Evangelical Beliefs Research Articles

Between hope and cruel optimism? The dangers and possibilities of football in fostering hope for male refugees

ABSTRACT An ongoing debate exists on the role of sport for fostering hope in the lives of marginalised communities. Research acknowledges the complexity of agency, hope and emotions within sport in the lives of forced migrants and the danger of evangelical beliefs when thinking of hope as a solution to social problems. This paper presents the case of the ongoing Mediterranean crossings, where asylum-seekers go through deadly journeys to reach safety in Europe. It explores how the interplay between hope and football shapes their journeys, and how the widely popularised dreams of football success can result in extreme consequences for those willing to pursue them. It does so by taking into account primary data (n = 29 refugee participants) and secondary biographical data, of both accomplished footballers and aspiring footballers with a refugee background. Results show that there is a crucial necessity to acknowledge the multiplicity of identities and experiences contained within the refugee label. Attempts to associate refugees with conditions of stardom can be counterproductive towards beneficial outcomes, to the extent of being dangerous. Nonetheless, not all hope should be lost. The paper presents alternative avenues to better address the concept of hope in football for refugee well-being.

Biblical reconciliation: Preaching unity in the face of Christian nationalism and political schism

The post-Obama era in the United States has been marked by a deepening political divide, particularly within the Christian community, influenced by Christian nationalism and its entanglement with evangelical theology. This article examines the roots of this divide, tracing its origins to the fusion of White evangelical identity with national identity and the politicization of evangelical beliefs. Drawing on 2 Cor 5:10-20, the article explores the apostle Paul’s emphasis on Christ’s reconciling love and the believer’s role as ambassador of reconciliation. Analyzing the impact of divisive identity politics and ideological polarization on the unity of the Christian community, the article proposes a return to preaching the transformative power of Christ’s love to disentangle believers from political schisms while nurturing unity. The ministry of reconciliation is not merely a theoretical concept but a practical imperative for actively bridging divides and sharing the message of unity in Christ. Through a radical shift in perspective, focusing on Christ’s love rather than ideological positions, a Gospel-centered approach enables navigating political tensions and fosters unity within the body of Christ. Ultimately, preaching unity amid political schisms is not only a theological mandate but essential for embodying the transformative message of the Gospel in a divided world.

Purity culture and the limits of queer evangelicalism

ABSTRACT Taking purity culture as a framework for understanding evangelical approaches to sexual ethics, this article examines the connection between the recent emergence of queer evangelical celibacy narratives and the rhetoric of purity as a form of personal freedom. To do so, we approach the construction of queer celibacy through a theology of sexuality and narratives of celibacy within purity culture. We constellate stories from gay- and lesbian-identifying evangelicals to question the limits of queer celibacy. How is evangelical celibacy queer? Can evangelical celibacy claim queerness when it depends on White heterosexist logics? To answer these questions, we explore a series of texts written by evangelical authors who have chosen celibacy as a method for their spiritual commitments while identifying as gay or lesbian. We work with these texts as examples of queer narratives that interanimate paths between evangelical belief and sexual identity.

Concordism and the Importance of Hybrid Models

Concordism functioned as the consensus view in Protestant circles until the rise of Darwinism. Darwinism upended evangelical beliefs about the relationship between the Bible and science, and concordism began to fall out of favor. Subsequently, theologians began formulating statements which collated doctrines and definitions in attempts to delineate boundaries for orthodox belief. Yet while definitions and doctrines are necessary for belief, they are not sufficient for fruitful discussion and discovery of how the early chapters of Genesis could accurately depict the Earth’s early history. With this realization, scholars began developing “hybrid models” which proposed intertwined theological-scientific theories in hopes of explaining both the known scientific evidence as well as the import of Scripture. Thus, even as concordism was disdained by theologically liberal academics, hybrid models multiplied, responded to new evidence, and achieved varying levels of adoption. Analysis of older hybrid models (as well as the recent hybrid model proposed by William Lane Craig) results in insights applicable to models more broadly as well as concordism in particular.

Seed-Time and Harvest: Problems of Joy and Suffering in the Early George Eliot

This essay reconsiders the view of George Eliot as the vanguard secular novelist through the tension between her early, yet sustained, commitment to the evangelical belief that joy is a providential reward for suffering and the later complications as she depicted a world appearing to lack divine justice or mercy, without promise of an afterlife. I argue that the novel Adam Bede is not a humanist translation of Christian doctrine but a revision of theodicy both from within and from without Christian tradition, representing the mystery of “human sorrow” and suffering as embodied in Jesus Christ. The novel works through to a belief that such suffering awaits all, rather than some, created beings and to the conviction that joy will never banish suffering — that it co-exists with it, taking the form of love. This revision preserved the Christian primacy of suffering while seeking to equalize it and face its demands.

