Fundamentalism and Evangelicals

This study examines the contentious claim that much evangelicalism is fundamentalist in character. Within Protestantism the term fundamentalism denotes not only a movement but also a mentality which has greatly affected evangelicals and which involves preserving as factual a reading of scripture as possible. Here the development and dismantling of the fundamentalist mentality is examined in light of philosophical influences upon evangelicalism over the last three centuries notably: Common Sense Realism neo-Calvinism and modern hermeneutical philosophy. Particular attention is paid to James Barr''s critique of fundamentalism and to evangelical rejoinders.