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Evangelicalism (/ˌiːvænˈdʒɛlɪkəlɪzəm, ˌɛvæn-, -ən-/), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that emphasizes the centrality of sharing the "good news" of Christianity, being "born again" in which an individual experiences personal conversion, as authoritatively guided by the Bible, God's revelation to humanity.^{[1][2][3][4][5]} The word evangelical comes from the Greek word for 'good news' (euangelion).^[6]

The theological nature of evangelicalism was first explored during the Protestant Reformation in 16th century Europe. Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses in 1517 emphasized that scripture and the preaching of the gospel had ultimate authority over the practices of the Church. The origins of modern evangelicalism are usually traced to 1738, with various theological streams contributing to its foundation, including Pietism and Radical Pietism, Puritanism, Quakerism and Moravianism (in particular its bishop Nicolaus Zinzendorf and his community at Herrnhut).^[7][8][9] Preeminently, John Wesley and other early Methodists were at the root of sparking this new movement during the First Great Awakening. Today, evangelicals are found across many Protestant branches, as well as in various denominations around the world, not subsumed to a specific branch.^[10] Among leaders and major figures of the evangelical Protestant movement were Nicolaus Zinzendorf, George Fox, John Wesley, George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, Billy Graham, Bill Bright, Harold Ockenga, Gudina Tumsa, John Stott, Francisco Olazábal, William J. Seymour, and Martyn Lloyd-Jones.^{[7][9][11][12][13]}

The movement has long had a presence in the Anglosphere before spreading further afield in the 19th, 20th, and early 21st centuries. The movement gained significant momentum during the 18th and 19th centuries with the Great Awakening in the United States and Great Britain.

As of 2016,^[update] there were an estimated 619 million evangelicals in the world, meaning that one in four Christians would be classified as evangelical.^[14] The United States has the largest proportion of evangelicals in the world.^[15] American evangelicals are a quarter of the nation's population and its single largest religious group.^[16][17] As a transdenominational coalition, evangelicals can be found in nearly every Protestant denomination and tradition, particularly within the Reformed (Continental Reformed, Anglicanism, Presbyterian, Congregational), Plymouth Brethren, Baptist, Methodist (Wesleyan–Arminian), Lutheran, Moravian, Free Church, Mennonite, Quaker, Pentecostal/charismatic and non-denominational churches.^{[18][19][20][21][12]}

Terminology

The word evangelical has its etymological roots in the Greek word for 'gospel' or 'good news': εὐαγγέλιον euangelion, from eu 'good', angel- the stem of, among other words, angelos 'messenger, angel', and the neuter suffix -ion.^[22] By the English Middle Ages, the term had expanded semantically to include not only the message, but also the New Testament which contained the message as well as more specifically the Gospels, which portray the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.^[23] The first published use of evangelical in English was in 1531, when William Tyndale wrote "He exhorteth them to proceed constantly in the evangelical truth." One year later, Thomas More wrote the earliest recorded use in reference to a theological distinction when he spoke of "Tyndale his evangelical brother Barns."^[24]

During the Reformation, Protestant theologians embraced the term as referring to "gospel truth." Martin Luther referred to the evangelische Kirche ("evangelical church") to distinguish Protestants from Catholics in the Catholic Church.^[25][26] Into the 21st century, evangelical has continued in use as a synonym for Mainline Protestant in continental Europe. This usage is reflected in the names of Protestant denominations, such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.^[23] The German term evangelisch more accurately corresponds to the broad English term Protestant^[27] and should not be confused with the narrower German term evangelikal, or the term pietistisch (a term etymologically related to the Pietist and Radical Pietist movements), which are used to described Evangelicalism in the sense used in this article. Mainline Protestant denominations with a Lutheran or semi-Lutheran background, like the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of England, who are not evangelical in the evangelikal sense but Protestant in the evangelisch sense, have translated the German term evangelisch (or Protestant) into the English term Evangelical, although the two German words have different meanings.^[27] In other parts of the world, especially in the English-speaking world, evangelical (German: evangelikal or pietistisch) is commonly applied to describe the interdenominational Born-Again believing movement.^{[28][29][30][31][32]}

