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'''Fundamentalism''' is a movement which began within [[Protestantism|Protestant]] [[Christianity]] in the early 20th century in opposition to the emergence of [[modernism]] within several denominations.

'''Fundamentalism''' is a movement which began within [[Protestantism|Protestant]] [[Christianity]] in the early 20th century to roll back the [[modernism]] in Protestant churches. It has had a major impact on [[Evangelical Christians]].

== Birth of the Fundamentalist Movement ==

== Birth of the Fundamentalist Movement ==

Fundamentalism developed as an extension of the [[doctrine of inerrancy]] in response to Protestant clergy concerns regarding professional authority at the start of the [[20th century]].  The term itself was popularized by [[R.A. Torrey]] when he published his book ''The Fundamentals'' in 1917. Fundamentalism stresses several points:

Fundamentalism had multiple roots.  One emerged out of [[Dispensationalism]], an interpetation of the Bible developed in the late 19th century.  It was a [[End Times|premillinnarian]] theory that divided all of time into different "dispensations," which were seen as stages of God's revelation.  The world was on the verge of the last stage in which Christ would return. 

 

A second stream came from [[Princeton Theology]], which developed the [[doctrine of inerrancy]] in response to modernist theology and higher criticism of the Bible.   

 

A third strand--and the name itself--came from a 12-volume study ''The Fundamentals'' (1910-1915). Thanks to sponsorship, over three million individual volumes were distributed free to clergy, laymen and libraries. This version stressed several points:

* The inerrancy of the Bible

* The inerrancy of the Bible

* The literal nature of the Biblical accounts of Christ's miracles, the [[Creation]] account in Genesis, and so on

* The literal nature of the Biblical accounts of Christ's miracles, the [[Creation]] account in Genesis, and so on

Fundamentalism held to these points in opposition to such trends as [[higher criticism]] and the increasing acceptance of [[Darwinism]], which were popular among modernists.  Fundamentalist movements were found in most Protestant denominations by the early 20th century, with the debate between fundamentalists and modernists especially strong in [[Presbyterian]] and [[Baptist]] churches. The term fundamentalism would later come to be closely associated with [[dispensationalist]] beliefs, belief in the impending Second Coming of Christ, and with [[Evangelical]] Christianity in general.

A fourth strand was opposition to [[Darwinism]].   

 

The most influential treatise was ''Systematic Theology'' (1947) by Lewis S. Chafer, who founded the Dallas Theological Seminary in 1924.

==Organizing the Fundamentalists==

==Organizing the Fundamentalists==

The most important leader in organizing a movement was [[William Bell Riley]], a Northern Baptist based in Minneapolis, where his Northwestern Bible and Missionary Training School (1902), Northwestern Evangelical Seminary (1935), and Northwestern College (1944) produced thousands of graduates.

The most important leader in organizing a movement was [[William Bell Riley]], a Northern Baptist based in Minneapolis, where his Northwestern Bible and Missionary Training School (1902), Northwestern Evangelical Seminary (1935), and Northwestern College (1944) produced thousands of graduates.

After World War I, Riley became the leading organizer of the movement for Fundamentalism. He created, at a large conference in Philadelphia in 1919, the World's Christian Fundamentals Association (WCFA). It became the chief interdenominational fundamentalist organization in the 1920s, and Riley was president until 1929, after which it faded in importance.  

Riley became the leading organizer of the movement for Fundamentalism. He created, at a large conference in Philadelphia in 1919, the World's Christian Fundamentals Association (WCFA). It became the chief interdenominational fundamentalist organization in the 1920s, and Riley was president until 1929, after which the WFCA faded in importance.  

Although the fundamentalist drive of the 1920s to take control of the major Protestant denominations failed at the national level, the network of churches and missions developed and controlled by Riley indicates that fundamentalism was growing in strength, especially in [[The South]]. Both rural and urban in character, the flourishing movement acted as a denominational surrogate and aimed at a militant orthodoxy of evangelical Christianity.<ref> William Vance Trollinger, Jr. "Riley's Empire: Northwestern Bible School and Fundamentalism in the Upper Midwest". ''Church History'' 1988 57(2): 197-212. 0009-6407 </ref>

Although the fundamentalist drive of the 1920s to take control of the major Protestant denominations failed at the national level, the network of churches and missions developed and controlled by Riley indicates that fundamentalism was growing in strength, especially in [[The South]]. Both rural and urban in character, the flourishing movement acted as a denominational surrogate and aimed at a militant orthodoxy of evangelical Christianity.<ref> William Vance Trollinger, Jr. "Riley's Empire: Northwestern Bible School and Fundamentalism in the Upper Midwest". ''Church History'' 1988 57(2): 197-212. 0009-6407 </ref>