Fundamentalism & Evangelicalism

The (In)Significance of the Scopes Trial

Why we’re coming apart, and how we might come together again.

“I started to wonder whether religion itself—or at least the kind of Christianity that showed up in the slogans all around me—might really be about something else: southern culture or politics. If so, I thought, that would mean that Jesus is not the Way, the Truth, and the Life, but a means to an end.

“Theologically fraught conspiracy theories have been swirling online, particularly in some evangelical circles. In a recent video posted online, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., similarly suggested — without evidence — a connection between the Mark of the Beast and vaccines.” - NPR

“Towards the end of the book, after assembling her evidence and indicting the totality of evangelical Christianity as White and Patriarchal, she writes: ‘Driscoll, Mahaney, Patrick, MacArthur, and MacDonald had all risen to prominence through their aggressive promotion of patriarchal power.

“So even at least some of the 54% of evangelicals who do intend to get the shot are doing it primarily for themselves, not to stop the spread of the virus to others. As for the 45% who won’t, many of them are looking primarily at the impact on their own health and well-being, rather than that of their neighbors.” - Veith

“There are some who may say that fundamentalism is a failed movement. I do not believe so. But I do believe that pastors must learn the lessons of the past, and even from others in mainstream evangelicalism who are noting their own problems.” - P&D

“The peculiarities of how American Christianity took shape help explain believers’ vulnerability to conspiratorial thinking and misinformation.” - New Yorker

“Yes, to be sure, it had its flaws, but I have no regrets about growing up in the movement and spending my whole life in the thick of it. Except, I deeply regret that I am seeing it crumble and fail. I am not sure there even is such a thing as an American evangelical movement anymore.” - Roger Oleson