The Evangelical Quadrilateral, Pentagon or Hexagon?
“’Jesus Is My Savior, Trump Is My President’” was a sign carried by those on January 6, 2021 outside the U.S. Capitol. Matthew Sutton describes what was seen that day and leading up to January 6th in an article titled “The Capitol Riot Revealed the Darkest Nightmares of White Evangelical America.”[1] Evangelical, a term that is widely used, but what exactly is an Evangelical? In this post I will define the term and focus on one aspect of evangelicalism that seem to set it apart from prior movements and examine whether this aspect has in some cases been carried too far. Doing a quick search using the term evangelical and limiting the results to academic journals, over 280,000 results are found. David Bebbington examined the history of the term and movement in England since the 1700’s[2]. Bebbington contends that the term has a history of ambiguity. I appreciated the quote from Lord Shaftebury “I’ know what constituted an evangelical in former times’,” but “‘I have no clear notion what constitutes one now’”[3] In his research Bebbington settled on four defining characteristics found in evangelicals in Britain making up what he termed a “quadrilateral of priorities” and what many people refer to as Bebbington’s quadrilateral[4]. These four characteristics are “conversionism, the belief that lives need to be changed; activism, the expression of the gospel in effort; biblcism, a particular regard for the Bible; and what may be called crucicentrism, a stress on the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.”[5] Looking at all 280,000 journal articles using the term evangelical are all of them using the term the same way or does the research mirror Lord Shaftebury’s comment that we really have no idea what we mean?
The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) wanted to standardize the term. In 2015, after a “two-year multi-phase research project” conducted by LifeWay Research the NAE adopted a definition of what an evangelical is.[6] Evangelicals are those who strongly agree with the following statements.
- “The Bible is the highest authority for what I believe
- It is very important for me personally to encourage non-Christians to trust Jesus as their Savior
- Jesus Christ’s death on the cross is the only sacrifice that could remove the penalty of my sin
- Only those who trust in Jesus Christ alone as their Savior receive God’s gift of eternal salvation”[7]
One can see how these mirror Bebbington’s quadrilateral. The NAE asks that those who are doing research on evangelicals use these criteria to ensure that the term is being used properly. Bebbington and the NAE provide us with a definition of an evangelical, but how did this movement arise?
Jason Clark writes “Whilst previous forms of Christianity may have exhibited some of these characteristics, it is Evangelicalism that has uniquely exhibited all four.”[8] Specifically the presence of activism is what set them apart.
Bebbington says that anxiety existed as the church’s doctrine no longer could assure that a person was once saved always saved.[9] Now the individual was responsible for determining whether they were saved; One sign of this was the “evidence of works;”[10] Clark writes that this need for assurance led to a “new confidence of faith which found its natural outworking in overt activism.”[11] Bebbington asserts that evangelicalism taught that doing good works was a “fundamental element of Christian duty”[12] This activism carried over into developing organizations or ministries to attempt to meet the many social needs of the day. “The sick in body and mind, the blind, the deaf, the infirm, the elderly, vagrants, navvies, soldiers, prostitutes, and above all the poor received attention according to their particular needs. Evangelical activism carried over into social concern as an end in itself.[13]
In the United States today, activism still remains a focus of evangelicals, however it appears that much of that activism has turned political. Kristen Kobes De Mez wrote that during the 1960s Jerry Fallwell preached against any political activism for Christians, “Christians had only one task: to preach God’s word of salvation through Christ.”[14] However, in the 1970’s his message changed, and Fallwell launched the Moral Majority in 1979, a political organization focused on mobilizing the Religious Right. Other, like Tim LaHaye and James Dobsons formed organizations or used their existing ones to encourage Christian political activism.[15] Today there are those who from the pulpit and/or media declare that there is only one way for a Christian to vote suggesting that you are not a true Christian if you vote for the wrong candidate or choose not to exercise your right to vote. Terry Shoemaker states that “As a scholar of religion in America, I’ve seen how evangelicalism in the United States is generally recognized for its political allegiances with the Republican Party.”[16]
It seems that some would add political activism or Republican to Bebbington’s Quadrilateral. But Bebbington might disagree. Bebbington writes “The cultural context, not economics or politics, does most to explain the shape of Evangelical religion. Conditions and crises in economic and political life might generate new phases of behaviour and even new expressions of belief, but rarely did they determine fundamental trends in Evangelical life”[17] I’ll leave it up to the reader to decide if we now have a pentagon or hexagon but let me end with a quote from N. T. Wright and Michael Bird. “Our goal should be promoting the gospel to bring people into the family of faith, not pandering to political leaders so that they might let us share their podium.”[18] What indeed is an evangelical?
