Evangelical Research Articles

Evangelical Celebrity and the Second Persona

This article uses the construct of the Second Persona to understand the evangelical Christian rhetorical culture constructed by evangelical celebrities via Instagram. As informal authorities, evangelical celebrities are unique figures. Understanding their media use in constructing an ideal evangelical auditor provides an assessment of evangelical culture and posits an “Evangelical Second Persona” characterized by a familiarity with media, a reiteration of evangelical media consumption, an emphasis on family and class success, and the primacy of decentralized celebrity figures. This analysis shows the utility of persona criticism in understanding the ongoing constitution of evangelical rhetorical culture.

Social Imagery and Judicial Legitimacy: Evidence From Evangelical Christians

Extant research reveals that Americans hold politically consequential beliefs about the demographic composition of political groups and organizations—even when these beliefs are at odds with objective reality. In this article, we investigate the social imagery of the U.S. Supreme Court, with particular attention to beliefs about the Supreme Court Justices’ religious identities. In survey analysis, we find that evangelicals who believe there are more evangelical Christians on the Court grant the Court more legitimacy compared to non-evangelicals. Further, when evangelical Christians believe there are more atheists on the Court, they view the Court less legitimately than non-evangelicals. To rule out the potential of endogeneity, we conduct a conjoint experiment which demonstrates that evangelicals believe evangelical judges will increase the fairness of the Court and are more likely to support evangelical nominees compared to the average nominee. Likewise, they tend to believe out-group judges will harm the fairness of the Court and are less likely to support out-group judges. Our results have implications for diversity on the Court and how non-ideological factors can affect the Court’s legitimacy.

Kaleidoscopic Preaching: Incorporating Multiple Voices into an Evangelical Sermon

The sermon still dominates in many evangelical churches. Evangelical preachers seek to capture and communicate the author’s intention in the biblical text. This can be challenging because the Bible is multi-faceted. How can evangelical preachers acknowledge this multiplicity? Preachers need to be willing to play in both the text and the way they communicate. In this article, I propose a strategy I have named the kaleidoscopic approach. I draw on the feminist scholar Mieke Bal and her work on the song in Judges 5 and bring some of her ideas to preaching. I believe a kaleidoscopic approach can help to amplify marginal (often female) voices in the text and bring fresh thinking on how we can continue to preach in the future.

‘We should no longer sit on packed suitcases’: German expellees’ emotions in post-war West Germany

ABSTRACT This article examines the integration into West Germany of those Germans expelled from Silesia, Pomerania and East Prussia after the Second World War through an emotional perspective. The focus on evangelical communities serves here the purpose of exploring the significant role of evangelical churches and pastors in comforting the expellees, as well as their wishes and expectations. Since expellees used to share existential and intimate questions with their pastors, this correspondence provides a closer look at their multifaced emotional universe, which often diverged from the stereotypical image proposed by the expellee political representatives. The discrepancy between these two images reflected the political rupture that occurred between the expellees and their political leaders from the mid-1950s. The article’s aim is to show that significant emotional reasons underlie this progressive political detachment that deals both with the transformation of the expellees’ idea of homeland and with the desire to look forward from the Nazi legacy.

The Necessity of Monastic Asceticism: A Case for Retrieval in Contemporary Evangelicalism

Within the contemporary evangelical church, there is often little discussion of asceticism despite an emphasis on spiritual disciplines and formation. This article argues that not only does the evangelical church need to embrace and adopt ascetic practices, but these should be based in monastic asceticism, based around the practices of poverty, chastity and obedience. The article first puts forward suggestions as to why the evangelical church does not embrace asceticism, in spite of it being part of its heritage, but then moves to a constructive argument, using an array of ecumenical sources, demonstrating that a monastic asceticism is a biblical asceticism and should be a fundamental feature in evangelical faith and practice.

