The Multiple Identities of Evangelicalism

As part of my ongoing exploration of the representation of evangelicals in the media, I think that it is important that I attempt to assemble something of a definition of what I mean by this term - the best way to do that is to tap into other people's thoughts who've been at it far longer than I have!

The term 'evangelical' has sparked a large amount of debate in recent years because it's a representative term of a group of people that span the gamut of ethnicity, nation, socio-economics etc. etc. It's not surprising considering that evangelicals are a part of the 'Protest'-ant sub-grouping of Christians.

It's possible to idenitfy Evangelicalis by the common elements which unite this group, but it's also possible to provide a broader definition of this group on the variety or multiplicity of representations. It is this unity in diversity which I would like to concentrate on in for my paper - because there seems to be very little variety that is being represented in the media when it comes to evangelicals.

Here are a few examples of the debate over the past couple of decades:

A. Richard Quebedeaux - The Young Evangelicals (1974)
> Identifies five evangelical subgroups

B. Timothy L Smith - Religion and ethnicity in America (1978)
> Historians are inclined to see many traditions, movements, and theologies within evangelicalism

C. Donald W Dayton & Robert K Johnston (eds.) - The variety of American evangelicalism (1991)

(Timothy Weber's chapter)
"Defining evangelicalism has become one of the biggest problems in American religious historiography. At best, 'evangelicalism' is a diverse movement which at times seems to have more dividing it than uniting it. In fact, some observers find it nearly impossible to speak of evangelicalism as a single entity and prefer to see it in terms of its constituent parts. Timothy Smith speaks for many scholars when he calls evangelicalism a mosaic or even a kaleidoscope." (p.12)

"It would be foolhardy to deny or downplay evangelical diversity. American evangelicalism is no monolith and never has been. But nothing is gained by ignoring its underlying unity. Evangelicals have argued, competed, and even condemned each other; and most have insisted that their brand of evangelicalism is far superior to all others. But even in their worst moments, most evangelicals have recognized that the evangelical house has many rooms and that the similarities that bind evangelicals together are stronger than the differences that pull them apart. (p.12)

1. Classical evangelicals - loyal primarily to the doctrines of the Protestant Reformation
2. Pietistic evangelicals - stand in the Reformation tradition, but seek to complete it by incorporating the experiential emphasis in pietism
3. Fundamentalist evangelicals - shaped by the debates of the fundamentalist-modernist controversy
4. Progressive/ New-evangelicals - incorporate branches from the other branches but do so with a conscious sense of modernity.

Similarities
1. Scriptures are divinely inspired and therefore the ultimate source for believing and living
2. Jesus Christ is the incarnate Son of God, whose ministry was characterized by supernatural power and authority
3. Personal salvation is rooted in the grace of God, not human works, and is mediated to sinners through faith in Jesus Christ alone
4. Christian conversion implies a life commited to holiness and to Christ's ongoing mission in the world

D. Robert E Webber - The younger evangelicals: Facing the challenges of the new world (2002)

Evangelicals stand in continuity with each other throughout the history of the church - this commonality is expressed through four uses of the word evangelical:

A. Biblical - euangelion - the good news that salvation has arrived in Jesus Christ

B. Theological - those who affirm Scripture as the authoritative Word of God and accepts the creeds of the early church as accurate reflections of the gospel

C. Historical - all those movements in history that have attempted to restore a vital historic Christianity to the church at those moments when the church has become dead in spirit or has departed from the faith of the fathers.

D. Cultural - defined by the biblical, theological, and historical use of the term but goes one step further to be rooted in a particular paradigm of thought (p.14)

Who are younger evangelicals?

1. Those who are young in age.
2. Those who are young in spirit - who constitute a new kind of leader for the 21st century.

"The younger evangelical wants to release the historic substance of faith from its twentieth century enculturation in the Enlightenment and recontextualize it with the new cultural condition of the twenty-first century." (p.17)

"In all things necessary there must be unity, in things less than necessary there must be liberty, and in all things there must be charity."

E. Dave Tomlinson - The post-evangelical (2003)

In recent years, there has been a growing movement of evangelicals who have sought to redefine themselves as other-than-what-you-know-as-evangelical evangelicals... Some have used the term 'post' evangelical to distinguish themselves. This grouping has also become associated with the 'emergent' group of evangelicals - which has grown out of debates regarding the implications of evangelicals living in a post-modern world.

Does this represent a fragmentation or deconstruction of evangelical identity, or is this another example of radical difference existing within the multiplicity of evangelical identities?

What are your thoughts?