Defining Fundamentalism: Let's Clear the Air a Bit

[Bruce Gourley]

Just a point of order here: the definition of the parameters of fundamentalism is not predicated upon whether or not one is more or less fundamental than another who bears that label. Fundamentalism (just like liberals, conservatives, and secular political parties at large) comes in varying degrees and intensity, but it is nonetheless fundamentalism.

Religious historians outside Baptist life are pretty unanimous that the SBC takeover was fundamentalist in nature; the early takeover coalition, including Pressler, Patterson, Criswell, Rogers, Stanley and Falwell proudly claimed to be fundamentalists; when Falwell joined the SBC, he did so only because it had become a fundamentalist denomination; when J. Frank Norris' old church re-joined the SBC, it was for the same reason. For the BGCT to openly point out this fact is simple honesty. For those fundamentalist Baptists inside the SBC who deny what most everyone else is in agreement upon is simply an effort to obfuscate the issue.

Note: There are a handful of some fundamentalists on the far far right who do insist that the SBC is not fundamentalist enough. However, the disagreement is rarely over the fundamentalist theology of Convention leadership. Instead, they argue on the grounds that the SBC has an organizational structure (rather than being independent in nature) and/or the SBC as an organization is not separate enough from culture (or society) and/or the SBC as an organization still allows heresy to seep through the cracks. In their minds, Jerry Falwell sold out not because he changed his fundamentalist theology (he did not), but because he joined institutional religion. This dichotomy goes back to the 1930s through 1950s, when fundamentalists in America experienced internal division not over theology, but methodology. Some fundamentalists insisted on maintaining separation from everyone else (including institutional religion), while others chose engagement with culture and society and institutional religion. Bottom line: they were all fundamentalists then, and they are all fundamentalists today.

For those who wish to explore more details about Christian fundamentalism, the bible (appropriately enough) of research on fundamentalism is