Racialized fear, fatigue, pessimism, and colorblindness: hindrances to racial dialogue on fifteen Christian colleges in the US

ABSTRACT Christian colleges have become more racially diverse, but they must contend with histories of racism and White institutional presence. We examine how racial groups differ in disengagement with race talk and how perceptions of the campus racial climate shape fear, fatigue, pessimism, and colorblindness as reasons for disengaging with race talk. Drawing on survey data of students (N = 5473) enrolled on fifteen evangelical Christian colleges, we find racial differences in reasons for disengaging race talk. Black and Asian students have greater odds of reporting fear and pessimism, while Hispanic students have lower odds of reporting fear and fatigue. Black, Hispanic, and Asian students have lower odds of reporting colorblindness compared to White students. Regardless of race, perceptions of the campus racial climate also shape hindrances to race talk. Our findings suggest that racist racial hierarchies and Whiteness are perpetuated on evangelical Christian colleges through racialized emotions in disengagement in race talk.

More than Words: Leaders’ Speech and Risky Behavior during a Pandemic

This paper investigates whether the anti-scientific rhetoric of modern populists can induce followers to engage in risky behavior. We gather electoral information, credit card expenses, and geo-localized mobile phone data for approximately 60 million devices in Brazil. After the president publicly dismissed the risks of the COVID-19 pandemic and challenged scientific recommendations, social distancing in pro-government localities declined. Consistently, credit card expenses increased immediately. Results are driven by localities with higher media penetration levels, active Twitter accounts, and a larger proportion of evangelical Christians, a critical electoral group. (JEL D72, D91, I12, I18, L82, O15, Z12)

Faith Integration: Student Perspectives on Spirituality and Social Work in a Christian Master of Social Work (MSW) Program

The role of spirituality has become increasingly important in the field of social work, especially when considering a holistic approach. Religion and spirituality are used to guide beliefs and actions and give meaning and purpose to life. This research, situated at an Evangelical Christian University, explored why it is critical for practitioners to be spiritually equipped when working with those in need and their perceptions of the importance of faith to practice and identity. This study identified seven themes: how spirituality assists practitioners in dealing with information and events in the social work field and the importance of spirituality in providing strength, hope, guidance, self-preservation, a positive example for clients, and an opportunity to share the love of God. This research contributes to the future of social work education. Keywords: Faith Integration, Social Work, Spirituality

The Evangelical Church as an Extirpator of Idolatry in the Water Festival in the Andes of Peru

The research focuses on the Water Festival (Yarqa Aspiy), an ancient event in the Peruvian Andes, and which, as an Inca activity, survived the extirpation of idolatries by the Spanish colonization. The objective is to determine the importance of ancestral rituals in the communal work of this festival that, by merging with those of the Catholic religion, survives to this day. The participant-observation methodology in the Ccarhuaccoco community allowed us to investigate the details of this ancestral communal activity with its Andean rituals. It is concluded that this activity of Inca origin is in the process of extinction due to the growth of the Evangelical Church, which eradicates idolatry in its community practice. Additionally, thanks to religious tolerance, freedom of belief, and the necessary coexistence of water with the community, the festivity is maintained, although with variations in its ritual.

Clergy-lay political (mis)alignment in 2019–2020

AbstractWe use data from the new and nationally representative National Survey of Religious Leaders, supplemented with the 2018 General Social Survey, to examine the extent to which clergy are politically aligned with people in their congregations. Two assessments of alignment—clergy reports of how their political views compare to the political views held by most people in their congregations, and comparisons between clergy and lay voting preferences in the 2016 election—yield the same findings. Clergy in Black Protestant and predominantly white evangelical churches are much more likely to be politically aligned with their people than are Catholic or, especially, white mainline Protestant clergy, who often are more liberal than their people. Contrary to media reports suggesting that evangelical clergy are now likely to be less conservative than their people, the vast majority are either politically aligned with, or more conservative than, their members.