Female philanthropic voluntary action: the battle for the hearts, minds and souls of Victorian sailors, soldiers and their families

ABSTRACT This article examines the relationships and networks of a group of philanthropic women working among the male bastions of Army camps, naval ports, garrisons and warships from the mid-nineteenth century to the early twentieth century. Concentrating on five women through autobiographical and biographical accounts, this article focuses on the nature of their relationships and broader female networks and considers the impact these combined elements had on their activism. The women were proactive setting up sailors’ and soldiers’ institutes in England, Ireland and around the British Empire, promoting evangelical beliefs and an anti-alcohol message through temperance pledges. It argues that interconnectivity, as told in their life stories, was crucial to help them face the challenges of their everyday work and suggests that their wider links to other proactive philanthropic females and membership of benevolent associations kept them informed about altruistic developments and helped to strengthen their professional activism.

Does it Matter if the President Isn't Pious? White Evangelicals and Elite Religiosity in the Trump Era

AbstractTrump's unwavering support among white evangelicals seems a contradiction considering his seeming irreligiosity and well publicized moral transgressions. This contradiction raises an interesting question concerning whether Trump represents something of a unique case when it comes to white evangelical evaluations of elite religiosity, or whether his support among the group indicative of a new era of evangelical support for candidates that does not assess religiosity as it used to. Drawing on contemporary debates from the religious psychology and Christian nationalism scholarship, I use data from Wave 61 of the American Trends Panel (ATP) to test whether white evangelicals who encounter threats to their religious identities are more likely to view that God played some role in Trump's election. Overall, I find that white evangelicals consider themselves minorities as a result of their beliefs. Most importantly, these beliefs condition white evangelical beliefs about God's role in Trump's election. Specifically, I find that increases in threat perceptions lead to an increase in the probability of a white evangelical believing that Trump's election was part of God's plan. These findings provide a new vantage point for understanding why so many white evangelicals view Trump's election as a divine outcome despite the fact they are indifferent to his irreligiosity.

Evangelical Belief and Nonviolent Behavior in Chilean Inmates

This study examines whether religious beliefs motivate nonviolent behavior and lower rates of recidivism among Chilean inmates. We collected data through in-depth interviews with 174 inmates using open and close-ended questions. The research used a proportional random sample to select participants, principal component analysis to identify similarities and differences between groups, and content analysis to examine answers to the open-ended interview questions. Its findings indicate that evangelical inmates in Chilean prisons are less violent, more likely to follow internal jail regulations, and more cooperative with professionals and officials. This study contributes to the literature because there was no previous evidence in Chile that religious association, religious conviction, or a desire to change criminal behavior is instrumental to achieving better security during inmates’ stays in prison. The results also demonstrate that the presence of a peer group, with its emotional support and provision of a daily routine, is fundamental if inmates are to successfully handle their anxiety and be less violent.

Role of religion in American politics: An analysis of the influence of Evangelical Church in Israeli Palestinian conflict

The politics of the Holy land is of crucial importance to the followers of the three Abrahamic religions in terms of religious beliefs, which metamorphosed into military and political significance in the 20th Century. The United States (U.S) support for Israel is especially visible during the republican presidencies. The U.S had five republican presidents from 1980 to 2020, and their evangelical beliefs shaped American foreign policy toward this region, a policy that may loosely be termed as affected by Christian Zionism, which was originally a 16th Century religious Puritan movement, who latter shaped into Christian political movement. U.S Christian Zionism reiterates favourable images of Jews and is pessimistic about peace in Holy land. Christian Zionists believe Lord has bestowed the land of Palestine to Jews and have held up this claim since the turn of the 20th Century. This paper first describes the fundamental nature of Christian Zionism, their view of the modern Israel and resultant political and military policies. This also focuses Christian Zionists support of republican presidents and specially President Trump relationship with Christian Zionism. The shifting of U.S embassy to Jerusalem, the formal approval to Jerusalem as the capital of Israel by President Trump are studied.

Territories of beliefs

This article will present the main findings of the doctoral thesis "Territorios de creencia. Cultural practices of young evangelicals in Comodoro Rivadavia" on two central axes. The first one refers to present the analytical proposal regarding the understanding of Pentecostalism as a territory of beliefs with different dimensions that constitute it. These dimensions include its history, its spatial presence, ethical and aesthetic postulates, norms and uses of the body, and also its borders and frontiers -always porous-. In this territory there are multiple positions and ways of inhabiting it, between the normative and instituted ones and the ones that the subjects themselves are creating. The second point of the exhibition refers to the relationship between music and evangelical beliefs, seeking to understand the fluidity, the movement and the multiple ways in which Pentecostal evangelical beliefs are produced, circulated and re-created through cultural practices, recognizing innovations, but also continuities and sedimentations. The focus is placed on the study of the practices and experiences of young Christians who produce, consume, discuss and question cultural goods -especially music-, showing their capacity of agency to produce, negotiate and dynamize the evangelical culture.

