The Encyclopedia of World Religions

fundamentalism, Christian S 163

That changed in the late 1970s with the back lash against the liberalism of the 1960s. The efforts of some popular fundamentalist preachers, such as Jack Hyles (1926–2001) in Hammond, Indi ana, and Jerry Falwell (b. 1933) in Lynchburg, Virginia, had created mega-churches, with mem bership numbering in the thousands and even the tens of thousands. Fundamentalists also began to spread their message effectively through the media of radio and especially television ( see TELEVANGE LISM ). Indeed, leading fundamentalists, such as Falwell, Pat Robertson (b. 1930), Jimmy Swaggart (b. 1935), and Jim (b. 1939) and Tammy Faye (b. 1942) Bakker, became public figures. Fundamental ists organized their own groups for public action, such as Falwell’s Moral Majority, founded in 1979. In addition, they began to oppose liberals in vari ous church bodies. Perhaps the most successful example is the Southern Baptist Convention. Start ing about 1980, fundamentalists have dominated the formulation of Southern Baptist teachings and policies and have managed to take control of its educational institutions. Christian fundamentalists have also made the teaching of evolution in public schools an issue once again ( see EVOLUTION AND RELIGION ). Instead of seeking to outlaw evolution, they have gener ally preferred to insist on equal time for views of the origin and development of life that they claim are equally scientific. At first they focused on “cre ation science,” a set of views developed by Henry M. Morris (b. 1918) and advocated by his Insti tute for Creation Research, founded in 1970. More recently, some have concentrated on views known as “intelligent design,” developed by Phillip John son (b. 1940), Michael Behe (b. 1952), and Wil liam Dembski (b. 1960), among others. According to this view, the order of nature is too complex to have arisen by chance. As the name of the Moral Majority indicates, fundamentalists also became widely critical of what they saw as the moral degeneracy of American society. Many of their concerns centered around sexuality, an area in which conventional morality had been abandoned in the 1960s. Legalized ABOR TION became a contentious issue; some extreme

dle Ages, teaches that Christians receive SALVATION because Jesus, who had no SIN , died as a substitute for ordinary human beings, who are sinners. Christian fundamentalists have generally held other views besides these five points. For example, many favor a view called “dispensationalism.” This position uses the Bible and its prophecies to interpret history. It identifies seven “dispensa tions” or ages, the last of which will be the rule of Jesus for 1000 years (the “millennium”). Fun damentalists who adopt this position believe that Jesus will return, that Christians will be taken up into the atmosphere to meet him (an event known as the “rapture”), that all Jews will convert to Christianity, and that Jesus will rule the earth from Jerusalem. After these events will come the final judgment. Christian fundamentalists were quite adamant about their views, and they did not hesitate to spread them vigorously. Perhaps the most famous early confrontation between early fundamental ists and the advocates of science was the trial of John Scopes (1900–70), a biology teacher in Dayton, Tennessee, in 1925. Under fundamental ist influence, Tennessee had passed a law making the teaching of evolution illegal in public schools. Scopes admittedly violated the law. Some evidence indicates that the whole affair was a publicity stunt to draw attention to the town. In any case, the trial became a national event. Two famous lawyers squared off against each other, William Jennings Bryan (1860–1925) for the prosecution and Clar ence Darrow (1857–1938) for the defense. Radio stations carried live broadcasts of the trial. There was never any real question that Scopes had vio lated the law, but the trial brought much ridicule on Christian fundamentalism. Bryan, the advocate of fundamentalism, died immediately after it was over. His death seemed to be a symbol of the fate of fundamentalism among the American public. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS After World War II fundamentalism was not very visible in American life. Fundamentalists remained in their own churches, but they had little broader influence.