The Church and the Covid-19 Pandemic: The Intricate Role of Masculinities of the Clergymen

This article seeks to determine how the masculinities of clergymen influenced the church’s responses to Covid-19. In Malawi, about 70% of confirmed Covid-19 cases were men, and about 83% of those who died were men. Pastors influence the church’s response to the world. There are many responses from the Churches to the need for prevention and care during Covid-19. Nevertheless, there is a lack of research on the church’s responses to Covid-19 in the global south and how the masculinities of clergymen played a role in the church’s reactions during Covid-19. The article, thus, focuses on clergymen’s masculinities of power and authority in influencing the church’s responses to Covid-19. This article builds on grounded theory and qualitative methods. The article is based on data from two evangelical and two mainline churches in the four cities of Malawi. The study found that the masculinities of clergymen had little influence on the responses of evangelical churches during Covid-19. However, the masculinities of clergymen significantly impacted the responses of mainline churches within the confines of Sunday services but not outside it. We found that African realities, such as African beliefs in healing, among others, limited the role of masculinities of clergymen in evangelical churches during and after Sunday services. This article discusses ways of solidifying the roles of clergymen in the church responses.

Rescuing women from the brinks of whiteness: Carceral restoration in a human trafficking court

Abstract Research on gender-specific penal reform programs critique their failure to prioritize the socio-economic recovery of criminalized women. This paper draws on these insights to examine the Women’s Refuge Court (WRC), a human trafficking court for adult women criminalized for prostitution and drug offences in Ohio. Using ethnographic research, I illustrate the WRC’s rejection of bootstrapping and emphasis on material resourcing as a penal reform strategy. I argue that the WRC’s prioritization of socio-economic recovery derives from fears over the status decline of the impoverished white women who predominate as defendants. Court officials rely on evangelical Christian imaginings of prostitution as ‘modern day slavery’ to frame participants as ‘trafficking victims’. I identify the WRC’s response as a racially specific form of gender responsive programming called carceral restoration.

Crossfit, SoulCycle, and Evangelical Christianity with Cody Musselman

The Interview brings you in-depth exchanges with scholars working to reframe how we carry out the academic study of religion. In this edition, Michael J. Altman at the University of Alabama sat with Cody Musselman (Postdoctoral Research Associate at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis, PhD Yale 2022) to discuss SoulCycle, CrossFit, and evangelical Christianity in the United States. In so doing, these scholars of religion in America open up numerous possibilities for theorizing the intersections of capitalism, neoliberalism, and religion. This exchange has been excerpted from the 2021 Day Lecture at the University of Alabama.

Influence of Strategic Leadership Factors on Implementation of Covid-19 Government Guidelines in Evangelical Churches in Nairobi County, Kenya

The introduction and enforcement of the COVID-19 guidelines by the government of Kenya adversely affected the church due to its social nature of existence and operation. The leadership of the church is expected to play a key role in effecting the implementation of government guidelines to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this is beside the core spiritual mandate of the church. The implementation of these guidelines is a significant addition of responsibilities to the church leadership which has adversely affected the operations of the church in delivering services to the members. The study sought to establish the influence of strategic leadership factors on implementation of COVID-19 government guidelines in evangelical churches in Nairobi registered by Evangelical Alliance of Kenya. This research adopted a descriptive research design and the target population was 500 evangelical churches. The study results showed that strategic leadership factors have a significant influence on the implementation of COVID-19 government guidelines. However, the study established that there is an insignificant influence of strategic planning on the implementation of COVID-19 government guidelines. Organizational culture, human resource development, and organizational communication had a significant influence on the implementation of COVID-19 government guidelines. The study concluded that strategic leadership factors were very important for the achievement of proper implementation of COVID-19 government guidelines. The study recommended that church leaders should involve the congregants in the strategic planning process. The church should also gather data on the pandemic and other external factors affecting members to inform the strategic planning process. Further, the church should inculcate a culture of recognizing and rewarding best performance to motivate the staff. The church should carry out a periodical needs assessment to make strategic decisions on staff development. In addition, partnerships with the government and other stakeholders in the health sector should be sought to develop a training program that will meet the needs identified from the needs assessment. Further, the church leaders should review and improve the turn-around –time of communicating with the congregants on all matters concerning the implementation of the guidelines.

