Christian fundamentalism in the context of "Answers in Genesis"

Creationism is the religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of divine creation, and is often pseudoscientific. In its broadest sense, creationism includes various religious views, which differ in their acceptance or rejection of modern scientific concepts, such as evolution, that describe the origin and development of natural phenomena.

The term creationism most often refers to belief in special creation: the claim that the universe and lifeforms were created as they exist today by divine action, and that the only true explanations are those which are compatible with a Christian fundamentalist literal interpretation of the creation myth found in the Bible's Genesis creation narrative. Since the 1970s, the most common form of this has been Young Earth creationism which posits special creation of the universe and lifeforms within the last 10,000 years on the basis of flood geology, and promotes pseudoscientific creation science. From the 18th century onward, Old Earth creationism accepted geological time harmonized with Genesis through gap or day-age theory, while supporting anti-evolution. Modern old-Earth creationists support progressive creationism and continue to reject evolutionary explanations. Following political controversy, creation science was reformulated as intelligent design and neo-creationism.

Aniconism is the absence of material representations of the natural and supernatural world in various cultures. Most denominations of Christianity have not generally practiced aniconism, or the avoidance or prohibition of these types of images, even dating back to early Christian art and architecture. Those in the faith have generally had an active tradition of making artwork and Christian media; depicting God, Jesus, The Holy Spirit, religious figures including saints and prophets, and other aspects of theology like The Trinity and Manus Dei.

There have however been periods of aniconism in Christian history, notably during the controversy of the Byzantine iconoclasm of the eighth century, and following the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, when Calvinism in particular rejected all images in churches, and this practice continues today in some Reformed (Calvinist) churches, as well as some forms of fundamentalist Christianity. The Catholic Church has always defended the use of sacred images in churches, shrines, and homes, encouraging their veneration but condemning anyone who would worship them as if they were gods themselves.

Biblical infallibility is the belief that the Bible can be relied on entirely for guidance in faith and Christian living, providing accurate and trustworthy direction for salvation and spiritual practice.

Historically, Jewish and Christian interpreters have treated the Bible as trustworthy, though trust did not necessarily imply historical or scientific accuracy. The concept of biblical infallibility gained prominence in 19th- and early 20th-century Protestantism as a fundamentalist reaction against modernist trends in mainstream Christianity. In parallel, the Catholic Church developed the idea of papal infallibility, while evangelical churches emphasized the infallibility of Scripture. Both movements combined theological claims with ideological resistance to perceived erosion of traditional authority, reflecting a broader crisis in Western religious authority.

The mainline Protestants (sometimes also known as oldline Protestants) are a group of Protestant denominations in the United States and Canada largely of the theologically liberal or theologically progressive persuasion that contrast in history and practice with the largely theologically conservative evangelical, fundamentalist, charismatic, confessional, Confessing Movement, historically Black church, and Global South Protestant denominations and congregations. Some make a distinction between "mainline" and "oldline", with the former referring only to denominational ties and the latter referring to church lineage, prestige and influence. However, this distinction has largely been lost to history and the terms are now nearly synonymous.

Mainline Protestant churches have stressed social justice and personal salvation and, both politically and theologically, tend to be more liberal than non-mainline Protestant churches. Mainline Protestant churches share a common approach that often leads to collaboration in organizations such as the National Council of Churches, and because of their involvement with the ecumenical movement, they are sometimes given the alternative label of ecumenical Protestantism (especially outside the United States). While in 1970 the mainline Protestant churches claimed most Protestants and more than 30 percent of the American population as members, as of 2009 they were a minority among American Protestants, claiming approximately 15 percent of American adults. In 2024, approximately 13.1% of Americans were white non-Hispanic mainline Protestants according to the Public Religion Research Institute's Census of American Religion.

In politics, integralism, integrationism or integrism (French: intégrisme) is an interpretation of Catholic social teaching that argues the principle that the Catholic faith should be the basis of public law and public policy within civil society, wherever the preponderance of Catholics within that society makes this possible. Integralism is anti-pluralist, seeking the Catholic faith to be dominant in civil and religious matters. Integralists uphold the 1864 definition of Pope Pius IX in Quanta cura that the religious neutrality of the civil power cannot be embraced as an ideal situation and the doctrine of Leo XIII in Immortale Dei on the religious obligations of states. In December 1965, the Second Vatican Council approved and Pope Paul VI promulgated the document Dignitatis humanae—the council's "Declaration on Religious Freedom"—which states that it "leaves untouched traditional Catholic doctrine on the moral duty of men and societies toward the true religion and toward the one Church of Christ". However, they have simultaneously declared "that the human person has a right to religious freedom," a move that some traditionalist Catholics such as Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, the founder of the Society of St. Pius X, argue is at odds with previous doctrinal pronouncements.