[1] Matthew Sutton, “The Capitol Riot Revealed the Darkest Nightmares of White Evangelical America,” The New Republic, January 14, 2021, https://newrepublic.com/article/160922/capitol-riot-revealed-darkest-nightmares-white-evangelical-america#:~:text=The%20Capitol%20Riot%20Revealed%20the%20Darkest%20Nightmares%20of%20White%20Evangelical.
[2] David Bebbington, Evangelicalism in Modern Britian: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s, (New York, NY: Routledge, 2005).
[3] Bebbington, 1-2.
[4] Bebbington, 3.
[5] Bebbington, 3
[6] National Association of Evangelicals, “What is an Evangelical?” accessed September 20, 2024, https://www.nae.org/what-is-an-evangelical/
[7] National Association of Evangelicals.
[8] Jason Paul Clark, “Evangelicalism and Capitalism: A Reparative Account and Diagnosis of Pathogeneses in the Relationship,” Faculty Publications – Portland Seminary. 132, 2018), 58 https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/gfes/, 132
[9] Bebbington, 42-50.
[10] Bebbington, 44.
[11] Clark, 53.
[12] Bebbington, 70.
[13] Bebbington, 120.
[14] Kristen Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, (New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 2020), 98.
[15] Du Mez, 86, 94.
[16] Terry Shoemaker, Understanding Evangelicalism in America Today,” The Conversation, August 4, 2021. https://theconversation.com/understanding-evangelicalism-in-america-today-164851.
[17] Bebbington, 272.
[18] Wright, N. T. & Michael Bird, Jesus and the Powers: Christian Political Witness in an Age of Totalitarian Terror and Dysfunctional Democracies, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2024),
101.
About the Author
Jeff Styer
Jeff Styer lives in Northeast Ohio's Amish Country. He has degrees in Social Work and Psychology and currently works as a professor of social work at Mount Vernon Nazarene University. Jeff is married to his wife, Veronica, 25+ years. Together they have 4 beautiful children (to be honest, Jeff has 4 kids, Veronica says she is raising 5). Jeff loves the outdoors, including biking, hiking, camping, birding, and recently picked up disc golf.14 responses to “The Evangelical Quadrilateral, Pentagon or Hexagon?”
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Hi Jeff, thanks for relating the book and paper to the current situation in American Politics. As a Brit, contextualization is helpful for international awareness.
How has the focus of evangelical activism shifted from its early roots in social concern to its current political alignment, and to what extent has this shift impacted the definition and perception of evangelicalism in the United States today?
Glyn,
Much of the shift happened leading up to Reagan’s run for President. This was interesting because Carter was very vocal about his faith, reportedly never letting anyone stay the night in the White House without him telling his guests the Gospel. My understanding was part of the shift was religious organizations wanting religious liberties. For example, Bob Jones University lost its IRS tax-exempt status due to its policies on admitting Blacks and inter-racial relationships. Reagan reportedly campaigned on promoting religious liberties. Promoting religious liberties and building a political platform on issues that Christians care about (abortion and marriage) allowed the Republican party to gain much of the White Evangelical support. After several years of this, I believe the two just seemed to form much of their identities around each other. Because of this, I think that when one hears the word Evangelical, one thinks of several things, Republican, Pro-life, and Traditional Marriage. To have any views contrary to this would seemingly ostracize you from being considered an evangelical and possibly even a Christian.
Hi Jeff, I wonder where you think the activism of Jim Wallis would fit?
