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Yonat Shimron, Religion Reporter
Raleigh News & Observer, Raleigh, NC

Reporters may be tempted to use words such as "fundamentalist" to describe people or groups whose theological approach seems narrow, rigid or reactionary. They should think twice about this word and others, including "evangelical."

Many so-called "fundamentalist" groups don't want to be labeled in this way, and it's safe to say, most would view the word as derogatory. A quick refresher on the origin of this movement might shed light on how the word was originally intended to be used. Fundamentalist is a term that emerged in the early 20th century to describe a particular group of Protestant Christians. Between 1910 and 1915, a dozen books called "The Fundamentals" laid the groundwork for fundamentalist thought. Basically, fundamentalists were those who believed the Bible was the literal word of God; Jesus was born of a virgin; Jesus died to atone for sinful humans; he was resurrected from the grave and will return in the future.

But the image of the new fundamentalist movement was quickly tarnished in the 1920s and 1930s in large part because of the Scopes Trial, in which a Tennessee schoolteacher was convicted of teaching evolution in the classroom. Writer and critic H. L. Mencken ridiculed this type of religiosity and reduced it to a caricature.

In Christian context, fundamentalist is often used to describe the policies of the Southern Baptist Convention, which in recent years has emphasized a literal reading of the Bible and has called on wives to submit to their husband's leadership. At least one former president of the SBC said he finds the term offensive. Conservative Christian might be more appropriate.

Of course, fundamentalism is not limited to Christianity. These days, many reporters are writing about fundamentalism in reference to Islam. As with Christianity, Muslim fundamentalism arose as a reaction to a modern world in which God has been at times forcefully excluded. It's important to recognize that while some Muslim fundamentalists are militant, others are benign. In describing groups that espouse violence in the name of Islam, it might be more accurate to say "militant Muslims," or a "militant Islamic movement." The word "extremist" may on occasion be more descriptive of a group that carries its faith to the extreme.

Another tricky word is "evangelical," which newspapers routinely use to describe a wide swath of Christians who in recent years have tended to vote Republican and have criticized U.S. Supreme Court decisions legalizing abortion and forbidding school prayer, for example. The word evangelical emerged in the 1940s as a preferred designation for Christians who accepted the fundamentalist doctrines but wanted to engage the world in a more positive way. Billy Graham, who upset fundamentalists for his willingness to work with the more liberal mainline Protestants as well as Roman Catholics, is a perfect example of the emerging evangelical movement.

Like fundamentalists, evangelicals also began to suffer criticism, mostly in connection to the televangelist scandals of the 1980s. The rise of organized, pseudo-political movements such as Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority and Pat Robertson's Christian Coalition also contributed to the negative connotation associated with the world evangelical.

But reporters should keep in mind that many Christians who are part of this religious stream don't want to be typecast as being part and parcel of Jerry Falwell's vision for America, and the independent-minded among them are beginning to view the word evangelical as a put-down. In addition, the evangelical movement is sprouting an increasing number of sub-cultures, and that' too, is contributing to the erosion of its meaning. It's safe to say evangelicals share an orthodox understanding of Christianity - one that sees the Bible as central and authoritative. Beyond that, the word doesn't convey much. It may be more accurate to describe such a group by its affiliation -say Southern Baptist or Pentecostal or non-denominational.

Whenever possible, it's better to avoid these loaded words in favor of more exacting descriptions. Ultimately, labels distance us from the people we write about. Avoiding them may allow those very people to recognize themselves for who they say they are.

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