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129-625: The Presbyterian Church in the United States of America has its roots in the territory of the Synod of the Trinity, which was founded as the Synod of Philadelphia in 1717 following the division of the Presbytery of Philadelphia into three presbyteries (Philadelphia, New Castle , and Long Island ), with the synod as a superior body. After the Presbytery of New Brunswick was expelled from

258-426: A "Northern church", it was once again a national denomination in its later years. Over time, traditional Calvinism played less of a role in shaping the church's doctrines and practices—it was influenced by Arminianism and revivalism early in the 19th century, liberal theology late in the 19th century, and neo-orthodoxy by the mid-20th century. The theological tensions within the denomination were played out in

387-459: A cause'. Marsden saw fundamentalism arising from a number of preexisting evangelical movements that responded to various perceived threats by joining forces. He argued that Christian fundamentalists were American evangelical Christians who in the 20th century opposed "both modernism in theology and the cultural changes that modernism endorsed. Militant opposition to modernism was what most clearly set off fundamentalism." Others viewing militancy as

516-464: A core characteristic of the fundamentalist movement include Philip Melling, Ung Kyu Pak and Ronald Witherup. Donald McKim and David Wright (1992) argue that "in the 1920s, militant conservatives (fundamentalists) united to mount a conservative counter-offensive. Fundamentalists sought to rescue their denominations from the growth of modernism at home." According to Marsden, recent scholars differentiate "fundamentalists" from "evangelicals" by arguing

645-420: A defeat, but Bryan's death soon afterward created a leadership void that no other fundamentalist leader could fill. Unlike the other fundamentalist leaders, Bryan brought name recognition, respectability, and the ability to forge a broad-based coalition of fundamentalist religious groups to argue in favor of the anti-evolutionist position. Gatewood (1969) analyzes the transition from the anti-evolution crusade of

774-402: A psychology than a theology," with characteristics shared by competing Christian theologies and competing religions. According French, that psychology is one that shares "three key traits": certainty (of a mind unclouded by doubt), ferocity (against perceived enemies of their religion) and solidarity (of "comrades in the foxhole", a virtue surpassing even piety in importance). The latter half of

903-552: A result, most of the local churches established by the organization were Presbyterian. Another major stimulus for growth was the Second Great Awakening (c. 1790 – 1840), which initially grew out of a 1787 student revival at Hampden–Sydney College , a Presbyterian institution in Virginia. From there, revivals spread to Presbyterian churches in Virginia and then to North Carolina and Kentucky. The Revival of 1800

1032-737: A work of God. In the early 1770s, American Presbyterians were initially reluctant to support American Independence, but in time many Presbyterians came to support the Revolutionary War . After the Battles of Lexington and Concord , the Synod of New York and Philadelphia published a letter in May 1775 urging Presbyterians to support the Second Continental Congress while remaining loyal to George III . In one sermon, John Witherspoon , president of Princeton, preached "that

1161-577: Is a violation of the Racial and Religious Hatred Act of 2006. The movement has its origins in 1878 in a meeting of the "Believers' Meeting for Bible Study" ( Niagara Bible Conference ) in the United States, where 14 fundamental beliefs were established by evangelical pastors. Fundamentalism draws from multiple traditions in British and American theologies during the 19th century. According to authors Robert D. Woodberry and Christian S. Smith, Following

1290-672: Is infrequent, although there are fundamentalist denominations. Reformed fundamentalism includes those denominations in the Reformed tradition (which includes the Continental Reformed , Presbyterian , Reformed Anglican and Reformed Baptist Churches) who adhere to the doctrine of biblical infallibility and lay heavy emphasis on historic confessions of faith, such as the Westminster Confession . Examples of Reformed fundamentalist denominations include

1419-578: Is not very different". According to Olson, a key event was the formation of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) in 1942. Barry Hankins (2008) has a similar view, saying "beginning in the 1940s....militant and separatist evangelicals came to be called fundamentalists, while culturally engaged and non-militant evangelicals were supposed to be called evangelicals." Timothy Weber views fundamentalism as "a rather distinctive modern reaction to religious, social and intellectual changes of

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1548-805: Is often based around the Russian Orthodox Church or the Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church . Orthodox Christian fundamentalism was often connected strongly to a sense of Russian nationalism , since the Russian Orthodox Church often has a strong connection to the Russian state . This Church-state connection has arguably existed since the time of Vladimir the Great 's conversion. In 2013, composer Andrei Kormukhin and athlete Vladimir Nosov founded

1677-459: Is sometimes mistakenly confused with the term evangelical . The term fundamentalism entered the English language in 1922, and it is often capitalized when it is used in reference to the religious movement. By the end of the 20th century, the term fundamentalism acquired a pejorative connotation, denoting religious fanaticism or extremism , especially when such labeling extended beyond

1806-766: Is the International Network of Churches , formerly known as the "Christian Outreach Centre". A former influential group was the Logos Foundation . The Logos Foundation, led by Howard Carter , was a controversial Christian ministry in the 1970s and 1980s that promoted Reconstructionist , Restorationist , and Dominionist theology. They also actively campaigned for several candidates for Queensland, Australia public office that shared their values (e.g., anti-abortion). The Logos Foundation disbanded shortly after an adulterous affair by Carter became public in 1990. In Russia , Christian fundamentalism

1935-517: Is to see a return of the Russian Tsar as supreme autocrat of Russia . The group as a particular affinity for Tsar Nicolas II . The group has at times referred to Russian president Vladimir Putin as a modern Tsar, though it is unclear as to whether or not this is a message of support for Putin or not. Bible Baptist Churches, Fundamental Baptist Churches or Independent Baptist Churches refuse any form of ecclesial authority other than that of

2064-822: The American upper class , Harvard University ; and the Episcopal and the Presbyterian Church. Old money in the United States was typically associated with White Anglo-Saxon Protestant ("WASP") status, particularly with the Episcopal and Presbyterian Church. Briggs' heresy trial was a setback to the movement for confessional revision, which wanted to soften the Westminster Confession's Calvinistic doctrines of predestination and election . Nevertheless, overtures continued to come before

