Evangelicalism

Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement that began in the 17th century and became an organized movement with the emergence around 1730 of the Methodists in England and the Pietists among Lutherans in Germany and Scandinavia. The movement became even more significant in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th centuries, where it drew far more members than in Europe. It continues to draw adherents globally in the 21st century, especially in the developing world.

Evangelicalism de-emphasizes ritual and emphasizes the piety of the individual, requiring him or her to meet certain active commitments, including:

• The need for personal conversion, or being "born again"
• A high regard for biblical authority
• An emphasis on teachings that proclaim the saving death and resurrection of the Son of God, Jesus Christ
• Actively expressing and sharing the gospel

David Bebbington has termed these four distinctive aspects conversionism, biblicism, crucicentrism, and activism, noting, "Together they form a quadrilateral of priorities that is the basis of Evangelicalism."