Fundamentalism and Evangelicals

This study examines the contentious claim that much evangelicalism is fundamentalist in character. Within Protestantism, the term “fundamentalism” denotes not only a movement but also a mentality which has greatly affected evangelicals, and which involves preserving as factual a reading of scripture as possible. Here the development and dismantling of the fundamentalist mentality is examined in light of philosophical influences upon evangelicalism over the last three centuries, notably: Common Sense, Realism, neo-Calvinism, and modern hermeneutical philosophy. Particular attention is paid to James Barr’s critique of fundamentalism and to evangelical rejoinders.