Review

Review

Cultural Marginalization and Folk Football in England:The case of Hurling, 1600-1860

ABSTRACT This article explores the history of Hurling, a form of folk football, played predominantly in the south-west of England, between 1600 and 1860. In so doing, it seeks to contribute to the so-called ‘origins of football’ debate by examining evidence of the ’cultural marginalization’ of the game, originally outlined by the sociologist Eric Dunning. First, though, it examines Carew’s early account of the sport in which he describes two varieties of the game. Hurling ‘to goals’ and Hurling ‘to the country’, one a relatively small sided game, the other a mass spectacle. The decline of the mass game is outlined indicating that the local gentry were increasingly discouraged from sponsoring it as a result of the rise in strong Evangelical beliefs. The general population being substantively influenced by the growth in Methodism, temperance reform and teetotal movements. Original evidence is presented, however, of the survival of the small-sided game through mid-century as more commercially oriented sponsors, notably publicans, continued to play a significant role in the recreational life of miners at a time when is has been claimed by some ‘dominant paradigm’ historians that folk football was, in essence, ‘dead’ by the 1830s. Smaller contests persisted and were even supported by local authorities with some still remaining in place to the current day. This evidence then furthers the notion that distinct forms of football in different regions of Britain had divergent histories and cannot be accounted for within all-encompassing grand narratives such as a ‘civilizing process’

The relationship of self-stigma of depression to evangelical beliefs and religious practices

ABSTRACT This study seeks to confirm and expand on a previous study which found a greater self-stigma of depression among Christians as compared with the general population. An electronic survey was distributed that included demographic information questions, the Self-Stigma of Depression Scale (SSDS) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). The primary endpoint was mean SSDS score in evangelical Christians versus other Christians and the general population. Exploratory secondary endpoints were compared SSDS scores based on several religious variables. A sample of 1000 individuals representative of the US population was collected. There was no significant difference in mean SSDS score between those holding evangelical beliefs and other respondents, consisting of both non-evangelical Christians and non-Christians. While evangelical Christians in this sample did not show higher overall self-stigma scores on average, increased frequency of many Christian religious practices was associated with higher SSDS subscale scores.

The Quaker Renaissance and Liberal Quakerism in Britain, 1895–1930

Abstract Many Quakers who reached maturity towards the end of the nineteenth century found that their parents’ religion had lost its connection with reality. New discoveries in science and biblical research called for new approaches to Christian faith. Evangelical beliefs dominant among nineteenth-century Quakers were now found wanting, especially those emphasising the supreme authority of the Bible and doctrines of atonement whereby the wrath of God is appeased through the blood of Christ. Liberal Quakers sought a renewed sense of reality in their faith through recovering the vision of the first Quakers with their sense of the Light of God within each person. They also borrowed from mainstream liberal theology new attitudes to God, nature and service to society. The ensuing Quaker Renaissance found its voice at the Manchester Conference of 1895, and the educational initiatives which followed gave to British Quakerism an active faith fit for the testing reality of the twentieth century.

Reply to Irving, “One Word, many wordings”

Alex Irving has written a considered and informed response, from the perspective of a systematic theologian, to my own initial article which challenged several British evangelical organisations to specify exactly which books and wordings are the products of divine inspiration. Irving’s response consists of two key arguments. Firstly, he argues that the theory of revelation which I think is held by evangelicals is flawed. However, as I think that my understanding of Evangelicalism’s view of the relationship between the Bible and revelation is correct, it seems to me that Irving is actually critiquing the movement he theoretically represents. Secondly, Irving argues for a ‘personalist’ theory of the relationship between the Bible and revelation. His theory parallels twentieth-century neo-orthodoxy in that it views the Bible as a witness to revelation and a vehicle through which the Holy Spirit reveals Jesus Christ; which stands in contrast to the evangelical belief that the Bible is itself revelation. Thus, whilst his own theory may be very good, it is decidedly not ‘evangelical’ and therefore misses the point of my initial article, i.e., it does not justify how the evangelical doctrine of scripture can be maintained in light of the challenges I raised.