Great question Diane, I thought about him as I wrote this. I once made a comment to my brother-in-law about Jesus not being partisan and he was quick to let me know that Jesus is extremely partisan. His party is the Kingdom of God. I think Wallis fits that party as well. His activism isn’t tied to one earthly political party but what he feels is best in bringing the Kingdom of God here on earth as it is in heaven.
Thanks for this analysis jeff. I’m curious: in your experience, how many “people in the pew” understand the 4 pillars of evangelicalism? Is this something that is important to you? If so, is it something you talk about in your context? And do YOU think anything is missing, if it’s just the four?
Debbie,
I belong to ECO Presbyterian which is really Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterian Churches. The name has the title evangelical in it, but I would guess less than 10% of the congregation has even heard of Bebbington’s Quadrilateral and probably the same amount have really even considered what the word means.
Is this something important to me. I will be honest the title really doesn’t have a lot of value to me. My value comes from my being a Christian and not any adjective that comes before or after the word. I work for a Nazarene University, and I am not sure that outside of the religion department this word is discussed. I haven’t heard anyone discuss it, it’s more about the fact that we belong to the holiness tradition. I appreciated the thought you put into your post about what might be missing such as discipleship. I guess since I don’t really value the term evangelical, I wouldn’t say anything is missing. My thought is when you start defining churches, that one is evangelic, that one is mainline, that one is liberal, that one is conservative, it creates further division within the church and takes the focus off what we are supposed accomplish.
Thanks Jeff! You’ve highlighted well the tension between activitism through religious or political modalities. Have you ever seen activism through politics work well from a evangelical perspective?
Thanks also for your quote from Falwell in the 1960s. It helps trace the root of this latest iteration of legislating morality.
Ryan,
Great question. I’m not sure I have personally. I think Shirley Hoogstra talked about having success through political activism that benefited the Church. The key to her success was finding common ground/goals and working together, with those whom we might disagree on some ideology, toward solutions to common problems. I do believe there are a lot of societal issues that could be solved through political activism if evangelicals were willing to work with non-evangelicals and even non-Christians.
Jeff,
Just yesterday as I drove through Wisconsin I saw a van with a huge logo with your initial statement about Trump and Jesus. So, I ran him off the road. Just kidding.
You brought up a few men, Falwell and Dobson who I was going to mention as well but scratched their names as I counted words. There has certainly been a strong movement towards the right conservative. Another blog mentioned discipleship (I can’t recall whose) but that is a good candidate for making it a pentagon. What are your thoughts?
Adam,
That was Debbie’ post. As I read more posts and think about this topic more, I struggle with the label evangelical and mainline. To answer your question, I think an emphasis on discipleship could be included to make it a pentagon, but then I consider Martin Percy’s statement that not everyone is called to be a disciple and the fact that I still wrestle with that statement, so I don’t know whether it could be added. Overall, I’m not liking the titles. Do I believe Bebbington’s four characteristics, yes, but I think I would rather identify as a Christian who tries to love the Lord my God with all my soul, mind and strength and love my neighbor. If I am able to do this, then discipleship of myself and others should be a natural response. My identity as a Christian is defined by my ability to fully affirm the Neocene and/or Apostle’s Creed.
Hi Jeff, thanks for your post. I am curious how you feel about the definition of evangelicalism by the NAE. If you were responsible for standardizing a definition, would you have said it any differently?
Christy,
I will be honest and say that I don’t know a lot about the differences between various church doctrine. I look at the NAE’s definition of evangelicalism and think to myself, doesn’t every believer in Christ affirm the same thing. I understand the need to standardize the term if you are using it for research purposes; we need to know we are speaking the same language. I’m not sure if I would change the definition.
Jeff,
Thanks for posting the NAE’s definition of evangelicalism. Most evangelicals I know would agree with these. Sadly, I do not see many actually living these out. I’m curious, in your experience, especially with students at a Christian school, which of these areas are most neglected for “evangelicals” today?
In my classes we don’t go into a lot of these beliefs, but when I incorporate Scripture into a concept I am teaching I do find times when students have no idea what Bible story I am referencing. So I’m not sure they are Biblically literate, therefore, the Bible is probably not the highest authority for their life and what they believe.