Evangelicals – Part One – Altared States

Evangelicals – Part One – Altared States

From Origin Story by Podmasters

June 3, 2026 · 1h 33m · Season 9 · Episode 6

About this episode

This episode explores the origins and impact of evangelical Christianity on American politics and society from the 1730s to the early 20th century.

Welcome to Origin Story, the show about why we are where we are. This week we begin the story of evangelical Christianity and its influence on politics. Starting in the 1730s, Protestants in colonial America replaced the dour strictures of the Puritans with an ecstatic, empowering new creed that promised salvation through conversion: the word evangelical means spreading the good news. Over the next 150 years it swept the country through waves of revivalism, as star preachers like Charles Finney and Dwight Moody professionalised the business of soul-saving. The movement changed Britain, too. Evangelicalism cut across all the major Protestant denominations but believers disagreed over the timing of the prophesied Millennium and therefore whether they should focus on converting individuals or reforming society. Activist followers of the Social Gospel were at the forefront of the fight to end evils like slavery and child labour. It was slavery that caused the formation of a more conservative Southern church. By the early twentieth century, factional conflicts were piling up: over social reform, Biblical scholarship, the theory of evolution. Some evangelicals felt that there were…

Topics covered

  • evangelical Christianity
  • politics
  • revivalism
  • social reform
  • fundamentalism
  • history of religion

Keywords

  • evangelicalism
  • revivalism
  • social gospel
  • fundamentalism
  • Puritans
  • John Scopes
  • Christianity
  • politics

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Puritans, Southern church, Social Gospel

More episodes of Origin Story

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Origin Story podcast page.