Fundamentalist-Modernist conflict
The Fundamentalist-Modernist conflict refers to a significant theological and ideological struggle within Protestant Christianity that emerged predominantly in the early twentieth century. This conflict centered around differing interpretations of Scripture, with Fundamentalists asserting a literal approach to the Bible as the infallible word of God, while Modernists advocated for a more liberal and contextual understanding of faith and religious experience. The tension became particularly pronounced among denominations like Presbyterians and Baptists, leading to deep divisions and the formation of separate factions, such as Westminster Theological Seminary, which emerged in defense of orthodox beliefs.
Key figures, such as Henry Sloan Coffin, represented the Modernist view that Christianity needed to adapt to contemporary cultural contexts to remain relevant. In contrast, leaders like John Gresham Machen articulated a staunch defense of traditional doctrines, viewing Modernism as a departure from essential Christian tenets. This conflict intensified in the 1930s, especially in missionary contexts, where debates over the authenticity of Christian teachings were ignited by reports of Modernist influences abroad.
The legacy of this conflict persists, as the fundamental differences in belief systems remain unresolved, illustrating an ongoing struggle between faith expressions that prioritize tradition versus those that embrace modernization and adaptation.
On this Page
Fundamentalist-Modernist conflict
Debate among Protestant theologians about the literal interpretation of the Bible
By 1930, historical criticism of the Bible had spread from universities to seminaries intent upon maintaining academic credibility without sacrificing a distinctively Christian worldview. Some theologians contended accommodations to secular scholarship would be ruinous to the faith, so they prepared for combat with advocates of the liberal approach to Scripture. Consequences of this dispute left Protestants sharply divided.
Princeton Theological Seminary became the major defender of orthodoxy early in the twentieth century, and its scholars continued to lead that effort until 1929, when they lost control. An exodus of professors committed to the Bible as God’s infallible word led to the formation of Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia to continue the struggle against Modernist departures from orthodoxy.
By the opening of the 1930’s, the concept of fundamentalism had come to identify Protestants who affirmed full confidence in Scripture and espoused all doctrines derived from subscription to its authority. A series of booklets, The Fundamentals: A Testimony to the Truth, began appearing in 1915, and Baptist editor Curtis Lee Laws introduced the term “fundamentalist” in 1920. Although the controversy affected numerous denominations, it was most pronounced with Presbyterians and Baptists, among whom it caused deep divisions.
Concurrent with disputes in seminaries, reports about Modernism among foreign missionaries agitated further unrest, especially when it became evident that Pearl S. Buck, Presbyterian appointee in China, had abandoned orthodoxy and was promoting a syncretism between Christianity and traditional Chinese philosophies. Although Buck resigned from the Presbyterian mission in 1933, the furor she had helped to inflame had only begun. Comparable disputes among Baptist missionary personnel agitated congregations of that affiliation too.
One of the most influential leaders of the Modernist movement was Henry Sloan Coffin, professor and president of Union Theological Seminary, in New York, the academic fountainhead of liberal scholarship, from 1926 to 1945. Through his influence in the Presbyterian Church, USA, Coffin promoted the view that accommodations to the contentions of culture were essential for the survival of Christianity, for such concessions alone would make it attractive to modern people. Coffin regarded religious experience as the foundation of faith and the basis for preaching. He saw the Bible as a product of evolving religious insights rather than specific divine revelation. Partly because of the eloquence of spokespersons such as Coffin, Modernism gained supporters in Presbyterian ranks, a development which led conservatives to reach beyond their own denomination to find support; Baptists often joined with Presbyterians to defend historic beliefs they held in common.
Baptist concern about theological issues had been growing at least since the start of the twentieth century, but 1930 proved to be a crucial year in provoking disputes among members of the denomination. Wealthy Baptist churchman John D. Rockefeller funded a project to examine the entire missionary enterprise, and seven denominations participated in the study. Harvard University professor William Ernest Hocking, a liberal Congregationalist, led a “layman’s inquiry” about Christian efforts in East Asia. The report, Re-thinking Missions (1932), portrayed Christianity as part of an emerging world religion, and it urged missionaries to promote fraternity among religions by refraining from proclaiming divisive doctrines such as the exclusive saviorhood of Christ.
