Hello Bob,
A few sources come to mind that have defined evangelicalism for academic
purposes.
Green, Guth, Kellstedt, Smidt use a definition based on practices
(frequency of church attendance, bible reading, belief that one is born
again, and so on) for polling. They are all political scientists
(Kellstedt just retired from Wheaton College) trying to get a handle on
the political attitudes, beliefs, and practices as related to religious
beliefs. They have published numerous articles in Books & Culture (a
Christianity Today publication with some content available at
www.christianitytoday.com/books/) over the last several years and also
wrote a book called _Religion and the Culture Wars: Dispatches from the
Front_ (Rowman & Littlefield, 1996) that probably lays out their
methodology in some detail.
Mark Noll (_Scandal of the Evangelical Mind_, _Turning Points_ and also
from Wheaton College) has used David Bebbington's (a British historian) 4
part definition of evangelicalism in several of his works including
_American Evangelical Christianity (AEI): An Introduction_ (Blackwell,
2001) and also I believe in the introduction to _God and Mammon:
Protestants, Money, and the Market, 1790-1860_ (Oxford University Press,
2002). The definition he uses may be your best bet as it is succinct, and
after looking at the table of contents for AEI, the first section might be
a great place to start for a working definition. He also has some polling
data in the second chapter of AEI done by the Angus Reid group that might
be helpful (it looks at evangelical Catholics amongst other things).
Christian Smith (& Michael Emerson), _American Evangelicalism: Embattled
and Thriving_ (University of Chicago Press, 1998) might be another place
to look. They come at it from a sociological perspective and I believe
allow people to define themselves as evangelicals and look at
evangelicalism using the methods of polling and interviews.
I own _Religion and the Culture Wars_ and _American Evangelical
Christianity_ so if you can't get your hands on anything helpful let me
know and perhaps I can flip through them and type in some of the
definitions and helpful material.
Joel Moore
--- Robert Schneider <rjschn39@bellsouth.net> wrote:
> Dear Colleagues,
> May I have your help in a project I am about to undertake? In the
> latest PSCF, Willem Drees, in an piece entitled "Can We Reclaim One of
> the 'Stolen Words'?", suggests that "Evangelical may be one more such
> ['stolen'] term, which is in the process of losing the wider meanings it
> had., becoming more and more a particular style within the
> Protestantism."
>
> How one understands and defines "evangelical" is significant for
> my project.
[SNIP]
How
> might I best define "evangelical" for the purposes of these essays? The
> question is important for the very reason Drees notes. A large number
> of Berea's students would think of themselves as evangelicals and think
> of the word to describe that "particular style" Drees alluded to. I
> want them to understand that it stands for more than that, even as I
> demonstrate that one can be an evangelical Christian and believe that
> God creates the universe through evolutionary processes. I think the
> best way I can do that is to share the thoughts about being an
> evangelical you all might contribute to this venture. We all know how
> important personal testimony can be to others.
>
> So, I'm asking for your help. I invite you to share your own
> understanding of what "evangelical" and "evangelicalism" mean, both
> generally and in this context, and would appreciate anyone providing me
> with a statement about it. I will be grateful for your help, and this
> might be an interesting topic for us on the listserv to reflect upon.
>
> Grace and peace,
>
> Bob Schneider
>
> rjschn39@bellsouth.net
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