Evangelicalism

Evangelicalism is a diverse Protestant movement marked by emphasis on the Bible’s authority, personal conversion through faith in Jesus Christ, and sharing the Christian gospel.

Biblical authority: The belief that the Bible has binding authority for Christian faith and practice. Evangelicals commonly treat biblical authority as a defining commitment.
First Great Awakening: An eighteenth-century Protestant revival in Britain’s American colonies that emphasized personal religious experience. Its revival preaching helped shape evangelical conversion and outreach in North America.
Jonathan Edwards: An eighteenth-century American theologian and preacher associated with the First Great Awakening. His revival theology joined intense conversion experience with Reformed doctrine.
Fundamentalist Christianity: A Protestant movement that arose in the early twentieth century to defend doctrines viewed as fundamental against modernist theology. Fundamentalism shares evangelical commitments but developed a more defensive boundary-setting identity.
Born again: A Christian description of spiritual rebirth through turning to God and receiving new life in Christ. Personal conversion is often described in evangelical settings as being born again.
John Wesley: An eighteenth-century English cleric and theologian who helped found Methodism. Wesleyan preaching and organization helped form the evangelical revival tradition.
William Wilberforce: A British politician and evangelical Christian who led parliamentary efforts to abolish the slave trade. His activism illustrates evangelical engagement with social reform.
Mainline Protestantism: A group of historically established Protestant denominations in the United States, including Episcopalian, Presbyterian, and Methodist bodies. The contrast highlights differing institutional histories and typical approaches to theology and public life.
Atonement: The Christian doctrine that Christ’s death reconciles humanity to God and addresses sin. Evangelical preaching often centers on Christ’s saving death and resurrection.
George Whitefield: An eighteenth-century Anglican preacher whose itinerant ministry helped spread revivalism across Britain and America. His cross-Atlantic preaching made revival conversion a public evangelical model.

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