2193-679: The Associate Reformed Church , to form the United Foreign Missionary Society. The United Society was particularly focused on work among Native Americans and inhabitants of Central and South America. These denominations also established a United Domestic Missionary Society to station missionaries within the United States. In 1826, the Congregationalists joined these united efforts. The Congregational mission societies were merged with

2322-490: The Association of Independent Methodists , which is fundamentalist in its theological orientation. By the 1970s Protestant fundamentalism was deeply entrenched and concentrated in the U.S. South. In 1972–1980 General Social Surveys , 65 percent of respondents from the "East South Central" region (comprising Tennessee , Kentucky , Mississippi , and Alabama ) self-identified as fundamentalist. The share of fundamentalists

2451-495: The Civil War , tensions developed between Northern evangelical leaders over Darwinism and higher biblical criticism ; Southerners remained unified in their opposition to both. ... Modernists attempted to update Christianity to match their view of science. They denied biblical miracles and argued that God manifests himself through the social evolution of society. Conservatives resisted these changes. These latent tensions rose to

2580-823: The Constitution and Federal Government of the United States . In response, representatives of Old School presbyteries in the South met in December at Augusta, Georgia, to form the Presbyterian Church in the Confederate States of America . The Presbyterian Church in the CSA absorbed the smaller United Synod in 1864. After the Confederacy's defeat in 1865, it was renamed the Presbyterian Church in

2709-794: The Fundamentalist–Modernist Controversy of the 1920s and 1930s, a conflict that led to the development of Christian fundamentalism and has historical importance to modern American evangelicalism . Conservatives dissatisfied with liberal trends left to form the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in 1936. The origins of the Presbyterian Church is the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. The writings of French theologian and lawyer John Calvin (1509–64) solidified much of

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2838-828: The Independent Baptist movement. By the late 1920s the national media had identified it with the South, largely ignoring manifestations elsewhere. In the mid-twentieth century, several Methodists left the mainline Methodist Church and established fundamental Methodist denominations, such as the Evangelical Methodist Church and the Fundamental Methodist Conference (cf. conservative holiness movement ); others preferred congregating in Independent Methodist churches, many of which are affiliated with

2967-618: The King James Version , a position known as King James Onlyism . Fundamental Methodism includes several connexions , such as the Evangelical Methodist Church and Fundamental Methodist Conference , along with their seminaries such as Breckbill Bible College . Additionally, Methodist connexions in the conservative holiness movement , such as the Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection and Evangelical Methodist Church Conference , herald

3096-615: The Orthodox Presbyterian Church and the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster . Fundamentalists' literal interpretation of the Bible has been criticized by practitioners of biblical criticism for failing to take into account the circumstances in which the Christian Bible was written. Critics claim that this "literal interpretation" is not in keeping with the message which the scripture intended to convey when it

3225-561: The Pentateuch was authored by Moses or that the book of Isaiah had a single author. In addition, he also denied that Biblical prophecy was a precise prediction of the future. In 1891, Briggs preached a sermon in which he claimed the Bible contained errors, a position many in the church considered contrary to the Westminster Confession's doctrines of verbal inspiration and Biblical inerrancy . In response, 63 presbyteries petitioned

3354-653: The Reformed thinking that came before him in the form of the sermons and writings of Huldrych Zwingli . John Knox , a former Catholic priest from Scotland who studied with Calvin in Geneva, Switzerland , took Calvin's teachings back to Scotland and led the Scottish Reformation of 1560. As a result, the Church of Scotland embraced Reformed theology and presbyterian polity . The Ulster Scots brought their Presbyterian faith with them to Ireland, where they laid

3483-591: The Russian far-right , including neo-Nazis and Third Positionists . The Sorok Sorokov Movement has its own political party as well, called For the Family . Many far-right Russian Christian nationalists have been highly supportive of Russia's unprovoked war with Ukraine . One such group supportive of Russian Orthodox Christian fundamentalist-nationalism is the Union of Orthodox Banner-Bearers . Known for their book burnings and political rallies , their primary goal

3612-599: The Second Coming of Jesus Christ . Fundamentalism manifests itself in various denominations which believe in various theologies, rather than a single denomination or a systematic theology . The ideology became active in the 1910s after the release of The Fundamentals , a twelve-volume set of essays, apologetic and polemic , written by conservative Protestant theologians in an attempt to defend beliefs which they considered Protestant orthodoxy . The movement became more organized within U.S. Protestant churches in

3741-601: The Synod of Ulster already required clergy to subscribe to the Westminster Confession . In 1729, the synod passed the Adopting Act , which required clergy to assent to the Westminster Confession and Larger and Shorter Catechisms . However, subscription was only required for those parts of the Confession deemed an "essential and necessary article of faith". Ministers could declare any scruples to their presbytery or

3870-412: The Synod of West Virginia to form the Synod of Pennsylvania-West Virginia. Finally, when church reunion occurred in 1983, presbyteries in a portion of eastern Ohio were joined to the synod and the name was changed to the Synod of the Trinity. The Presbyterian Historical Society shows 81 Presbyterian/Reformed historic sites registered within the bounds of the synod. There are sixteen presbyteries in

3999-723: The anxious bench , and prayer groups . Albert Baldwin Dod accused Finney of preaching Pelagianism and urged him to leave the Presbyterian Church. Finney did just that in 1836 when he joined the Congregational church as pastor of the Broadway Tabernacle in New York City. The Old School faction was convinced that the Plan of Union with the Congregational churches had undermined Presbyterian doctrine and order. At

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4128-440: The five "fundamentals" in 1910, namely The Princeton theology , which responded to higher criticism of the Bible by developing from the 1840s to 1920 the doctrine of inerrancy, was another influence in the movement. This doctrine, also called biblical inerrancy, stated that the Bible was divinely inspired, religiously authoritative, and without error. The Princeton Seminary professor of theology Charles Hodge insisted that

