Since when is “Evangelicalism” the watermark?

A recent dust-up over Rachel Held Evans’ possible departure from Evangelicalism has me wondering why “Evangelicalism” has become such a sticking point for so many.

Evans has openly discussed her disillusionment with Evangelicalism, and her draw toward other Christian traditions, for a solid year now, but her recent interview with Jonathan Merritt of Religion News Service drew new attention to her decision to join the Episcopalian church. Every time the subject of her denominational alignment comes up, I’m surprised by how strongly people react.

I mean, I’d expect fervor and argument and wringing of hands if a popular Christian writer announced a departure from Christ altogether. But Evans has only announced her switch to another type of church. Since when did denominational shuffling warrant this kind of worry?

For example, CharismaNews ran a response interview with Chelsen Vicari, Director of IRD’s Evangelical Action, examining whether Evan’s move might portend a mass exodus of Millennials in general from Evangelical churches.

Of course that’s an important conversation. Of course Evangelical leaders should ask questions about the future of their churches. But I’m uncomfortable with the implicit belief that a move away from Evangelicalism specifically would spell some sort of doom for the North American church.

Vicari comments that “the culture wars, growth of family, success of missions,” and “prosperity of our nation” all hinge on “Millennial Evangelicals’ worldview.”

That’s a really steep claim. There are an awful lot of church “genres” out there—Evangelical, mainstream, orthodox, liturgical, Catholic—and many of those broad categories contain several denominations within themselves. Are Evangelicals really the only group carrying the future of the church? Doesn’t that imply that other branches of Christianity aren’t really carrying the kingdom forward? They can’t impact the culture? Champion missions? (And when did Jesus ever tell his disciples to make nations prosperous?)

What’s so vital about the definition of Evangelicalism, anyway? Young people might very well reject that label and some of its trappings for any number of reasons, but if they still seek to follow Christ and live out the reality of His kingdom, does it really matter what they call themselves?

Early on, the article claims that Evans has “distanced herself from Evangelical understandings of salvation and biblical authority.” But see, I didn’t know there was an “Evangelical” understanding of salvation. I thought salvation—the atonement of personal sin through faith and the ushering in of the creation’s reconciliation through Christ’s redemptive work—was a belief held in common by all Christians. Are we now claiming that one’s correct understanding of something as basic as salvation can be threatened by aligning with the wrong group?

This is why the obsession with staying inside the Evangelical label makes me so antsy. In our effort to understand the changing landscape of denominations, we mustn’t start looking to one group of Christians as the in-crowd who cornered the market on faith, and we certainly shouldn’t panic, thinking that we must keep that group bolstered or risk losing the gospel. I fear that’s where many of these conversations are starting to go. I say this as someone who thoroughly marinated in the juices of Evangelical culture from a young age, someone who still resonates with many parts of that faith tradition today (but also as someone who rejects labels, because they make me look like a suitcase).

Furthermore, let’s distinguish between theological issues and debate versus denominational labels.

Vicari identifies abortion and gay marriage as two hallmark issues that supposedly mark the Millennial generation’s move away from Evangelicalism. So I have to ask: are we talking about what denomination one belongs to, or are we talking about a specific set of issues that churches and the media are focused on right now? Evangelicalism isn’t the only branch of Christianity currently at odds over things like abortion and gay marriage. Vicari and others who have written on this topic are right to note that Millennials tend to be at odds with older generations about these things, but that has been true even outside of religious contexts. It’s more a generational struggle than it is a specifically Evangelical one.

This discussion of Evans’ maybe-departure from Evangelicalism has raised troubling questions about how we prioritize that label, and whether we see a holistic picture of the Body of Christ in North America. I, for one, will continue to watch the unfolding discussion with interest.