Post-evangelicalism is a movement of former adherents of evangelicalism, sometimes linked with the emerging church phenomenon, but including a variety of people who have distanced themselves from mainstream evangelical Christianity for theological, political, or cultural reasons. Most who describe themselves as post-evangelical are still adherents of the Christian faith in some form.

Origin of the term

While the origin of the term post-evangelical is uncertain, it was brought into broad usage by Dave Tomlinson and through his 1995 book of the same name. Tomlinson has said that he first heard the term from a friend, although he "suspect[ed] the term had entered our consciousness surreptitiously a couple of years earlier." In his usage of the term, Tomlinson argues that evangelicalism is a response to modernism, no longer appropriate in a post modern world.

Criticisms of evangelicalism

Some post-evangelical criticisms of the evangelical church include but are not limited to:

Other definitions

Christianity Today explains that post-evangelicals have become willingly disassociated with the mainstream evangelical belief system over difficulties with any combination of at least the following issues:

Publications

Publications identifying as post-evangelical include Recovering Evangelical, an online news and opinion portal for "evangelicals, post-evangelicals and those outside the church who still like Jesus", the blog Internet Monk, and Patrol Magazine. Dave Tomlinson's book The Post Evangelical and Graham Cray's The Post Evangelical Debate are useful texts for understanding the movement and the debate surrounding it. See also David Gushee's book, After Evangelicalism: The Path to a New Christianity