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Zusammenfassung
- Evangelicals are Protestants, but not all Protestants are evangelical: “Protestant” is the family of churches from the Reformation, and “evangelical” is a movement that runs through many of them.
- Historian David Bebbington’s four marks of evangelicals are conversionism, activism, biblicism and crucicentrism, a stress on Christ’s sacrifice on the cross; the National Association of Evangelicals uses the same summary.
- In Pew’s 2023-24 survey, 23% of American adults belonged to evangelical churches and 11% to mainline churches such as the United Methodist Church, the ELCA, the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Episcopal Church.
- The line often runs through one family: the Southern Baptist Convention, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and the Presbyterian Church in America are evangelical, while American Baptist Churches USA, the ELCA and the Presbyterian Church (USA) are mainline.
- In Germany and Latin America “evangelical” usually just means Protestant, which is why the mainline Evangelical Lutheran Church in America carries the word in its name.
Literaturverzeichnis (Zum Anzeigen klicken)
- Scripture quotations are from the English Standard Version (Mark 1:1; John 3:3; Ephesians 4:11), BibleGateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+1%3A1%3BJohn+3%3A3%3BEphesians+4%3A11&version=ESV
- David W. Bebbington. Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s (London: Unwin Hyman, 1989, as listed by the NAE; Grand Rapids: Baker, 1989, as cited by Harris), pp. 2-3, quoted in Brian Harris, “Beyond Bebbington: The Quest for Evangelical Identity in a Postmodern Era,” Churchman 122/3, which also summarizes the view of J. I. Packer and John Stott. https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/churchman/122-03_201.pdf
- National Association of Evangelicals. “What is an Evangelical?” https://www.nae.org/what-is-an-evangelical/
- National Association of Evangelicals. “NAE, LifeWay Research Publish Evangelical Beliefs Research Definition” (19 November 2015). https://www.nae.org/evangelical-beliefs-research-definition/
- National Association of Evangelicals. “Statement of Faith.” https://www.nae.org/statement-of-faith/
- National Association of Evangelicals. “History.” https://www.nae.org/history/
- National Association of Evangelicals. “Three Denominations Join the National Association of Evangelicals” (31 August 2026). https://www.nae.org/three-denominations-join-nae/
- National Association of Evangelicals. “NAE Denominations & Networks” diagram (2022), listing the Assemblies of God. https://www.nae.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/NAE-Denominational-Network-Diagram.pdf
- World Evangelical Alliance. “Who Are Evangelicals?”, including Leon Morris, “What Is an Evangelical?” (reprinted from Zusammenarbeit, Australian Evangelical Alliance, 1998). https://worldea.org/who-we-are/who-are-evangelicals/
- Mark A. Noll. The Rise of Evangelicalism: The Age of Edwards, Whitefield, and the Wesleys (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003), as listed by the NAE. https://www.nae.org/what-is-an-evangelical/
- Pew Research Center. “Religious Identity in the United States,” 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study (26 February 2025). https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/02/26/religious-landscape-study-religious-identity/
- Pew Research Center. “Appendix B: Classification of Protestant Denominations,” 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study (26 February 2025). https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/02/26/appendix-b-classification-of-protestant-denominations/
- Pew Research Center. “Religion in Latin America” (13 November 2014). https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2014/11/13/religion-in-latin-america/
- Pew Research Center. “How Voting Patterns Changed in the 2024 Election” (26 June 2025). https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2025/06/26/voting-patterns-in-the-2024-election/
- Peter Staples. “Protestantism, Protestants.” In Encyclopedia of Religion and Society, Hartford Institute for Religion Research. https://hirr.hartfordinternational.edu/articles/4519/
- Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Amerika. Constitutions, Bylaws, and Continuing Resolutions, chapter 2, Confession of Faith (edition current as of November 2023). https://resources.elca.org/wp-content/uploads/Constitutions_Bylaws_and_Continuing_Resolutions_of_the_ELCA.pdf
- Living Lutheran (ELCA). “The ‘e’ word.” https://www.livinglutheran.org/mission-ministry/the-e-word/
- Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland. “Protestant Church in Germany.” https://www.ekd.de/en/ekd-98.htm
- Christianity Today. “United Methodists Down 7,659 Churches As Exit Window Ends” (December 2023). https://www.christianitytoday.com/2023/12/united-methodist-church-split-total-umc-disaffiliation-lgbt/
- Gafcon. “The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA).” https://gafcon.org/prayer-updates/the-anglican-church-in-north-america-acna/
- Southern Baptist Convention. The Baptist Faith and Message (2000, Article VI amended 2023), Articles I and VI. https://bfm.sbc.net/bfm2000/
- Assemblies of God. “Position Paper on Women in Ministerial Leadership” (adopted August 2025). https://ag.org/Beliefs/Position-Papers/Women-in-Ministerial-Leadership
