Evangelicalism

==Terminology==
The word ''evangelical'' has its etymological roots in the Greek word for '[[the gospel|gospel]]' or 'good news': {{lang|grc|εὐαγγέλιον}} {{Lang|grc-latn|euangelion}}, from {{Lang|grc-latn|eu}} 'good', {{Lang|grc-latn|angel-}} the [[Word stem|stem]] of, among other words, {{Lang|grc-latn|angelos}} 'messenger, angel', and the [[Grammatical gender|neuter]] [[suffix]] {{Lang|grc-latn|-ion}}.<ref>{{Cite book |last=William Danker |first=Frederick A |title=A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature |publisher=The University of Chicago Press |year=1957 |edition=3rd}}</ref> 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 [[Gospel]]s, which portray the life, death, and resurrection of [[Jesus]].{{sfn|Noll|2004|p=16}} 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 [and] his evangelical brother Barns."<ref name="Johnson">{{Cite web |url=http://www.shepherdsfellowship.org/pulpit/Posts.aspx?ID=4111 |title=The History of Evangelicalism |last=Johnson |first=Phil |date=March 16, 2009 |website=Pulpit Magazine |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100616020408/http://www.shepherdsfellowship.org/pulpit/Posts.aspx?ID=4111 |archive-date=June 16, 2010 |volume=Part 1}}</ref>

During the [[Reformation]], Protestant theologians embraced the term as referring to "gospel truth." [[Martin Luther]] referred to the {{Lang|de|evangelische Kirche}} ("evangelical church") to distinguish Protestants from Catholics in the [[Catholic Church]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Livingstone |first=Elizabeth A |title=The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2005 |isbn=0-19-280290-9 |edition=3rd ed. rev |location=Oxford |page=583}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Gerstner |first=John H. |title=The Evangelicals |publisher=Abingdon Press |others=John D. Woodbridge |year=1975 |isbn=0-687-12181-7 |editor-last=David P. Wells |location=Nashville |pages=[https://archive.org/details/evangelicalswhat0000unse/page/21 21–36] |chapter=The Theological Boundaries of Evangelical Faith |quote=Despite the dominant usage of ''euangellismos'' in the New Testament, its derivative, evangelical, was not widely or controversially employed until the Reformation period. Then it came into prominence with Martin Luther precisely because he reasserted Paul's teaching on the ''euangellismos'' as the indispensable message of salvation. Its light, he argued, was hidden under a bushel of ecclesiastical authority, tradition, and liturgy. The essence of the saving message for Luther was justification by faith alone, the article by which not only the church stands or falls but each individual as well. [[Erasmus]], [[Thomas More]], and [[Johannes Eck]] denigrated those who accepted this view and referred to them as 'evangelicals.' |author-link=John Gerstner |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/evangelicalswhat0000unse/page/21}}</ref> 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 Lutheran Church in America]].{{sfn|Noll|2004|p=16}} The German term {{lang|de|evangelisch}} more accurately corresponds to the broad English term ''Protestant''<ref name=":0">Peter Terrell, ''Harper Collins German Unabridged Dictionary'', 4th ed., (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 1999), 273 ''sub loco''.</ref> and should not be confused with the narrower German term {{Lang|de|evangelikal}}, or the term {{Lang|de|pietistisch}} (a term etymologically related to the [[Pietism|Pietist]] and [[Radical Pietism|Radical Pietist]] movements), which are used to described Evangelicalism in the sense used in this article. [[Mainline Protestant]] denominations with a [[Lutheranism|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 are not evangelical in the {{Lang|de|evangelikal}} sense but Protestant in the {{lang|de|evangelisch}} sense, have translated the German term {{lang|de|evangelisch}} (or Protestant) into the English term ''Evangelical'', although the two German words have different meanings.<ref name=":0" /> In other parts of the world, especially in the English-speaking world, evangelical (German: {{Lang|de|evangelikal}} or {{Lang|de|pietistisch}}) is commonly applied to describe the [[Interdenominationalism|interdenominational]] [[Born again|Born-Again]] believing movement.{{sfn|Marsden|1991|p=2}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kisker |first=Scott |url=https://brill.com/display/book/9789004283862/B9789004283862-s010.xml |title=Pietist Connections with English Anglicans and Evangelicals |date=2015-01-01 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-28386-2 |language=en}}</ref><ref>Erich Geldbach: ''Evangelikale Bewegung.'' In: ''[[Evangelisches Kirchenlexikon]].'' Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1986, Bd. 1, Sp. 1186.</ref><ref>{{cite web|access-date=2020-09-25|language=de|title=Bekehrung, Bibelfrömmigkeit und Gebet: Evangelikale in Deutschland|url=https://www.katholisch.de/artikel/24235-bekehrung-bibelfroemmigkeit-und-gebet-evangelikale-in-deutschland}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref><ref>Erich Geldbach: ''Evangelikale Bewegung''. In: ''[[Evangelisches Kirchenlexikon]]'', Bd. 2. Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, Göttingen 1989, Sp. 1186–1191, hier Sp. 1190.</ref>

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."{{sfn|Bebbington|1993|p=1}} According to the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', ''evangelicalism'' was first used in 1831.{{sfn|Worthen|2014|p=273}} In 1812, the term ''evangelicalism'' appeared in ''The History of Lynn'' by [[William Richards (minister)|William Richards]].<ref name="Richards1812">{{Cite book |last=William Richards |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ng8HAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA98 |title=The history of Lynn. To which is prefixed a copious account of Marshland, Wisbeach and the Fens |year=1812 |page=98}}</ref> 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]].<ref name="Leicester.)1811">{{Cite book |last=Andrew BURNABY (Archdeacon of Leicester.) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rRJhAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA14 |title=The Sin and Danger of Schism, Considered in a Charge-intended to be Delivered to the Clergy of the Archdeaconry of Leicester, at the Summer Visitation in 1811 |publisher=T. Payne; F. C.&J. Rivington |year=1811 |pages=14}}</ref>

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."<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |year=1971 |title=Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language |publisher=G & C Merriam |location=Springfield, MA |editor-last=Gove |editor-first=Philip Babcock |editor-link=Philip Babcock Gove |isbn=978-0-87779-101-0 |quote=evangelical [...] 5 [...] characterized by or reflecting a missionary, reforming, or redeeming impulse or purpose [...] the rise and fall of evangelical fervor [sic] within the Socialist movement – ''Time Lit. Supp.''>}}</ref> 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.