4257-535: The free will teaching of Arminianism , thereby rejecting the Calvinist doctrines of predestination . Facing charges of heresy for their Arminian beliefs, Presbyterian ministers Richard McNemar and John Thompson, along with Barton W. Stone and two other ministers, chose to withdraw from the Kentucky Synod and form the independent Springfield Presbytery in 1803. These ministers would later dissolve

4386-514: The "New Side", and their conservative opponents, known as the "Old Side". While the Old Side and New Side disagreed over the possibility of immediate assurance of salvation , the controversy was not primarily theological. Both sides believed in justification by faith , predestination , and that regeneration occurred in stages. In 1738, the synod moved to restrict itinerant preaching and to tighten educational requirements for ministers, actions

4515-702: The 1837 General Assembly, the Old School majority successfully passed resolutions removing all judicatories found under the Plan from the Presbyterian Church. In total, three synods in New York and one synod in Ohio along with 28 presbyteries, 509 ministers, and 60 thousand church members (one-fifth of the PCUSA's membership) were excluded from the church. New School leaders reacted by meeting in Auburn, New York, and issuing

4644-411: The 1920s devoted themselves to fighting against the teaching of evolution in the nation's schools and colleges, especially by passing state laws that affected public schools. William Bell Riley took the initiative in the 1925 Scopes Trial by bringing in famed politician William Jennings Bryan and hiring him to serve as an assistant to the local prosecutor, who helped draw national media attention to

4773-443: The 1920s to the creation science movement of the 1960s. Despite some similarities between these two causes, the creation science movement represented a shift from religious to pseudoscientific objections to Darwin's theory. Creation science also differed in terms of popular leadership, rhetorical tone, and sectional focus. It lacked a prestigious leader like Bryan, utilized pseudoscientific argument rather than religious rhetoric, and

4902-659: The 1920s, Christian fundamentalists "differed on how to understand the account of creation in Genesis" but they "agreed that God was the author of creation and that humans were distinct creatures, separate from animals, and made in the image of God." While some of them advocated the belief in Old Earth creationism and a few of them even advocated the belief in evolutionary creation , other "strident fundamentalists" advocated Young Earth Creationism and "associated evolution with last-days atheism." These "strident fundamentalists" in

5031-407: The 1920s, especially among Presbyterians , as well as Baptists and Methodists . Many churches which embraced fundamentalism adopted a militant attitude with regard to their core beliefs. Reformed fundamentalists lay heavy emphasis on historic confessions of faith , such as the Westminster Confession of Faith , as well as uphold Princeton theology . Since 1930, many fundamentalist churches in

5160-408: The 1930s, fundamentalism was viewed by many as a "last gasp" vestige of something from the past but more recently, scholars have shifted away from that view. In the early 1940s, evangelicals and fundamentalist Christians began to part ways over whether to separate from modern culture (the fundamentalist approach) or engage with it. An organization very much on the side of separation from modernity

5289-573: The 1930s, including H. Richard Niebuhr , understood the conflict between fundamentalism and modernism to be part of a broader social conflict between the cities and the country. In this view the fundamentalists were country and small-town dwellers who were reacting against the progressivism of city dwellers. Fundamentalism was seen as a form of anti-intellectualism during the 1950s; in the early 1960s American intellectual and historian Richard Hofstadter interpreted it in terms of status anxiety, social displacement, and 'Manichean mentality'. Beginning in

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5418-820: The 1980s, the Christian Right began to have a major impact on American politics. In the 1980s and 1990s, the Christian Right was influencing elections and policy with groups such as the Family Research Council (founded 1981 by James Dobson ) and the Christian Coalition (formed in 1989 by Pat Robertson ) helping conservative politicians, especially Republicans , to win state and national elections. A major organization of fundamentalist, pentecostal churches in Australia

5547-621: The Auburn Declaration, a 16-point defense of their Calvinist orthodoxy. When the General Assembly met in May 1838 at Philadelphia, the New School commissioners attempted to be seated but were forced to leave and convene their own General Assembly elsewhere in the city. The Old School and New School factions had finally split into two separate churches that were about equal in size. Both churches, however, claimed to be

5676-1139: The Baptist tradition (who generally affirm dispensationalism ) have been represented by the Independent Fundamental Churches of America (renamed IFCA International in 1996), while many theologically conservative connexions in the Methodist tradition (who adhere to Wesleyan theology ) align with the Interchurch Holiness Convention ; in various countries, national bodies such as the American Council of Christian Churches exist to encourage dialogue between fundamentalist bodies of different denominational backgrounds. Other fundamentalist denominations have little contact with other bodies. A few scholars label Catholic activist conservative associations who reject modern Christian theology in favor of more traditional doctrines as fundamentalists. The term

5805-484: The Bible is associated with conservative evangelical hermeneutical approaches to Scripture, ranging from the historical-grammatical method to biblical literalism . The Dallas Theological Seminary , founded in 1924 in Dallas , would have a considerable influence in the movement by training students who will establish various independent Bible Colleges and fundamentalist churches in the southern United States. In

5934-465: The Bible was inerrant because God inspired or "breathed" his exact thoughts into the biblical writers ( 2 Timothy 3 :16). Princeton theologians believed that the Bible should be read differently than any other historical document, and they also believed that Christian modernism and liberalism led people to Hell just like non-Christian religions did. Biblical inerrancy was a particularly significant rallying point for fundamentalists. This approach to

6063-641: The Bible, often using the Scofield Reference Bible of 1909, a King James Version of the Bible with detailed notes which interprets passages from a dispensational perspective. Although U.S. fundamentalism began in the North , the movement's largest base of popular support was in the South, especially among Southern Baptists , where individuals (and sometimes entire churches) left the convention and joined other Baptist denominations and movements which they believed were "more conservative" such as

