American Evangelicalism in Hypermodernity

Abstract

Abstract The concluding chapter takes stock of what the preceding argument entails for American Evangelicalism today. It begins with evaluations from Evangelical leaders themselves about the state and health, or lack thereof, of Evangelicalism in the United States. It then addresses two frequently asked questions: “What’s new about the New Calvinism?” and “What are the boundaries of the Evangelical field?” Not able to identify any definitive boundaries, the chapter moves on to an exploration of what Evangelicalism in the United States centers on (the Bible? Jesus? The Gospel? Mission? Politics?). As with boundaries, it is argued this religious tradition lacks any coherent, agreed-upon, substantive center. American Evangelicalism is increasingly fragmented and incoherent. The chapter—and the book—ends by suggesting a new vision of secularization not as declining belief or practice but as dissolution or “cultural entropy,” a process by which an entire religious cultural system falls apart.