By: Kie Bowman, Scott Barkley, Tom Strode, Tobin Perry, Adelle M. Banks, Zach Williams, Leann Callaway, Timothy Cockes
The evangelical label has fallen on hard times. A growing number of Americans treat it almost like a slur, especially on social media. The terms evangelical and evangelicalism are contested by scholars, controversial in the public square, and confusing to many churchgoers. Pundits, pollsters, journalists and many scholars are convinced evangelicalism is primarily a special interest group that skews disproportionately Republican. Regrettably, the growing number of “cultural evangelicals” who are politically conservative lends some credibility to those claims.