6192-411: The Bible. At the forefront of the controversy in the PCUSA was Charles A. Briggs , a professor at PCUSA's Union Theological Seminary in New York. While Briggs held to traditional Christian teaching in many areas, such as his belief in the virgin birth of Jesus , conservatives were alarmed by his assertion that doctrines were historical constructs that had to change over time. He did not believe that

6321-514: The Carolinas. Compared to the Church of Scotland, the plan gave presbyteries more power and autonomy. Synods and the General Assembly were to be "agencies for unifying the life of the Church, considering appeals, and promoting the general welfare of the Church as a whole." The plan included provisions from the Church of Scotland's Barrier Act of 1697, which required the General Assembly to receive

6450-609: The Creation Research Society in California, all supported by distinguished laymen. They sought to ban evolution as a topic for study, or at least relegate it to the status of unproven theory perhaps taught alongside the biblical version of creation. Educators, scientists, and other distinguished laymen favored evolution. This struggle occurred later in the Southwest than in other US areas and persisted through

6579-417: The Eastern Seaboard to settle further inland. One of the results was that the PCUSA signed a Plan of Union with the Congregationalists of New England in 1801, which formalized cooperation between the two bodies and attempted to provide adequate visitation and preaching for frontier congregations, along with eliminating rivalry between the two denominations. The large growth rate of the Presbyterian Church in

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6708-441: The First Great Awakening, Presbyterian ministers were divided over their assessment of the fruits of the new wave of revivals. Many pointed to "excesses" displayed by some participants as signs that the revivals were theologically compromised, such as groans, laughter, convulsions and "jerks" (see religious ecstasy , holy laughter and slain in the Spirit ). There was also concern over the tendency of revivalist ministers to advocate

6837-410: The General Assembly to take action against Briggs. The 1891 General Assembly vetoed his appointment to Union Theological Seminary's chair of Biblical studies , and two years later Briggs was found guilty of heresy and suspended from the ministry. Ultimately, Union Theological Seminary refused to remove Briggs from his position and severed its ties to the Presbyterian Church. In 1892, conservatives in

6966-440: The General Assembly were successful in adopting the Portland Deliverance, a statement named for the assembly's meeting place, Portland, Oregon. The Deliverance reasserted the church's belief in biblical inerrancy and required any minister who could not affirm the Bible as "the only infallible rule of faith and practice" to withdraw from the Presbyterian ministry. The Portland Deliverance would be used to convict Briggs of heresy. In

7095-410: The General Assembly's attempt to promote peace and unity, two distinct factions, the Old School and the New School, developed through the 1820s over the issues of confessional subscription , revivalism, and the spread of New England theology. The New School faction advocated revivalism and New England theology, while the Old School was opposed to the extremes of revivalism and desired strict conformity to

7224-442: The General Assembly. In 1903, two chapters on "The Holy Spirit " and "The Love of God and Missions" were added to the Confession and a reference to the pope being the anti-christ was deleted. Most objectionable to conservatives, a new " Declaratory Statement " was added to clarify the church's doctrine of election. Conservatives criticized the "Declaratory Statement" and claimed that it promoted Arminianism. The 1903 revision of

7353-461: The Native Americans. New Side Presbyterians were responsible for founding Princeton University (originally the College of New Jersey) primarily to train ministers in 1746. By 1758, both sides were ready for reconciliation. Over the years, New Side revivalism had become less radical. At the same time, Old Side Presbyterians were experiencing numerical decline and were eager to share in the New Side's vitality and growth. The two synods merged to become

7482-428: The New School Presbyterian Church. In 1858, Southern synods and presbyteries belonging to the New School withdrew and established the pro-slavery United Synod of the Presbyterian Church. Old School Presbyterians followed in 1861 after the start of hostilities in the American Civil War . In May, the Old School General Assembly passed the controversial Gardiner Spring Resolutions , which called for Presbyterians to support

7611-479: The New School dominated General Assembly of 1831 dismissed the charges. Lyman Beecher , famous revivalist, moral reformer and president of the newly established Lane Theological Seminary , was charged with heresy in 1835 but was also acquitted. The most radical figure in the New School faction was prominent evangelist Charles Grandison Finney . Finney's revivals were characterized by his "New Measures", which included protracted meetings , extemporaneous preaching ,

7740-430: The New Side resented. Tensions between the two sides continued to escalate until the Synod of May 1741, which ended with a definite split between the two factions. The Old Side retained control of the Synod of Philadelphia, and it immediately required unconditional subscription to the Westminster Confession with no option to state scruples. The New Side founded the Synod of New York . The new Synod required subscription to

7869-433: The North and a majority of their presbyteries approved the reunion in 1869 of the PCUSA. In the decades after the reunion of 1869, conservatives expressed fear over the threat of " broad churchism " and modernist theology . Such fears were prompted in part by heresy trials (such as the 1874 acquittal of popular Chicago preacher David Swing ) and a growing movement to revise the Westminster Confession. This liberal movement

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7998-431: The Northeast was accompanied by the creation of moral reform organizations, such as Sunday schools , temperance associations, tract and Bible societies , and orphanages. The proliferation of voluntary organizations was encouraged by postmillennialism , the belief that the Second Coming of Christ would occur at the end of an era of peace and prosperity fostered by human effort . The 1815 General Assembly recommended

8127-500: The Northeast was also accompanied by revivalism. While calmer and more reserved than those in the South, the revivals of the Second Great Awakening transformed religion in the Northeast, and they were often led by Presbyterians and Congregationalists. The Plan of Union led to the spread of New England theology (also known as the New Divinity and New Haven theology ), originally conceived by Congregationalists. The New England theology modified and softened traditional Calvinism, rejecting

8256-498: The Northeast was in part due to the adoption of Congregationalist settlers along the western frontier. Not unlike the circuit riders in the Episcopal and Methodist traditions, the presbyteries often sent out licentiates to minister in multiple congregations that were spread out over a wide area. To meet the need for educated clergy, Princeton Theological Seminary and Union Presbyterian Seminary were founded in 1812, followed by Auburn Theological Seminary in 1821. Growth in