Reading, feeling, believing: online testimonies and the making of Evangelical emotion

ABSTRACTA personal relationship with God is central to Evangelical belief. It unfolds as believers interpret internal sensations as coming from outside—from God. How does the formulaic design of testimonies present the audience with a personal relationship with God as a pursuit that is both feasible and deeply desirable? Analyzing the discursive rules structuring the appearance of emotion in the most popular testimonies on the online platform of Christianity Today reveals that such texts expertly present a microcosm in which the experience of reading mirrors the trajectory toward belief writers describe. To read a testimony from start to finish, readers must choose to tolerate the unfamiliar: that is, feel emotions that specifically belong in an Evangelical frame. Online written testimony relies on compelling storytelling to move readers, making them practise what it feels like to hand over part of one’s own story to God.

To be of one mind?: integrating an LGB orientation with evangelical beliefs

ABSTRACT While there are many identities that individuals associate themselves with, none may be more powerful than sexual orientation and religious beliefs. Previous scholarship has described how lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) individuals try to reconcile their sexual orientation with their evangelical theology using the framework of cognitive dissonance, yet these LGB evangelicals have never been assessed in a randomly sampled survey. Using the 2016 Cooperative Congressional Election Study this research describes how LGB evangelicals grapple with the cognitive dissonance that occurs in many facets of their lives. Two issues are analyzed that could tap into their religious identity (abortion) or sexual orientation (gay marriage). The findings indicate that LGB evangelicals are often more liberal than their evangelical counterparts but are more conservative than the LGB community.

La producción de cuerpos juveniles en el evangelismo pentecostal. Prácticas, discursos y agencia

Este artículo se centra en analizar cómo las creencias evangélicas producen y se inscriben en la corporalidad de los jóvenes, desde la idea nativa del “cuerpo como templo”.En el texto se presenta un recorrido por los estudios sociales del cuerpo como coordenadas teóricas desde las cuales indagar prácticas, discursos y el despliegue de la agencia juvenil respecto a las formas en que habitan sus cuerpos. Los datos presentados provienen del trabajo de campo etnográfico en distintas comunidades evangélicas, en especial: entrevistas, observaciones y registros respecto a la producción de corporalidades juveniles en estos espacios.A través del análisis de las prácticas, discursos y concepciones sobre el cuerpo juvenil se presenta una mirada que apunta a reconocer las múltiples dimensiones que los atraviesan, las cuales incluyen tensiones relativas a la reproducción religiosa y la agencia, la regulación, el control, y disputas de sentido respecto a la relación con lo sagrado desde la vivencia de la creencia encarnada.

Reformation as a pathway towards integration of Slavic Baptists in Australia

Slavic Baptists, who immigrated and are still immigrating to Australia, are descendants of the Radical Reformers, along with other Baptists around the world. They find themselves in a kind of ethnic-religious counterdirected relationship. Slavic Baptists in Australia are, ethnically speaking, a marginal group of immigrants alongside other Slavic people, but at the same time they are affiliated with the Australian Baptists. This paper aims to show that the radical-reformed religious worldview, faith and beliefs of the Australian Slavic Baptists facilitate their identification with mainstream Australian society through Australian Baptists and other Evangelical Christians, and helps them in their process of integration. One important criteria in the formation of the immigrants’ worldview is their understanding of God. Slavic Baptists see Him not as a national-territorial God, but as a gracious Saviour, the God who is in control of all affairs across all countries. God is omnipresent, perceived through His personal touch of care and provision. He is the God of hope, who always lifts up their spirits in times of anxiety and despair. This is all consistent with their experiences as displaced people, refugees in third countries and immigrants. This God welcomed them in Australia through His other children – the Australian Baptists, who are their brothers and sisters in Christ. The involvement with local Baptists helped them to establish Slavic Baptist Churches in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. It enabled them to establish and maintain networks with all kinds of Evangelical Christians. Slavic Baptists love Australia and Australians because of the good experiences they have with the Australian Baptists, who they consider their brothers and sisters. Therefore any local Baptist Church is their Church, and Australian Evangelicals belong to the category of our people, which is very important for immigrants.As data indicates, Slavic Baptists are characterised more by religion (faith) than by ethnicity. The inclusive ‘Slavic’ rather than ‘Russian’ or ‘Ukrainian’ is distinctive evidence of this, while the very identification as being Baptists gives these people a sense of belonging to Australian Baptists and other Evangelical Christians. Being a part of world Evangelical Christianity in this way also gives them a sense of belonging to the whole family of God, which does not discriminate based on differences. Their Evangelical beliefs enable Slavic Baptists to hold a more inclusive globalised worldview. In their case the Radical Reformation with its multifaceted heritage and worldview serves as a pathway for integration into the mainstream Australian society.

Rethinking Operation Dixie

Rethinking Operation Dixie