ABSTRACT
In the early twentieth century a great quarrel erupted between Protestant modernists and conservatives. Many of the conservative Protestants were fundamentalists. Although the battle focused on religious matters, much more was involved. At stake was whether to accept urban, cosmopolitan, modern America, or adhere to an earlier version characterized by rural small towns, and Anglo-Saxon hegemony. Over time, it came to involve a debate whether to accept a new morality grounded in majority opinion rather than traditional, absolute theological precepts. These disputes affected politics, and by the late twentieth century they were reflected in the activities of the religious right, a very potent political force.
