernists tried to accommodate it into the
contemporary world. They took more advanced biblical criticism and favored what
modern science said, such as the theory on evolution. Focusing on the social aspects
of Jesus, the Modernists aimed to bring Christian beliefs to solve the problems of that
society, for example, poverty, social inequality, and injustice.
One of two factions of workers was dominated by the other during the battle
of the camps during the 1920’s of which the famous Scopes Trail of 1925 reflected.
The trial, which was formally entitled the The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas
Scopes focused specifically on the issue of teaching evolution in school. A high
school teacher, John Scopes was charged with violating Tennessee’s Butler act which
outlawed the teaching of evolution . The of the trial was between William Jennings
Bryan, a defender of fundamentalist views, and Clarence Darrow considered to be a
vital defense lawyer and a non-believer individual. Despite Scopes’ guilty verdict, the
trial establishes the division in American culture and reveals the problems of
fundamentalist in the modern society.
Key Events: Scopes Trial, Formation of the National Association of Evangelicals
The Scopes Trial was a landmark trial in the evangelical’s history and
challenge between fundamentalist and modernist. This particular trial was presided in
Dayton, Tennessee and was greatly publicised as several media houses and
publications give their attention to the trial. It has become a sign of the conflict
between the etc and the religion, between past and present.
Clyde E. Wyatt, for the state of Oklahoma and William Jennings Bryan, the
three-time Democratic Party presidential nominee, led the prosecution and was an
evangelical Christian. He stated that a teaching of evolution compromlisicthed the
authority of the Bible as well as the Christian morality. The bald descendant of
Charles Darwin appeared to support the fearless lawyer Clarence Darrow to defend
Scopes and promote the unrecognized concept of ‘academic freedom’ as well as a
scientifically literate Bible. The verdict, which was indeed couched in a triumph of
the prosecution, was considered an organizational setback of the fundamentalists. This
is because Bryan’s appearance on the witness stand where he was subjected to cross
examination by Darrow on his reverential interpretation of the Bible was made and
ridiculed by the press hence people from all over perceived the fundamentals as anti-
intellectuals.
As observed, the Scopes Trial and the subsequent cultural marginalization
resulting from modernism threatened the fundamentalists’ unity and power; however,
efforts to combat these forces emerged. This resulted into the formation of National
Association of Evangelicals (NAE) in the year 1942. To these objectives, the NAE
was established so as to give a voice to evangelical Christianity within a certain
country as well as mobilise like-minded Christians, regardless of the denominational
affiliations. While the NAE was the ’moderate’ version of the fundamentalist groups,
it also aimed at having a positive impact on the society and spreading evangelicalism
as a positive force.
In this particular analysis, post WW II evangelicalism is shown to have been
principally influenced by the NAE. It contributed indeed to the building of an
evangelical infra structure of colleges, seminar, y publishing houses and
denominational cooperation. The NAE was also involved in evangelism and missions
domestic and international and public policy in religious liberty, education and
morality.
Influence of Billy Graham and the Rise of Televangelism
Billy Graham is one of the most prominent personalities in the twentieth-
century evangelicalism world. Some have referred to Graham as the “America’s
Pastor” because he was a great preacher who went on to become an international
evangelist. His campaigns, which started in the late 1940s were characterized by
massive attendance, the use of radio and television hence increasing chances of
evangelicalism.
Billy Graham’s preaching had no frills and glamour and centered on the
principalities of conversion and commitment to the Lord Jesus. He stressed upon the
word of God and the doctrine of righteousness in every ones’ life. It can, therefore, be
said that Graham transmitted many messages and, through his presentation and
charisma, he could address people in a manner that made him a highly effective
evangelist.
Objections and arguments Cross examines Graham’s preaching and impact on
people but his influence was not only in preaching. Thus, he was primarily
responsible for mediating between the two wings of evangelicalism, fundamentalist
on the one hand and more moderate on the other, and providing the endowment for a
vision of evangelicalism that was conservatively Protestant in theology but culturally
modern. Due to his relationship with the NAE, and his attempts at collaborating with
other Christians from different denominations, the evangelical coalition was solidified
and consolidated.
The latter half of the twentieth century also saw the evangelicism reach into
the realm of televangelism. Many of the early evangelists, including Oral Roberts, Pat
Robertson, and Jerry Falwell dramatically helped in spreading the word of God
through the television thus bringing evangelical preaching and teaching into millions
of homes. Televangelism integrate revivalist and technological concepts into one new
form of evangelism on the television screen.
Oral Roberts was one of televangelists the first. His healing ministry and
televangelist program–“The Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association” even had its
blend of influence to broaden the two categories, more so the Pentecostal and the
charismatic factions in evangelicalism. An example is Late Pat Robertson who used
television through CBN to push for a conservative Christian believe and politics in
America. His program “The 700 Club” was one of the foundational shows in the so
called Christian television and helped propagate the Religious Right.