8385-423: The Old School's repudiation of its teaching against involving the church in political affairs. A majority of Old School leaders in the North were convinced of the orthodoxy of the New School. Some within the Old School, chiefly Princeton theologian Charles Hodge, claimed that there were still ministers within the New School who adhered to New Haven theology. Nevertheless, the Old and New School General Assemblies in

8514-439: The Orthodox fundamentalist and conservative Christian organization known as the Sorok Sorokov Movement . The Sorok Sorokov Movement was founded in reaction to Pussy Riot 's 2012 protests, which were themselves against increasingly socially conservative policies in Russia, including moves towards decriminalizing wifebeating and criminalizing homosexuality . The Sorok Sorokov Movement has received support from many priests of

8643-438: The Presbyterian Church in the USA. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania decided that the Old School body was the legal successor of the undivided PCUSA. The Synod of Philadelphia and New York had expressed moderate abolitionist sentiments in 1787 when it recommended that all its members "use the most prudent measures consistent with the interests and state of civil society, in the countries where they live, to procure eventually

8772-411: The Presbyterian Church, embracing the entire States of Delaware, Maryland, and the greater part of the State of Pennsylvania." By 1881, the synod consisted of nineteen Pennsylvania counties, the City of Philadelphia, and a portion of western Africa. In 1882, the name was changed to the Synod of Pennsylvania. When the General Assembly decided in 1973 to create regional judicatories, the synod was merged with

8901-602: The Russian Orthodox Church, most notably celebrate priest Vsevolod Chaplin . Chaplin in particular supported the creation of "Orthodox squads" in order to punish people from carrying out "blasphemous acts" in religious places. Some have argues that the Sorok Sorkov Movement has been involved in protecting the construction of Russian Orthodox churches in Moscow , though the facts have been hard to verify with this. Just as many sources have argued that these acts were more in line with violent vigilantism against LGBT people in Russia. The Sorok Sorokov Movement has also been connected to

9030-424: The Springfield Presbytery and become the founders of the American Restoration Movement , from which the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and Churches of Christ denominations originate. Meanwhile, the Cumberland Presbytery , also within the Kentucky Synod, faced a shortage of ministers and decided to license clergy candidates who were less educated than was typical and who could not subscribe completely to

9159-420: The Sputnik era. In recent times, the courts have heard cases on whether or not the Book of Genesis's creation account should be taught in science classrooms alongside evolution, most notably in the 2005 federal court case Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District . Creationism was presented under the banner of intelligent design , with the book Of Pandas and People being its textbook. The trial ended with

9288-476: The Synod of New York and Philadelphia. The united Synod was founded on New Side terms: subscription according to the terms of the Adopting Act; presbyteries were responsible for examining and licensing ordination candidates; candidates were to be examined for learning, orthodoxy and their "experimental acquaintance with religion" (i.e. their personal conversion experiences); and revivals were acknowledged as

9417-497: The U.S. South . Both rural and urban in character, the flourishing movement acted as a denominational surrogate and fostered a militant evangelical Christian orthodoxy. Riley was president of WCFA until 1929, after which the WCFA faded in importance. The Independent Fundamental Churches of America became a leading association of independent U.S. fundamentalist churches upon its founding in 1930. The American Council of Christian Churches

9546-713: The United Domestic Missionary Society to become the American Home Missionary Society . The Congregational American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) became the recognized missions agency of the General Assembly, and the United Foreign Missionary Society's operations were merged with the American Board. By 1831, the majority of board members and missionaries of the ABCFM were Presbyterians. As

9675-541: The United States (PCUS) and was commonly nicknamed the "Southern Presbyterian Church" throughout its history, while the PCUSA was known as the "Northern Presbyterian Church". By the 1850s, New School Presbyterians in the North had moved to more moderate positions and reasserted a stronger Presbyterian identity. This was helped in 1852 when the Plan of Union between the New School Church and the Congregationalists

9804-682: The Westminster Confession eventually led a large number of congregations from the Arminian–leaning Cumberland Presbyterian Church to reunite with the PCUSA in 1906. While overwhelmingly approved, the reunion caused controversy within the PCUSA due to concerns over doctrinal compatibility and racial segregation in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Warfield was a strong critic of the merger on doctrinal grounds. Northern Presbyterians, such as Francis James Grimké and Herrick Johnson , objected to

9933-577: The Westminster Confession in accordance with the Adopting Act, but no college degrees were required for ordination. While the controversy raged, American Presbyterians were also concerned with expanding their influence. In 1740, a New York Board of the Society in Scotland for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge was established. Four years later, David Brainerd was assigned as a missionary to

10062-563: The Westminster Confession. In 1805, the synod suspended many of these ministers, even bringing heresy charges against a number of them, and by 1806 the synod had dissolved the presbytery. In 1810, ministers dissatisfied with the actions of the synod formed the Cumberland Presbyterian Church (CPC). The CPC subscribed to a modified form of the Westminster Confession that rejected the Calvinist doctrines of double predestination and limited atonement . Church growth in

10191-698: The Westminster Confession. The ideological center of Old School Presbyterianism was Princeton Theological Seminary, which under the leadership of Archibald Alexander and Charles Hodge became associated with a brand of Reformed scholasticism known as Princeton Theology . Heresy trials of prominent New School leaders further deepened the division within the denomination. Both the Presbytery and Synod of Philadelphia found Albert Barnes , pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, guilty of heresy. Old School Presbyterians, however, were outraged when

10320-548: The approval of a majority of presbyteries before making major changes to the church's constitution and doctrine. The constitution included the Westminster Confession of Faith, together with the Larger and Shorter Catechisms, as the church's subordinate standard (i.e. subordinate to the Bible ) in addition to the (substantially altered) Westminster Directory . The Westminster Confession was modified to bring its teaching on civil government in line with American practices. In 1787,

10449-424: The beliefs of "separation from the world, from false doctrines, from other ecclesiastical connections" as well as place heavy emphasis on practicing holiness standards . In nondenominational Christianity of the evangelical variety, the word biblical or independent often appears in the name of the church or denomination. The independence of the church is claimed and affiliation with a Christian denomination

