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The term "evangelical" comes from the ancient Greeks. How it came to be used as it is in modern American vernacular is complicated.
The word finds its roots in the Greek evangelion, meaning "gospel" or "good news." During the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther used it to describe his breakaway church, the evangelische kirke, or "evangelical church."
So, for many years, "evangelical" simply meant "Protestant," said historian Mark Noll, founder of the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals at Wheaton College.
Later, the word was applied to several religious movements and Christian denominations that were the products of a number of religious revivals in Europe and North America during the 18th century, a time when Methodists and Baptists grew in prominence.
The way "evangelical" is used today was shaped in part by a coalition of Protestants -- including the Rev. Billy Graham -- who began calling themselves evangelicals to separate themselves from the Christian fundamentalist movement of the 1920s and '30s. Christian fundamentalism began in the late 19th century among American Protestants reacting against all things modern. That movement was -- and largely is -- characterized by an anti-intellectual, separatist mentality that attempts to keep the church apart from culture. Graham and other post-World War II "evangelicals" wanted to engage culture to spread the gospel.
Today, "evangelical" has as many intended meanings as there are evangelical congregations, which is why it's so difficult to accurately count how many evangelicals there are. Different pollsters find different counts -- between 7 percent and 47 percent -- depending on how they define "evangelical." Most scholars say the evangelical population of the United States is about 25 percent.
Some say an evangelical is a person who has had a conversion experience, who is "born-again." Others say it's someone who has a "personal relationship with Jesus Christ," believes the Bible is the definitive guide for living and is compelled by their faith to share it with others, which could encompass people in religious traditions as varied as Southern Baptist, Dutch Reformed and Roman Catholic.
A widely accepted definition comes from British historian David Bebbington, who says evangelicalism has four hallmarks, namely beliefs that: lives need to be changed, the gospel needs to be actively spread, and the Bible should be held in unique regard, as well as an emphasis on the sacrifice Jesus Christ made, dying on the cross to atone for the sins of humankind.
Others say: If you call yourself "evangelical," you are. But scholars and clergy say that would leave out the majority of African-American Protestants who believe the same things as their white counterparts theologically and doctrinely but shy from the label because of its association with conservative politics.
Pentecostal Christians complicate things even more. While most Pentecostals share most of the beliefs as Bebbington's evangelicals, many prefer to call themselves Pentecostal Christians, "spirit-filled" or charismatic.
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