Christian historian David W. Bebbington writes that, "Although 'evangelical,' with a lower-case initial, is occasionally used to mean 'of the gospel,' the term 'Evangelical' with a capital letter, is applied to any aspect of the movement beginning in the 1730s."^[33] According to the Oxford English Dictionary, evangelicalism was first used in 1831.^[34] In 1812, the term evangelicalism appeared in The History of Lynn by William Richards.^[35] In the summer of 1811 the term evangelicalists was used in The Sin and Danger of Schism by Rev. Dr. Andrew Burnaby, Archdeacon of Leicester.^[36]

The term may also be used outside any religious context to characterize a generic missionary, reforming, or redeeming impulse or purpose. For example, The Times Literary Supplement refers to "the rise and fall of evangelical fervor within the Socialist movement."^[37] This usage refers to evangelism, rather than evangelicalism as discussed here; though sharing an etymology and conceptual basis, the words have diverged significantly in meaning.

Beliefs

One influential definition of evangelicalism has been proposed by historian David Bebbington.^[38] Bebbington notes four distinctive aspects of evangelical faith: conversionism, biblicism, crucicentrism, and activism, noting, "Together they form a quadrilateral of priorities that is the basis of Evangelicalism."^[39]

Conversionism, or belief in the necessity of being "born again," has been a constant theme of evangelicalism since its beginnings.^[3] To evangelicals, the central message of the gospel is justification by faith in Christ and repentance, or turning away, from sin. Conversion differentiates the Christian from the non-Christian, and the change in life it leads to is marked by both a rejection of sin and a corresponding personal holiness of life. A conversion experience can be emotional, including grief and sorrow for sin followed by great relief at receiving forgiveness. The stress on conversion differentiates evangelicalism from other forms of Protestantism by the associated belief that an assurance will accompany conversion.^[40] Among evangelicals, individuals have testified to both sudden and gradual conversions.^[41][42]

Biblicism is reverence for the Bible and high regard for biblical authority. All evangelicals believe in biblical inspiration, though they disagree over how this inspiration should be defined. Many evangelicals believe in biblical inerrancy, while other evangelicals believe in biblical infallibility.^[43]

Crucicentrism is the centrality that evangelicals give to the Atonement, the saving death and the resurrection of Jesus, that offers forgiveness of sins and new life. This is understood most commonly in terms of a substitutionary atonement, in which Christ died as a substitute for sinful humanity by taking on himself the guilt and punishment for sin.^[44]

Activism describes the tendency toward active expression and sharing of the gospel in diverse ways that include preaching and social action. This aspect of evangelicalism continues to be seen today in the proliferation of evangelical voluntary religious groups and parachurch organizations.^[45]

Church government and organizations

The word church has several meanings among evangelicals. It can refer to the universal church (the body of Christ) including all Christians everywhere.^[46] It can also refer to the church (congregation), which is the visible representation of the invisible church. It is responsible for teaching and administering the sacraments or ordinances (baptism and the Lord's Supper, but some evangelicals also count footwashing as an ordinance as well).^[47]

Many evangelical traditions adhere to the doctrine of the believers' Church, which teaches that one becomes a member of the Church by the new birth and profession of faith.^[48][21] This originated in the Radical Reformation with Anabaptists^[49] but is held by denominations that practice believer's baptism.^[50] Evangelicals in the Anglican, Methodist and Reformed traditions practice infant baptism as one's initiation into the community of faith and the New Testament counterpart to circumcision, while also stressing the necessity of personal conversion later in life for salvation.^[51][52][53]