10578-479: The cause in which America is now in arms, is the cause of justice, of liberty, and of human nature". Witherspoon and 11 other Presbyterians were signatories to the Declaration of Independence . Even before the war, many Presbyterian felt that the single synod system was no longer adequate to meet the needs of a numerically and geographically expanding church. All clergy were supposed to attend annual meetings of

10707-402: The chief interdenominational fundamentalist organization in the 1920s. Some mark this conference as the public start of Christian fundamentalism. Although the fundamentalist drive to take control of the major Protestant denominations failed at the national level during the 1920s, the network of churches and missions fostered by Riley showed that the movement was growing in strength, especially in

10836-516: The consensus view among scholars that in the wake of the Scopes trial, fundamentalism retreated into the political and cultural background, a viewpoint which is evidenced in the movie Inherit the Wind and the majority of contemporary historical accounts. Rather, he argues, the cause of fundamentalism's retreat was the death of its leader, Bryan. Most fundamentalists saw the trial as a victory rather than

10965-522: The creation of racially segregated presbyteries in the South, a concession demanded by the Cumberland Presbyterians as the price for reunion. Despite these objections, the merger was overwhelmingly approved. Christian fundamentalism Christian fundamentalism , also known as fundamental Christianity or fundamentalist Christianity , is a religious movement emphasizing biblical literalism . In its modern form, it began in

11094-675: The creation of societies to promote morality. Organizations such as the American Bible Society , the American Sunday School Union , and the American Colonization Society , while theoretically interdenominational, were dominated by Presbyterians and considered unofficial agencies of the Presbyterian Church. The support of missionary work was also a priority in the 19th century. The first General Assembly requested that each of

11223-499: The doctrine of imputation of Adam's sin , adopting the governmental theory of atonement , and embracing a greater emphasis on free will. It was essentially an attempt to construct a Calvinism conducive to revivalism. While the Synod of Philadelphia condemned the New Divinity as heretical in 1816, the General Assembly disagreed, concluding that New England theology did not conflict with the Westminster Confession. Notwithstanding

11352-464: The final abolition of slavery in America". At the same time, Presbyterians in the South were content to reinforce the status quo in their religious teaching, such as in "The Negro Catechism" written by North Carolina Presbyterian minister Henry Pattillo. In Pattillo's catechism , slaves were taught that their roles in life had been ordained by God. In 1795, the General Assembly ruled that slaveholding

11481-726: The first presbytery in North America, the Presbytery of Philadelphia . The presbytery was primarily created to promote fellowship and discipline among its members and only gradually developed into a governing body. Initially, member congregations were located in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. Further growth led to the creation of the Synod of Philadelphia (known as the "General Synod") in 1717. The synod's membership consisted of all ministers and one lay elder from every congregation. The synod still had no official confessional statement. The Church of Scotland and

11610-531: The former were more militant and less willing to collaborate with groups considered "modernist" in theology. In the 1940s the more moderate faction of fundamentalists maintained the same theology but began calling themselves "evangelicals" to stress their less militant position. Roger Olson (2007) identifies a more moderate faction of fundamentalists, which he calls "postfundamentalist", and says "most postfundamentalist evangelicals do not wish to be called fundamentalists, even though their basic theological orientation

11739-552: The foundation of what would become the Presbyterian Church of Ireland . By the second half of the 17th century, Presbyterians were immigrating to British North America . Scottish and Scotch-Irish immigrants contributed to a strong Presbyterian presence in the Middle Colonies , particularly Philadelphia . Before 1706, however, Presbyterian congregations were not yet organized into presbyteries or synods . In 1706, seven ministers led by Francis Makemie established

11868-647: The founders of the international Council of Christian Churches. Oswald J. Smith (1889–1986), reared in rural Ontario and educated at Moody Church in Chicago, set up The Peoples Church in Toronto in 1928. A dynamic preacher and leader in Canadian fundamentalism, Smith wrote 35 books and engaged in missionary work worldwide. Billy Graham called him "the greatest combination pastor, hymn writer, missionary statesman, an evangelist of our time." A leading organizer of

11997-834: The four synods appoint and support two missionaries. Presbyterians took leading roles in creating early local and independent mission societies, including the New York Missionary Society (1796), the Northern Berkshire and Columbia Missionary Societies (1797), the Missionary Society of Connecticut (1798), the Massachusetts Missionary Society (1799), and the Boston Female Society for Missionary Purposes (1800). The first denominational missions agency

12126-601: The fundamentalist campaign against modernism in the United States was William Bell Riley , a Northern Baptist based in Minneapolis, where his Northwestern Bible and Missionary Training School (1902), Northwestern Evangelical Seminary (1935), and Northwestern College (1944) produced thousands of graduates. At a large conference in Philadelphia in 1919, Riley founded the World Christian Fundamentals Association (WCFA), which became

12255-549: The fundamentalist movement and the mainstream evangelical movement due to their anti-intellectual approaches. From 1910 until 1915, a series of essays titled The Fundamentals: A Testimony to the Truth was published by the Testimony Publishing Company of Chicago. The Northern Presbyterian Church (now Presbyterian Church in the United States of America ) influenced the movement with the definition of

12384-567: The fundamentalist movement, and the term is seldom used of them. The broader term " evangelical " includes fundamentalists as well as people with similar or identical religious beliefs who do not engage the outside challenge to the Bible as actively. Writing in 2023, conservative Christian journalist David French quotes a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention 's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, Richard Land , as identifying fundamentalism as "far more

12513-578: The judge deciding that teaching intelligent design in a science class was unconstitutional as it was a religious belief and not science. The original fundamentalist movement divided along clearly defined lines within conservative evangelical Protestantism as issues progressed. Many groupings, large and small, were produced by this schism. Neo-evangelicalism , the Heritage movement , and Paleo-Orthodoxy have all developed distinct identities, but none of them acknowledge any more than an historical overlap with

