ABSTRACT
Fundamentalism is the general term applied to a Protestant Christian tradition especially widespread in the United States. Its tenets include a conversion experience, an infallible Bible, conservative social values, affirmation of ancient Christian beliefs (e.g., the Virgin Birth), and a salvation history which stresses Christ’s imminent return in judgment and a millennium. It is evangelistic and proselytizes aggressively. While some specific denominations are avowedly Fundamentalist, its influence is felt within a broad spectrum of Protestantism. During the twentieth century, Fundamentalism was a cause of sharp, even bitter, disagreement among Christians and with non-Christians. At the end of that century its social and political influence was greater than ever.
