Evangelicalism In The United Kingdom

Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual experiences personal conversion; the authority of the Bible as God's revelation to humanity (biblical inerrancy); and spreading the Christian message. The word ''evangelical'' comes from the Greek (''euangelion'') word for " good news".

Its origins are usually traced to 1738, with various theological streams contributing to its foundation, including Pietism and Radical Pietism, Puritanism, Quakerism, Presbyterianism and Moravianism (in particular its bishop Nicolaus Zinzendorf and his community at Herrnhut).Brian Stiller, ''Evangelicals Around the World: A Global Handbook for the 21st Century'', Thomas Nelson, USA, 2015, pp. 28, 90. 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. 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, Martyn Lloyd-Jones.

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 great momentum during the 18th and 19th centuries with the Great Awakenings in Great Britain and the United States.

In 2016, there were an estimated 619 million evangelicals in the world, meaning that one in four Christians would be classified as evangelical. The United States has the largest proportion of evangelicals in the world. American evangelicals are a quarter of that nation's population and its single largest religious group. As a transdenominational coalition, evangelicals can be found in nearly every Protestant denomination and tradition, particularly within the Reformed (Calvinist, Presbyterian, Congregational), Baptist, Methodist (Wesleyan, Holiness), Arminian, Lutheran, Moravian, Free Church, Mennonite, Quaker, non-denominational, interdenominational, Pentecostal and charismatic churches.

Terminology

The word ''evangelical'' has its etymological roots in the Greek word for "gospel" or "good news": ''euangelion'', from ''eu'' "good", ''angel''- the stem of, among other words, ''angelos'' "messenger, angel", and the neuter suffix -''ion''. 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. 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 ndhis evangelical brother Barns".

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. 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 Church in Germany (a union of Lutheran and Reformed churches) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The German term , more accurately corresponds to the broad English term ''Protestant''Peter Terrell, ''Harper Collins German Unabridged Dictionary'', 4th ed., (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 1999), 273 ''sub loco''. should not be confused with the narrower German term ''evangelikal,'' which is 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 aren’t 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 but are translated the same in English. In other parts of the world, especially in the English-speaking world, ''evangelical'' (German: evangelikal) is commonly applied to describe the interdenominational Born-Again believing movement.

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." According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', ''evangelicalism'' was first used in 1831. In 1812, the term "evangelicalism" appeared in "The History of Lynn" by William Richards. 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.

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". 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. 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."

Conversionism, or belief in the necessity of being " born again", has been a constant theme of evangelicalism since its beginnings. 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. Among evangelicals, individuals have testified to both sudden and gradual conversions.

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.

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.

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