12642-496: The late 1800s and early 1900s, a reaction that eventually took on a life of its own and changed significantly over time". Fundamentalist movements existed in most North American Protestant denominations by 1919 following attacks on modernist theology in Presbyterian and Baptist denominations. Fundamentalism was especially controversial among Presbyterians. In Canada, fundamentalism was less prominent, but an early leader

12771-694: The late 1960s, the movement began to be seen as "a bona fide religious, theological and even intellectual movement in its own right". Instead of interpreting fundamentalism as a simple anti-intellectualism , Paul Carter argued that "fundamentalists were simply intellectual in a way different than their opponents". Moving into the 1970s, Earnest R. Sandeen saw fundamentalism as arising from the confluence of Princeton theology and millennialism . George Marsden defined fundamentalism as "militantly anti-modernist Protestant evangelicalism" in his 1980 work Fundamentalism and American Culture . Militant in this sense does not mean 'violent', it means 'aggressively active in

12900-629: The late 19th and early 20th centuries among British and American Protestants as a reaction to theological liberalism and cultural modernism . Fundamentalists argued that 19th-century modernist theologians had misunderstood or rejected certain doctrines , especially biblical inerrancy , which they considered the fundamentals of the Christian faith. Fundamentalists are almost always described as upholding beliefs in biblical infallibility and biblical inerrancy, in keeping with traditional Christian doctrines concerning biblical interpretation ,

13029-530: The leadership and funding of former Princeton Theological Seminary professor J. Gresham Machen . Many Bible colleges were modeled after the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. Dwight Moody was influential in preaching the imminence of the Kingdom of God that was so important to dispensationalism. Bible colleges prepared ministers who lacked college or seminary experience with intense study of

13158-448: The local church. Great emphasis is placed on the literal interpretation of the Bible as the primary method of Bible study as well as the biblical inerrancy and the infallibility of their interpretation . Dispensationalism is common among Independent Baptists. They are opposed to any ecumenical movement with denominations that do not have the same beliefs. Many Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) churches adhere to only using

13287-431: The necessity of a conscious conversion experience and the need for higher moral standards among the clergy. Other Presbyterians were concerned that revivalism presented a threat to church order. In particular, the practice of itinerant preaching across presbytery boundaries and the tendency of revivalists to doubt the conversion experiences of other ministers caused controversy between supporters of revivalism, known as

13416-642: The new nation. In 1861, Presbyterians in the Southern United States split from the denomination because of disputes over slavery, politics, and theology precipitated by the American Civil War . They established the Presbyterian Church in the United States , often called the "Southern Presbyterian Church". The PCUSA, in turn, was described as the Northern Presbyterian Church . Despite the PCUSA's designation as

13545-491: The original movement which coined the term and those who self-identify as fundamentalists. Some who hold certain, but not all beliefs in common with the original fundamentalist movement reject the label fundamentalism , due to its perceived pejorative nature, while others consider it a banner of pride. In certain parts of the United Kingdom , using the term fundamentalist with the intent to stir up religious hatred

13674-415: The plan was sent to the presbyteries for ratification. The synod held its last meeting in May 1788. The first General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America met in Philadelphia in May 1789. At that time, the church had four synods, 16 presbyteries, 177 ministers, 419 congregations and an estimated membership of 18,000. The late 18th and early 19th centuries saw Americans leaving

13803-403: The role of Jesus in the Bible , and the role of the church in society. Fundamentalists usually believe in a core of Christian beliefs, typically called the "Five Fundamentals", this arose from the Presbyterian Church issuance of "The Doctrinal Deliverance of 1910". Topics included are statements on the historical accuracy of the Bible and all of the events which are recorded in it as well as

13932-399: The surface after World War I in what came to be called the fundamentalist/modernist split . However, the split does not mean that there were just two groups: modernists and fundamentalists. There were also people who considered themselves neo-evangelicals, separating themselves from the extreme components of fundamentalism. These neo-evangelicals also wanted to separate themselves from both

14061-499: The synod in 1741 during a major division in the church, Jonathan Dickinson left the synod in 1745 to form the Synod of New York . An advocate of the Great Awakening , Dickinson founded a seminary that later became Princeton University . The synod was reunited as the Synod of New York and Philadelphia in 1758. By 1851, the synod, then known as the Synod of Philadelphia, was "one of the largest and most influential Synods in

14190-402: The synod, but some years attendance was less than thirty percent. In 1785, a proposal for the creation of a General Assembly went before the synod, and a special committee was formed to draw up a plan of government. Under the plan, the old synod was divided into four new synods all under the authority of the General Assembly. The synods were New York and New Jersey, Philadelphia, Virginia, and

14319-604: The synod, which would then decide if the minister's views were acceptable. While crafted as a compromise, the Adopting Act was opposed by those who favored strict adherence to the Confession. Christianity • Protestantism During the 1730s and 1740s, the Presbyterian Church was divided over the impact of the First Great Awakening . Drawing from the Scotch-Irish revivalist tradition, evangelical ministers such as William and Gilbert Tennent emphasized

14448-502: The synod. 40°14′26″N 76°55′59″W  /  40.24043°N 76.93311°W  / 40.24043; -76.93311 Presbyterian Church in the United States of America The Presbyterian Church in the United States of America ( PCUSA ) was a Presbyterian denomination existing from 1789 to 1958. In that year, the PCUSA merged with the United Presbyterian Church of North America . The new church

14577-435: The time Ronald Reagan ran for the presidency in 1980, fundamentalist preachers, like the prohibitionist ministers of the early 20th century, were organizing their congregations to vote for supportive candidates. Leaders of the newly political fundamentalism included Rob Grant and Jerry Falwell . Beginning with Grant's American Christian Cause in 1974, Christian Voice throughout the 1970s and Falwell's Moral Majority in