The term is sometimes used more loosely and in non-Catholic contexts to refer to a set of theoretical concepts and practical policies that advocate a fully integrated social and political order based on a comprehensive doctrine of human nature. In this generic sense some forms of integralism are focused purely on achieving political and social integration, others national or ethnic unity, while others were more focused on achieving religious and cultural uniformity. Integralism has, thus, also been used to describe non-Catholic religious movements, such as Protestant fundamentalism or Islamism. In the political and social history of the 19th and 20th centuries, the term integralism was often applied to traditionalist conservatism and similar political movements on the right wing of a political spectrum, but it was also adopted by various centrist movements as a tool of political, national and cultural integration.

The Seven Mountain Mandate, also Seven Mountains Mandate, 7M, 7MM, or Seven Mountains Dominionism, is a dominionist conservative Christian ideology within evangelical Christianity, particularly independent Charismatic groups. It holds that there are seven aspects of society that believers seek to dominate: family, religion, education, media, arts and entertainment, business, and government.

It originated from a perceived divine message to evangelicals Loren Cunningham, Bill Bright, and Francis Schaeffer to influence seven key areas of society. Initially, Cunningham framed these spheres as a framework for evangelism rather than cultural takeover. Over time, particularly after the 2000 meeting between Cunningham and Lance Wallnau and the 2013 publication of Invading Babylon: The 7 Mountain Mandate by Wallnau and Bill Johnson, the movement adopted a more dominion-oriented focus, encouraging strategic social and political influence. It has been linked to the New Apostolic Reformation and gained visibility through figures like Paula White and support for Donald Trump, with a 2024 poll indicating that 41% of American Christians believe in 7MM.

The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes, commonly known as the Scopes trial or Scopes Monkey Trial, was an American legal case from July 10 to July 21, 1925, in which a high school teacher, John T. Scopes, was accused of violating the Butler Act, a Tennessee state law which outlawed the teaching of human evolution in public schools. The trial was deliberately staged in order to attract publicity to the small town of Dayton, Tennessee, where it was held. Scopes was unsure whether he had ever actually taught evolution, but he incriminated himself deliberately so the case could have a defendant. Scopes was represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, which had offered to defend anyone accused of violating the Butler Act in an effort to challenge the constitutionality of the law.

Scopes was found guilty and was fined $100 (equivalent to $1,850 in 2025), but the verdict was overturned on a technicality. William Jennings Bryan, a three-time presidential candidate and former secretary of state, argued for the prosecution, while famed labor and criminal lawyer Clarence Darrow served as the principal defense attorney for Scopes. The trial publicized the fundamentalist–modernist controversy, which set modernists, who believed evolution could be consistent with religion, against fundamentalists, who believed the word of God as revealed in the Bible took priority over all human knowledge. The case was thus seen both as a theological contest and as a trial on whether evolution should be taught in schools. The trial became a symbol of the larger social anxieties associated with the cultural changes and modernization that characterized the 1920s in the United States. It also served its purpose of drawing intense national publicity and highlighted the growing influence of mass media, having been covered by news outlets around the country and being the first trial in American history to be nationally broadcast by radio.

Religion in North America began with the religions and spiritual practices of Native Americans. Later, religion also played a role in the founding of some colonies, as many colonists, such as the Puritans, came to escape religious persecution. Historians debate how much influence religion, specifically Christianity and more specifically Protestantism, had on the American Revolution. Many of the Founding Fathers were active in a local Protestant church; some of them had deist sentiments, such as Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and George Washington. Some researchers and authors have referred to the United States as a "Protestant nation" or "founded on Protestant principles," specifically emphasizing its Calvinist heritage. Others stress the secular character of the American Revolution and note the secular character of the nation's founding documents.

Protestantism in the United States, as the largest and dominant form of religion in the country, has been profoundly influential to the history and culture of the United States. African Americans were very active in forming their own Protestant churches, most of them Baptist or Methodist, and giving their ministers both moral and political leadership roles. The group often known as "White Anglo-Saxon Protestants" have dominated American society, culture, and politics for most of the history of the United States, while the so-called "Protestant work ethic" has long held influence over American society, politics, and work culture. In the late 19th and early 20th century, most major American Protestant denominations started overseas missionary activity. The "Mainline Protestant" denominations promoted the "Social Gospel" in the early 20th century, calling on Americans to reform their society; the demand for prohibition of liquor was especially strong. After 1970, the mainline Protestant denominations (such as Methodists, Presbyterians and Episcopalians) lost membership and influence. The more conservative Protestant evangelical, fundamentalist, and charismatic denominations (such as the Southern Baptists) grew rapidly until the 1990s and helped form the Religious Right in politics.

The Evangelical Methodist Church of America (or Evangelical Methodist Conference) Christian denomination based in the United States. Ardently Fundamental, the denomination has its roots in a movement of churches that broke away from Mainline Methodism in the 1940s and 50s.

The small denomination comprised sixteen churches as of July 2018. It operates Breckbill Bible College in Virginia. Dr. James B. Fields is the general superintendent of this group, which claims mission work in Suriname, Jamaica, Chile, Nigeria, France, Kenya and Malawi. It is headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee. Principal strength of the denomination is centered in the Northeastern and Southern United States.