Christian fundamentalism

Some Christians follow a special way.

They believe their holy book is true. They think God wrote it. They believe every story in it is real.

These people focus on five main ideas. They believe in the birth of Jesus. They believe he rose from the dead. They also believe in his miracles.

This movement grew in the early 1900s. It began in the United States and Britain.

Some people call them fundamentalists. They work hard to keep their faith strong.

Christian fundamentalism is a religious movement. It began in the late 1800s and early 1900s. This movement started in Britain and the United States.

Many people in this group believe the Bible is perfect. They call this belief biblical inerrancy. They think God inspired every word. This means they believe the Bible has no errors. They often take the words in the Bible very literally.

In 1910, a group listed five main ideas. These are called the "Five Fundamentals." They include the virgin birth of Jesus. They also include the resurrection of Jesus. They believe in his miracles and his death for sin.

Some people use the word "militant" to describe this group. In this case, it means they are very active. They want to defend their faith. Some people call them "evangelicals" instead. This is because some groups want to be less intense. Others still use the name with pride.

Christian fundamentalism is a religious movement with many different parts. It focuses on specific beliefs about the Bible and faith. Many followers emphasize biblical literalism, which means they take the words of the Bible very seriously. They also hold to a belief called cessationism. This movement is not just one single church or group. Instead, it appears in many different denominations. People in this movement often want to protect what they see as the true core of Christianity.

To understand how this movement works, we can look at their core ideas. Many fundamentalists follow a set of beliefs known as the "Five Fundamentals." These ideas include the inspiration of the Bible by the Holy Spirit. They also believe in the virgin birth of Christ and his bodily resurrection. Another key point is that Christ's death was an atonement for sin. Finally, they believe in the historical reality of the miracles of Christ. They often use a method called biblical inerrancy to show that the Bible has no errors.

The history of this movement began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It started as a reaction to new ideas in theology and culture. In 1878, a meeting called the Niagara Bible Conference helped set early foundations. By 1910, the Presbyterian Church issued a statement about doctrinal deliverance. Between 1910 and 1915, a series of essays called "The Fundamentals" was published in Chicago. These essays were written to defend traditional Protestant beliefs. The movement became even more organized in the United States during the 1920s.

There are many specific names and groups to know from this history. The Princeton theology was a major influence on how people viewed the Bible. In 1924, the Dallas Theological Seminary was founded to train students for these churches. Since 1930, many Baptist churches have been part of the Independent Fundamental Churches of America. In 1941, Rev. Carl McIntire founded the American Council of Christian Churches. Another group, the National Association of Evangelicals, was started in 1942 by Harold Ockenga. These groups show how the movement grew into different branches.

Today, the word "fundamentalism" can mean different things to different people. Some people use the word to describe religious extremism or fanaticism. Because of this, some people prefer to call themselves "evangelicals" instead. In the 1940s, some moderate groups chose this name to show they were less militant. Some thinkers also suggest that the movement was a way for people to react to changes in cities. Others say it was a way to defend authentic religion. It remains a very important part of religious history.

Christian fundamentalism is a religious movement defined by its emphasis on biblical literalism and cessationism. It emerged as a specific response to theological liberalism and cultural modernism. This movement focuses on protecting what followers consider the essential doctrines of the Christian faith. Fundamentalists argue that modernist theologians have misunderstood or rejected core truths. They emphasize biblical inerrancy, which is the belief that the Bible is without error. This concept is central to their approach to interpreting sacred texts.

The movement operates through a specific set of core theological pillars. Many followers adhere to what are known as the "Five Fundamentals." These were influenced by the Presbyterian Church's "Doctrinal Deliverance of 1910." The first pillar is the inspiration of the Bible by the Holy Spirit. This leads to the doctrine of biblical inerrancy, or the belief that Scripture is errorless. The second pillar is the virgin birth of Jesus Christ. The third is the belief that Christ's death served as an atonement for sin. The fourth is the bodily resurrection of Christ. The fifth is the historical reality of the miracles performed by Christ.

Fundamentalism is not a single denomination or a single systematic theology. Instead, it manifests across various denominations that share these core beliefs. For example, Reformed fundamentalists place heavy emphasis on historic confessions like the Westminster Confession of Faith. They also uphold the specific traditions of Princeton theology. In the Baptist tradition, many churches align with the Independent Fundamental Churches of America. This group was later renamed the IFCA International in 1996. In the Methodist tradition, some conservative groups follow the Interchurch Holiness Convention.

The history of the movement traces back to the late 19th century. A significant early milestone occurred in 1878 at the Niagara Bible Conference. During this meeting, evangelical pastors established 14 fundamental beliefs. The movement gained significant momentum between 1910 and 1915. During this time, a twelve-volume set of essays called "The Fundamentals" was published in Chicago. These essays were written by conservative Protestant theologians to defend Protestant orthodoxy. By the 1920s, the movement became much more organized within U.S. Protestant churches.

Specific institutions played a major role in spreading these ideas. Princeton Seminary was a key influence during the 19th century. Its theologians developed the doctrine of inerrancy to respond to higher criticism of the Bible. Professor Charles Hodge argued that God "breathed" exact thoughts into biblical writers. In 1924, the Dallas Theological Seminary was founded in Dallas, Texas. This school trained many students who then established independent Bible colleges. These colleges and churches helped spread fundamentalism throughout the southern United States.

In the mid-20th century, the movement experienced important internal shifts. During the 1940s, a split occurred regarding how to interact with modern culture. One group chose to separate themselves from modernity entirely. The American Council of Christian Churches, founded in 1941 by Carl McIntire, represented this view. Another group wanted to remain culturally engaged. The National Association of Evangelicals was founded in 1942 by Harold Ockenga to represent this moderate stance. This distinction helped separate the more moderate "evangelicals" from the more militant fundamentalists.

Scholars have offered many different interpretations of why this movement exists. In the 1930s, some saw it as a conflict between city and country life. Others in the 1950s viewed it as a form of anti-intellectualism. By the late 1960s, some scholars began to see it as a legitimate intellectual movement. They argued that fundamentalists were simply intellectual in a different way than their opponents. Some researchers also link the movement to "millennialism," the belief in a future thousand-year reign of Christ. This complex history shows how the movement connects to broader social and theological changes.