14706-627: The trial. In the half century after the Scopes Trial, fundamentalists had little success in shaping government policy, and they were generally defeated in their efforts to reshape the mainline denominations , which refused to join fundamentalist attacks on evolution. Particularly after the Scopes Trial, liberals saw a division between Christians in favor of the teaching of evolution, whom they viewed as educated and tolerant, and Christians against evolution, whom they viewed as narrow-minded, tribal, and obscurantist. Edwards (2000), however, challenges

14835-664: The twentieth century witnessed a surge of interest in organized political activism by U.S. fundamentalists. Dispensational fundamentalists viewed the 1948 establishment of the state of Israel as an important sign of the fulfillment of biblical prophecy, and support for Israel became the centerpiece of their approach to U.S. foreign policy. United States Supreme Court decisions also ignited fundamentalists' interest in organized politics, particularly Engel v. Vitale in 1962, which prohibited state-sanctioned prayer in public schools, and Abington School District v. Schempp in 1963, which prohibited mandatory Bible reading in public schools. By

14964-436: The twentieth century, Presbyterian and Episcopalians tended to be wealthier and more educated (having more graduate and postgraduate degrees per capita) than most other religious groups in the United States, and were disproportionately represented in the upper reaches of American business , law, and politics. The Boston Brahmins , who were regarded as the nation's social and cultural elites, were often associated with

15093-586: Was English-born Thomas Todhunter Shields (1873–1955), who led 80 churches out of the Baptist federation in Ontario in 1927 and formed the Union of Regular Baptist Churches of Ontario and Quebec. He was affiliated with the Baptist Bible Union, based in the United States. His newspaper, The Gospel Witness, reached 30,000 subscribers in 16 countries, giving him an international reputation. He was one of

15222-527: Was a product of California and Michigan rather than the South. Webb (1991) traces the political and legal struggles between strict creationists and Darwinists to influence the extent to which evolution would be taught as science in Arizona and California schools. After Scopes was convicted, creationists throughout the United States sought similar anti-evolution laws for their states. These included Reverends R. S. Beal and Aubrey L. Moore in Arizona and members of

15351-637: Was at or near 50 percent in "West South Central" ( Texas to Arkansas ) and "South Atlantic" (Florida to Maryland), and at 25 percent or below elsewhere in the country, with the low of nine percent in New England. The pattern persisted into the 21st century; in 2006–2010 surveys, the average share of fundamentalists in the East South Central Region stood at 58 percent, while, in New England , it climbed slightly to 13 percent. In

15480-582: Was discontinued. Northern Presbyterians of both the Old and New School participated in the Christian Commission that provided religious and social services to Union soldiers during the Civil War. Furthermore, both schools boldly proclaimed the righteousness of the Union cause and engaged in speculation about the role of a newly restored America in ushering in the millennium . This was, in effect,

15609-405: Was evident in its increasing identification with the abolitionist movement. The Old School, however, was convinced that the General Assembly and the larger church should not legislate on moral issues that were not explicitly addressed in the Bible. This effectively drove the majority of Southern Presbyterians to support the Old School faction. The first definitive split over slavery occurred within

15738-628: Was founded for fundamental Christian denominations as an alternative to the National Council of Churches . Much of the enthusiasm for mobilizing fundamentalism came from Protestant seminaries and Protestant "Bible colleges" in the United States. Two leading fundamentalist seminaries were the dispensationalist Dallas Theological Seminary , founded in 1924 by Lewis Sperry Chafer , and the Reformed Westminster Theological Seminary , formed in 1929 under

15867-482: Was increasingly reluctant to address the issue, preferring to take a moderate stance in the debate, but by the 1830s, tensions over slavery were increasing at the same time the church was dividing over the Old School–New School Controversy. The conflict between Old School and New School factions merged with the slavery controversy. The New School's enthusiasm for moral reform and voluntary societies

15996-489: Was named the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America . It was a predecessor to the contemporary Presbyterian Church (USA) . The denomination originated in colonial times when members of the Church of Scotland and Presbyterians from Ireland first immigrated to America. After the American Revolution , the PCUSA was organized in Philadelphia to provide national leadership for Presbyterians in

16125-503: Was not grounds for excommunication but also expressed support for the eventual abolition of slavery. Later, the General Assembly called slavery "a gross violation of the most precious and sacred rights of human nature; as utterly inconsistent with the law of God". Nevertheless, in 1818, George Bourne , an abolitionist and Presbyterian minister serving in Virginia, was defrocked by his Southern presbytery in retaliation for his strong criticisms of Christian slaveholders. The General Assembly

16254-658: Was one such revival that first grew out of meetings led by Presbyterian minister James McGready . The most famous camp meeting of the Second Great Awakening, the Cane Ridge Revival in Kentucky, occurred during a traditional Scottish communion season under the leadership of local Presbyterian minister Barton W. Stone . Over 10 thousand people came to Cane Ridge to hear sermons from Presbyterian as well as Methodist and Baptist preachers. Like

16383-544: Was opposed by Princeton theologians A. A. Hodge and B. B. Warfield . While Darwinian evolution never became an issue for northern Presbyterians as most accommodated themselves to some form of theistic evolution , the new discipline of biblical interpretation known as higher criticism would become highly controversial. Utilizing comparative linguistics, archaeology, and literary analysis, German proponents of high criticism, such as Julius Wellhausen and David Friedrich Strauss , began questioning long-held assumptions about

16512-451: Was the American Council of Christian Churches , founded in 1941 by Rev. Carl McIntire . Another group "for conservative Christians who wanted to be culturally engaged" was the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) founded in 1942, by Harold Ockenga . The interpretations given the fundamentalist movement have changed over time, with most older interpretations being based on the concepts of social displacement or cultural lag. Some in

16641-775: Was the Standing Committee on Mission, which was created in 1802 to coordinate efforts with individual presbyteries and the European missionary societies. The work of the committee was expanded in 1816, becoming the Board of Missions. In 1817, the General Assembly joined with two other Reformed denominations, the American branch of the Dutch Reformed Church (now the Reformed Church in America ) and

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