Some evangelical denominations operate according to episcopal polity or presbyterian polity. However, the most common form of church government within Evangelicalism is congregational polity. This is especially common among nondenominational evangelical churches.^[54] Many churches are members of a national and international denomination for a cooperative relationship in common organizations, for the mission and social areas, such as humanitarian aid, schools, theological institutes and hospitals.^{[55][56][57][58]} Common ministries within evangelical congregations are pastor, elder, deacon, evangelist and worship leader.^[59] The ministry of bishop with a function of supervision over churches on a regional or national scale is present in all the Evangelical Christian denominations, even if the titles president of the council or general overseer are mainly used for this function.^[60][61] The term bishop is explicitly used in certain denominations.^[62] Some evangelical denominations are members of the World Evangelical Alliance and its 129 national alliances.^[63]

Some evangelical denominations officially authorize the ordination of women in churches.^[64] The female ministry is justified by the fact that Mary Magdalene was chosen by Jesus to announce his resurrection to the apostles.^[65] The first Baptist woman who was consecrated pastor is the American Clarissa Danforth in the denomination Free Will Baptist in 1815.^[66] In 1882, in the American Baptist Churches USA.^[67] In the Assemblies of God of the United States, since 1927.^[68] In 1965, in the National Baptist Convention, USA.^[69] In 1969, in the Progressive National Baptist Convention.^[70] In 1975, in The Foursquare Church.^[71]

Worship service

For evangelicals, there are three interrelated meanings to the term worship. It can refer to living a "God-pleasing and God-focused way of life," specific actions of praise to God, and a public worship service.^[72] Diversity characterizes evangelical worship practices. Liturgical, contemporary, charismatic and seeker-sensitive worship styles can all be found among evangelical churches. Overall, evangelicals tend to be more flexible and experimental with worship practices than mainline Protestant churches.^[73] It is usually run by a Christian pastor. A service is often divided into several parts, including congregational singing, a sermon, intercessory prayer, and other ministry.^{[74][75][76][77]} During worship there is usually a nursery for babies.^[78] Children and young people receive an adapted education, Sunday school, in a separate room.^[79]

Places of worship are usually called "churches."^[80][81][82] In some megachurches, the building is called "campus."^[83][84] The architecture of places of worship is mainly characterized by its sobriety.^[85][86] The Latin cross is one of the only spiritual symbols that can usually be seen on the building of an evangelical church and that identifies the place's belonging.^[87][88]

Some services take place in theaters, schools or multipurpose rooms, rented for Sunday only.^[89][90][91] Because of their understanding of the second of the Ten Commandments, some evangelicals do not have religious material representations such as statues, icons, or paintings in their places of worship.^[92][93] There is usually a baptistery on what is variously known as the chancel (also called sanctuary) or stage, though they may be alternatively found in a separate room, for the baptisms by immersion.^[94][95]

In some countries of the world which apply sharia or communism, government authorizations for worship are complex for Evangelical Christians.^[96][97][98] Because of persecution of Christians, Evangelical house churches are the only option for many Christians to live their faith in community.^[99] For example, there is the Evangelical house churches in China movement.^[100] The meetings thus take place in private houses, in secret and in illegality.^[101]

The main Christian feasts celebrated by the Evangelicals are Christmas, Pentecost (by a majority of Evangelical denominations) and Easter for all believers.^{[102][103][104]}

Education

Evangelical churches have been involved in the establishment of elementary and secondary schools.^[105] It also enabled the development of several bible colleges, colleges and universities in the United States during the 19th century.^[106][107] Other evangelical universities have been established in various countries of the world.^[108]

The Council for Christian Colleges and Universities was founded in 1976.^[109][110] In 2023, the CCCU had 185 members in 21 countries.^[111]

The Association of Christian Schools International was founded in 1978 by 3 American associations of evangelical Christian schools.^[112] Various international schools have joined the network.^[113] In 2023, it had 23,000 schools in 100 countries.^[114]

The International Council for Evangelical Theological Education was founded in 1980 by the Theological Commission of the World Evangelical Alliance.^[115] In 2023, it had 850 member schools in 113 countries.^[116]

Sexuality

In matters of sexuality, several evangelical churches promote the virginity pledge (abstinence pledge) among young evangelical Christians, who are invited to commit themselves, during a public ceremony, to sexual abstinence until Christian marriage.^[117] This pledge is often symbolized by a purity ring.^[118] Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=Evangelical_Christian
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