The Activities of Johannes Bugenhagen during the 1530s to 1550s: The Unity of Theory and Practice in Lutheran Confessionalization

The article considers the activities of the prominent Lutheran reformer Johannes Bugenhagen (1485–1556) in the period from the 1530s to 1550s. The principal approaches to the reformer’s legacy in the historiography of the 19th to early 21st centuries are summarized. The main directions of Bugenhagen’s pursuits in the ecclesiastical, theological, political, and organizational spheres are analyzed. The article shows that Bugenhagen played a key role in the drafting and promulgation of a number of evangelical church statutes. It is noted that the church statute model developed by Bugenhagen for Brunswick, Hamburg, and Lübeck was widely adopted across many evangelical territories in Germany and abroad; in particular, attention is given to Bugenhagen’s reform work in Denmark. It is argued that Bugenhagen’s revision of church law along Reformation principles was associated with changes in other branches of law. It is emphasized that after the Schmalkaldic War of 1546– 1547 Bugenhagen remained one of the leaders of the evangelical forces and continued his reform work in the church and the University of Wittenberg. In the 1550s, he actively collaborated with such representatives of the ‘second generation’ of Lutheran supporters as Paul Eber, Martin Chemnitz, Andreas Wolf, and David Hitrois, as shown in his correspondence. The article analyzes Bugenhagen’s approach to theological problems, which was determined by the desire to affirm the ideas of Lutheranism in all aspects of church life; in particular, the reformer’s work in the last years of his life is considered. The author concludes that Johannes Bugenhagen achieved marked success in a number of spheres, combining theory and practice in dealing with the most important theological, political, and organizational issues of the day. The reformer’s principal achievements in the period from the 1530s to 1550s were the creation of a number of evangelical statutes, further development of the Lutheran dogma, and participation in the overhaul of university education. His active and varied pursuits strengthened Wittenberg’s connections with other centers of the evangelical movement, thus facilitating the spread of Lutheran confessionalization in Germany and other countries.

“Sing and make music to the Lord”: cultural difference in South Africa’s urban religious soundscapes

Scholars of contemporary Christianity have long noted the importance of sacred music in constructing faith communities and distinguishing religious actors from one another. Drawing on historical and ethnographic evidence gathered over 16 months in Johannesburg, South Africa, I examine the role of music in contributing to the Christian identity of conservative evangelicals and in mediating their relationship with religious others. For the interdenominational, multiracial network of conservative Christians with whom I worked, music sung during weekly church services was carefully curated to meet elders’ pastoral aims informed by the conventions of orthodox Christian theology, yet it was also a site of tension and innovation as efforts to appeal to wider demographics were implemented. The palpable contrast between this music style and that of more charismatic evangelical churches was a point of implicit social commentary, semiotically standing in for the spectre of dangerous religious difference. This ethnographic research illustrates the power of embodied, sonic “feeling” to maintain cultural boundaries in South Africa’s heterogeneous religious soundscapes.

The Parable of the Sower: Rooting out White Supremacy and Institutionalized Racism in the church

This article highlights the parallels between Camara Jones’ Gardener's Tale allegory and Jesus’ Parable of the Sower to invite reflection regarding White Evangelical Christians’ approach to addressing institutionalized racism faced by African Americans and Blacks in the US and the church. Using an interdisciplinary lens that engages sociology, politics, history, theology and biblical exegesis, this article presents a compelling case for the church to cease the practice of compartmentalizing anti-racist movements as “political” and lead the charge through a missional goal to root out institutionalized racism both within the church and American society.

