Fundamentalism & Evangelicalism

The biblical doctrine of separation is difficult to discuss. I’ve read, listened to, and participated in quite a few exchanges over the years. More often than not, no movement toward consensus, or even increase in clarity, seemed to result. It’s not unusual for a discussion on the topic to end with—apparently—less mutual understanding than existed at the start, despite the fact that everybody involved seems to genuinely desire to know, live, and teach what the Scriptures require of us. (By the way, long before Internet, this sort of back and forth was going on in magazines, newsletters and pamphlets. It just moved slower in those days.)

So why is the topic so messy?

I don’t fully understand why clarity about separation is so elusive. I do continue to believe, though, that there is ultimately no reason why the various perspectives on the subject can’t be clearly distinguished from one another in accurate and mutually-accepted terms. In other words, though we’re unlikely to ever see complete agreement between conservative evangelicals, 20th century-style movement-fundamentalists, and all the miscellaneous-other among us, it really is possible to reach a point where the differences among us are clear, well understood, and debated mostly on-point—to the benefit of all who seek to know and obey the truth.

Oceanographers sometimes encounter “dead zones”: areas of seawater nearly void of aquatic life. Cellular telephone users also encounter dead zones: areas of landmasses nearly void of signal coverage. Christian fundamentalism has its own variety of dead zones: areas of humanity nearly void of Great Commission efforts. America’s secular college campuses are usually prime examples.

Historian George Marsden’s The Soul of the American University includes a vivid portrayal of the circumstances and events that led to such an untenable situation. It will suffice here to know that it was the fundamentalist/modernist conflict of the early 20th century that ultimately drove a lasting wedge between fundamentalism and America’s secular colleges, public and private. That division continues largely unreconciled today, to the continuing detriment of both.

Obviously this does not mean that fundamentalists are absent from secular campuses today. On the contrary: self-identified fundamentalists are present in large numbers as students, staff, and faculty members at secular campuses nationwide. What it does mean is that fundamentalism—as a distinct subgroup of broader Christian evangelicalism—long ago collectively renounced secular colleges. As secular campuses became less hospitable to Christianity, fundamentalism often uncharacteristically retreated.