Televangelism was used by Jerry Falwell of the Moral Majority to rally
evangelical christians into political activism. His radio show “The Old-Time Gospel
Hour” was a mixture of the sermon and politics for conservative social and political
agenda. A result of Falwell’s actions was the association of Evangelical Christianity
with the Republican Party and the formation of the Religious Right in America’s
political scene.
The twentieth century can be characterized as the period of change and
development of evangelicalism. As the fundamentalist-response to the Scopes trial
illustrated, evangelicalism had less of a problem identifying the dawning era’s vices
than it did in positioning itself within a modern pluralistic society. New organizations
such as the National Association of Evangelicals emerged and people such as Billy
Graham contributed to the formation of a strong movement. The televangelism
impacted the growth of evangelicalism in the society and they became influential in
the US culture and politics. Consequently, these set the tone for the sustenance of
evangelicalism well into the twenty first century.
Evangelicalism and Politics
Involvement in the Civil Rights Movement
Evangelicalism participated in the Civil Rights Movement in several and
diverse ways, which possibly can be explained by the perspectives on the given issue
within evangelicalism during the middle of the twentieth century. It must be noted
that evangelicalism did not coalesce around the civil rights actions, though individual
evangelicals and evangelical organization actively participated in the civil rights
movements. some evangelical leaders and organizations were part of the Civil Rights
Movement and promoted the idea of racial equality due to the recognition of equality
and justice in the bible. It means that, although MLK was not an evangelical in the
strict sense, he referred to Christian values and called for moral reasons to fight for
civil rights and against racial segregation using non-violent methods.
To a very significant extent, evangelical initiatives and organisations — this in
reference to post-World War II developments mainly in the northern states of the
country — were active in process that aimed at the desegregation oft he churches,
schools and communities. Mainline Protestant organization namely the National
Council of Churches was involved in civil rights campaigns and activities such as
protests and marches; its member included evangelical Christians.
The Civil Rights Movement was not welcomed by all evangelicalism for the
following reasons. Some of the white evangelical persons and the churches in the
southern part of America wereagnostic about desegregation and averse to federal
interference in state issues. Some white evangelical Christians secretly supported the
doctrines of the segregated society based on the religious text, and this splitting
created divisions in the evangelical movement. Even though the evangelical
participation in the Civil Rights Movement entailed such tensions, it played a major
role in changing the nature of the movement’s social and political activism. It
illustrated that evangelicals are beginning to recognize the necessity to deal with
social justice questions and become activists on behalf of the disadvantaged in the
future.
Rise of the Religious Right
The change of the evangelicalism political allies, occurred with the appearance
of the Religious Right in the later decades of the 20th Century. As a part of the
reaction to such threats in a Christian conservatism and the hegemonic morality, the
Religious Right mobilized the conservative Protestants in such issues as abortion,
school prayers and homosexuality. Especially, the movement is actively realized in
the 1970s and 1980 s owing to the increased political activity of the leaders of the
Pentecostals such as Jerry Falwell Sr. , the founder of the Moral Majority, Pat
Robertson, the founder of the Christian Coalition. These leaders utilized the
instruments of televangelism and Christian broadcasting to rally people to support the
conservatives and their desired candidates. For instance, the Religious Right’s agenda
was mostly social and moral and lobbied for the alterations that it deemed as being
compatible with what evangelicals believe as the proper configuration of life, family,
and sexual relations. Of women’s right to abort particularly has proved to be this
defining issue of the movement embraced by evangelical churches and organizations
across the country.
The Religious Right also played a part in assembling the electoral geography
to the Social Right by politicizing evangelical vote as a bloc within Republicanism.
The religious base played a significant role in the win of Ronald Reagan in 1980 and
any other Republican candidate that supported the neoconservative’s social agenda.
Critics of the Religious Right said that so it affected and they presented
evidence showing that it had brought politics in evangelism and stretched its
objectives into social and political arenas. The questions of morality also dictated the
movement and produced controversies that were regarding to the right role of religion
in society, excluding all the other crucial topics such as poverty, racism and
environmentalism.
Influence on Modern American Politics
Important issues regarding social, moral, and cultural values debated within
the modern American society remain linked to the tenets that define evangelicalism,
thus demonstrating the movement’s ongoing relevance to contemporary politics. Even
though today the Religious Right is considered less influential than in the nineties,
evangelicals are still viewed as the base for political candidates, especially within the
Republican party.
Evangelicals are active politically therefore they exercise their political
muscles on issues to do with religious liberty, anti-abortion, same sex marriages and
many more. These matters touch a current nerve among evangelical Christians who in
their opinion, politics is not a separate business, but it follows faith and conscience.