استعجال آرمجدون: مستقبل المسجد الأقصى في "صفقة القرن" في إطار الصهيونية المسيحية

Al-Aqsa Mosque, Bayt al-Maqdis, and the fate of Palestine have emerged as central topics in the Deal of the Century (DoC), presenting a one-sided viewpoint deeply loaded with a biased political, historical and religious narrative. This paper examines the visions of Christian Zionists concerning the future of al-Aqsa Mosque as outlined in the ‘deal’. Primarily, it is concluded that the Deal proposes a major change in the status quo of al-Aqsa Mosque by temporally dividing and allocating it only to Jews and Christians on their respective holidays. Secondly, it lays the foundation for spatial division giving Jews exclusive use of parts of al-Aqsa Mosque, as implemented in the Ibrahim Mosque in Hebron. The third phase, implied but not explicitly stated, revolves around the Zionist ideology of the construction of a ‘Jewish Temple’ over the site of al-Aqsa Mosque. This inference is drawn from the impact of Christian Zionism on American politics and the anticipation of Christ's Second Coming. Furthermore, the inclusion of the entire area of al-Aqsa Mosque within the target of the ‘Jewish Temple’ plan, in accordance with the idea that Jesus Christ would enter the site and particularly from an unsealed Bab al-Rahma or the Golden Gate. As a result, the DoC proposes the division of time, space and the sharing of the mosque as a starting point, in line with evangelical plans; the successful completion of which will see the construction of a ‘Jewish Temple’ to hasten the advent of the apocalypse. This endeavour reflects Christian Zionists’ fervent efforts to reshape the world order by forcing the ‘Hand of God’, and bringing about their long-held desire for Armageddon, through the instrumentalisation of Jews for the fulfilment of their scheme.

An ongoing search of constant and sustainable Lutheran Theological Education in South Africa in the 21st century.

This article explores the recent history of Lutheran theological education in South Africa, which is still confronted by the legacy of colonial and apartheid education systems. The latter need to be confronted with liberation and decolonisation systems that reclaim African indigenous identities. There is a need to cultivate a culture of quality and equal education, spirituality, politics, and socio-economic systems for the service of South Africans. Evangelical Lutheran churches inSouthern Africa are committed to improve and reform Lutheran theological education in the 21st century. Lutheran theological education is necessary to make a meaningful contribution towards training theological students to assist the church in its response to societal concern and contextual issues. The article introduces a recent renewal of Lutheran theological institutions in a new teaching and learning environment by the Lutheran Church. It discusses the implications and successes of Lutheran theological education in South Africa.

Conflicting Worldviews: The Disintegration of Protestant Evangelical Christianity

“Dünya Görüşü” kavramı hızla değişen sosyal dinamiklerin anlaşılabilmesi için özellikle 1950-1960’dan sonra dini ve felsefi açıdan akademik alanda yoğun şekilde araştırma konusu haline gelmiştir. Dini veya seküler inanç esaslarına sahip birçok dünya görüşü mevcuttur. Bunların kendilerine göre anlamları, ilkeleri, doğası ve karakterleri bulunmaktadır. Modernizm akımının ortaya çıkmasıyla beraber bilimsel ve kamusal alandan dışlanan ve bireysel alana sıkışan Protestan Hıristiyanlık inancı, bu dönemde, felsefe alanında kullanılan “dünya görüşü” kavramını kendi inanç esasları kapsamında dönüştürmüş ve modern-seküler kültüre karşı inanç savaşında kullanmıştır. Protestan Evanjelik dünya görüşü, yaşamın bütününde Tanrı’nın egemenliğine odaklanan “ilahi” bir karaktere sahiptir. Salt doktriner olmaktan ziyade, dini, ahlaki ve siyasi açıdan bireysel ve kamusal yaşam alanlarının tüm dinamiklerini kapsayan bir yapıdadır. Kalvinist bakış açısıyla ilk öncül varsayımı ontolojik olan Protestan Evanjelik dünya görüşü, “tüm sorunlara karşı koyabilecek bir hakikat ve yaşam sistemi” olarak bireylere sunulmaktadır. Dolayısıyla, gelişen yenidünya düzeninde ortaya çıkabilecek tüm toplumsal sorunların da çözüm adresi olarak gösterilmektedir.