Christian fundamentalism, also known as fundamental Christianity or fundamentalist Christianity, is a religious movement emphasizing biblical literalism. In its modern form, it began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among British and American Protestants as a reaction to theological liberalism and cultural modernism. Fundamentalists argued that 19th-century modernist theologians had misunderstood or rejected certain doctrines, especially biblical inerrancy, which they considered the fundamentals of the Christian faith.
Princeton Seminary in the 1800s
A Christian demonstrator preaching at Bele Chere
J. Gresham Machen Memorial Hall
Jerry Falwell, whose founding of the Moral Majority was a key step in the formation of the "New Christian Right"
Biblical literalism or biblicism is a term used differently by different authors concerning biblical interpretation. It can equate to the dictionary definition of literalism: "adherence to the exact letter or the literal sense", where literal means "in accordance with, involving, or being the primary or strict meaning of the word or words; not figurative or metaphorical".
Imaginative portrayal of Origen by André Thévet
Portrait of Augustine of Hippo by Philippe de Champaigne, 17th century
Biblical literalists believe that the story of Noah's ark (depicted in this painting by Edward Hicks) is historically accurate.