Thus, evangelicalism’s impact on post-1960 American politics is not limited to
uniting and mobilizing a wedge vote behind a presidential candidate but also to policy
advocacy and grassroots activity. Many evangelical groups and teachers are pushing
for specific legislation supporting their values as per their Evangelical Bible,
including the restriction of the women’s right to abort, equal rights policies they state
is an infringement of their religious beliefs over others, and marriages being defined
as a union between a man and woman.
The association with politics has provoked discussions among evangelical
believers regarding the place of faith in political affairs and religious teachings
concerning the duality of divine rules and modem ordinances. Cohern December 2009
Several leaders of the evangelical have asked for a social justice issues, economic
justice and the stewardship of the environment as part of the evangelical agenda Thus
it can be argued that evangelicalism is diverse in terms of its viewpoint. To
summarize, evangelicalism-politics has been a topic of extensive debate since the
Civil Rights Movement, the emergence of the Religious Right, and its presence in
today’s America politics. Although evangelicalism is not uni-dimensional in its
political ideology, the total influence has not ended impacting or even dictating the
political landscape as a positive force to the direction political opinions and
formulation of policies of the nation taking into consideration faith and morality in
governance.
Global Spread of Evangelicalism
Missionary Movements
The spreading of evangelicalism mission was facilitated mainly by missionary
movements, which emerged typically from the Western countries. Twenty first
century neo-evangelicalism started in the 18th and 19th century missionaries who set
out on mission to spread Christianity to non-Christian parts of the world. These
missionaries commonly originated from the protestant denominations and evangelical
organizations embodying values such as individuals’ conversion and scriptural
supervision.
As the new mood of the age was the spread of Christianity, evangelicalism
marked many aspects of the missionary activities with special stress on evangelism,
education and moral reform. There was construction of schools, hospitals, churches
and other institutions that were intended to provide spiritual as well as physical
necessities of the people in the targeted area. Some were able to translate the bibles to
local languages, Christianity was taken to the locals in the localized forms and
practices & tending to work hand in hand with the locals in the formation of the new
churches thus supporting the imprinting of indigenous leadership.
Evidently, one of the biggest missionary movements was the Protestant
Christian missions’ evangelization of Africa in 19th and 20th centuries. The European
and North American missionaries, in general, opened up missions in several African
countries, thus creating and spreading the large evangelicalism among a rather
heterogeneous ethnic and linguistic population in Africa. The effects of these
missionary activities are however felt to date, with many Africans now being
evangelicals.
Growth in Latin America, Africa, and Asia
Over the past century, Latin American, African, and Asian evangelicalisms
emerged as a robust and powerful Christian current. Evangelic Christianity although
is considered a relatively new religion in Latin America experienced considerable
growth in the second half of the twentieth century and became a force to compete
with the Roman Catholic Church. Most recent religious organisations; the pentecostal
& charismatic movements camera; has over the years continued to have bumper
harvest with a strong call for individual experience, divine healing & flamboyant style
of worship.
In Africa, also, an evangelical movement has also been evidenced with great
expansion within the sub-Saharan nations where the development of
Pentecostal/charismatic movements can also be reported. The expansion of
evangelicalism across the African continent can be attributed also to missionary
endeavors, a growing indigenous evangelism, and the people’s belief on conversion
and appeals on the availability of the power of prayers and encouragements of a new
born again spiritual life. Most of the evangelical churches in Africa particularly
entailing on active participation social responsibilities such as community
development and education.
In the same way, evangelicalism has taken root in Asia despite preponderant
multicultural and plenteous religion. South Korea, India and Philippines are among
the nations that have experienced heightened evangalists’ operations and invariably
local church ministries have a central role to play in the evengelization efforts towards
the spread of evangelicalism. Asian evangelical Christianity includes mainline
protestant churches, evangelical independent churches as well as the Pentecostalism
and holiness movement of the new recruits which focuses on spiritual renewal and .
Global Evangelical Organizations
This has been made possible through formation of international evangelical
organizations that help in networking and collaboration of evangelical churches and
ministries cross the world. They are very crucial in relating the church across
geographical and cultural divides and in fanning out theological education and
mission to support.
The most widely known was created in 1974 at the International Congress on
World Evangelization in Lausanne, Switzerland – the Lausanne Movement. The
Lausanne Movement seeks to enable evangelical committed to God’s mission for
evangelism, to engage in the task of christians reflection on the evangelism and social
issues, and also to facilitate co-operation among evangelical leaders and institutions.
It should be noted that the conferences of the movement and its publications
contributed to the formation of evangelical theology and practice on a global level.
Another large organization is the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) which
was founded in 1951 as the united public of evangelical churches and associations.
The WEA has members in millions of evangelicals and it seeks to advance religious
liberty, social concern, and missions. The WEA works through adopting resolutions
and interests covered within its regional and national affiliations that can be Ethiopian
evangelical churches and organizations interested in functioning as a global network
to address concerns such as persecuted Christians, humanitarian efforts, and
theological education. Also, the evangelical communities and organizations have their
global networks and cooperation aiming at the missionary work, the charity work, and
the development of the communities in different cultures. These organizations work
with churches and indigenous people to uplift the local people and participate in the
processes of social, economic and political transformation alongside the process of
evangelism.
Globalization of evangelicalism is signified through missionary movements,
rapid church growth in the two-third world countries such as Latin America, Africa
and Asia, as well as the formation of international evangelical alliances that will
facilitate cooperation and doctrinal conversations irrespective of cultural and
theological backgrounds. Modern evangelical Christianity also grows and progresses,
but at the same time, it remains a product of global change and still remained loyal to
such principles as conversion, the Bible, and evangelism.
Challenges
Debates on Social Issues (e.g., LGBTQ Rights, Gender Roles)
Social justice is one of the major areas of controversy and conflict in
evangelicalism, especially in regards to homosexual http://homeworkassistance. ning.
com/ and gender conservative issues. Many evangelical churches adhere to the belief
which highlights heterosexual marriage as the preferred form of sexuality and
maintain the gender roles based on the Bible’s teachings. With time people’s
perception, and policies change to embrace the rights of the LGBTQ, evangelicalism
has not uniformly reacted. This is because, majority of the evangelical denominations
and evangelical church leaders, to this present day, hold a conservative view on
homosexuality and gay rights, and do not support same-sex Marriage, and fight for
policies that support the biblical teachings on marriage and family. This stance is
based on the particular religious perspective concerning the Bible and the role of
marriage according to the holy scriptures. There is also a change in progress within
the evangelical camp hence a section of evangelicalism that wants to dialogue and
therefore review its stance on issues of sexuality and gender. A new generation of
evangelical leaders and churches call for acceptance of gay people in church while
embracing the scripture’s teachings of love, grace, and salvation.
Discernments and discussions in matters such as gender issues, women’s roles
and place in society, marriage, and homosexuality have led to subdivisions within
evangelicalism where some churches and denominations experience internal turmoil
over their stance on such issues in relation to contemporary culture and beliefs.
Evangelicalism’s clash between faith and culture has subsequently remained a definer
of evangelical receptions to social problems, thereby determining their part in more
comprehensive social discourses on human rights and equality .
Response to Secularism and Multiculturalism
Understanding secularism and multiculturalism and Evangelicalism’s
approach to them presents a picture of how the movement has faced a pluralistic and
diverse world. Secularization, with its focus on the loss of the role of religion in
societal and political life and the decreasing dominance of religion in people’s lives,
presents evangelicalism with leadership obstacles in attempts made to uphold a
Christian culture and ethos within political and social spheres.
In return, some evangelical leaders, and organizations fight for freedom of
religion and the defense of evangelicalism. They claim to be able to worship and
preach their religion and beliefs as they choose without the state having dominion
over them and the society discriminating them. Such measures include the utilization
of legal services, policies and lobbying and advocacy by means of popular culture to
protect religious freedom and evangelism in humanitarian services such as education,
healthcare etc.
Multiculturalism in a way opens windows of opportunity to evangelicalism
while at the same time poses threats to it. With the increasing ethnic and cultural
diversity in western societies, the evangelistic churches and ministries are beginning
to place much more emphasis on the attempts to draw closer to the ethnic minorities
in a bid to evangelize them. Missionary work today targets cities and people of
immigrant origins because evangelical church wants to form multicultural fellowships
and ministries demonstrating the diversification of the area.
Multiculturalism poses issues of racial and / or cultural oppression in
evangelicalism to the latter’s face. There has been a slow but progressive crusade by
some evangelical leaders and executive organizations in the recognition and fight
against the systemic racism and other social inequalities, with an yearning for the
reconciliation of occupants of different racism and ethnicity.
Conclusion
Evangelicalism remains an essential paradigm when considering global
Christianity’s impact and contributions to the world’s socio-cultural and political
processes throughout history. In matters of revival movements and missionary
operations as well as the current and sighted interaction with various topics and
issues, evangelicalism displayed flexibility in its functional application.
The Evangelical move has been characterized by elements such as: personal
conversion, scripture, and evangelism and this have greatly helped in the growth and
spread of evangelicalism in different cultures and geographical region. Hence,
evangelicalism has remained a force to reckon with up to date, in subfields like global
missions, social justice and public policy among others.