Reactions to Re-thinking Missions ranged from enthusiastic endorsements to stern rejections, with John Gresham Machen, founder of Westminster Theological Seminary, leading the conservatives. Machen regarded the report of Hocking’s committee as abominable syncretism and a betrayal of Christianity, and he criticized other orthodox leaders who responded to it temperately. Buck, on the contrary, hailed Re-thinking Missions and urged all mission agencies to adopt its recommendations. When the general assembly of the Presbyterian Church, USA approved the leadership and policies of its board of foreign missions, Machen announced some conservatives would form an Independent Board of Presbyterian Foreign Missions (IBPFM) to preserve the historic faith. Publication of Re-thinking Missions occurred at a time when church leaders and missionaries were debating the relevance of believing in Jesus’ virgin birth, a doctrine liberals found incredible but conservatives considered indispensable. At the same time Buck declared her inability to affirm belief in a personal God.
A pivotal figure in these disputes was Robert E. Speer, secretary of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, who in spite of his avowed belief in all cardinal doctrines of Christianity, refused to acknowledge deviations from the faith among missionaries of his church. Other leading conservatives denounced Re-thinking Missions but did not support Machen’s Independent Board. In 1934 the Presbyterian General Assembly orderd all members of that board to resign. Those who refused were suspended from the ministry of that church.
Meanwhile in Baptist circles the fundamentalist-Modernist conflict was equally intense. The Northern Baptist Convention had suffered a division in 1925, when seceding congregations formed the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches, and a larger schism was yet to come. Baptist congregations, being fully autonomous, left the convention in growing numbers; eventually that body lost one-half of its membership. Once more, reports of Modernism among missionaries in China aroused concern, and William Bell Riley, a pastor in Minneapolis, had discovered departures from orthodoxy in China as early as 1923. Thereafter, efforts to obtain assurance that the denominational Board of Foreign Missions would appoint only persons of conservative belief encountered opposition from denominational leaders.
When a Baptist missionary in China published a book denying Jesus’ virgin birth, bodily resurrection, and second coming, conservatives demanded removal of all mission personnel who did not espouse historic Christian teachings. Such efforts continued through the decade of the 1930’s, but they were not successful. In 1943, the fundamentalists organized the Conservative Baptist Foreign Mission Society (CBFMS) to operate within the Northern Baptist Convention but independent of its control. The orthodoxy of appointees was to be assured by subscription to a statement of faith. The CBFMS made China one of its major fields. In 1947, frustrated fundamentalists formed the Conservative Baptist Association of America, another costly secession from the Northern Baptist Convention.
Impact
Although fundamentalists and Modernists seldom any longer attack each other with the vigor displayed during the 1930’s, the issues dividing them remain, and the antithesis they reflect shows the conflict is unresolvable. The preeminent fundamentalist leader Machen made this clear in his book Christianity and Liberalism (1923), which portrays the two schools of thought as competing religions.
Bibliography
Buck, Pearl S. Is There a Case for Foreign Missions? New York: John Day, 1932. Displays the author’s syncretistic beliefs, which forced her split from the fundamentalist elements of Christian theology.
Dollar, George W. A History of Fundamentalism in America. Greenville, S.C.: Bob Jones University Press, 1973. A thorough account with a useful biographical index.
Hocking, Ernest W., ed. Re-thinking Missions. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1932. The document that propelled fundamentalists into action.
Loetscher, Lefferts A. The Broadening Church. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1957. A liberal historian’s erudite analysis; opposite to the perspective of Machen.
Longfield, Bradley J. The Presbyterian Controversy. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991. A work of careful scholarship and fair judgments by a Presbyterian historian.
Macartney, Clarence E. The Making of a Minister. New York: Channel Press, 1961. An autobiography of a learned Presbyterian pastor deeply involved in the controversy.
Machen, J. Gresham. Christianity and Liberalism. Reprint. Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans, 2009. The classical scholarly defense of orthodoxy that has received applause from partisans on both sides of the conflict.
Poteat, Gordon. Stand by for China. New York: Friendship Press, 1940. The work of a Modernist missionary who caused much controversy.
Tulga, Chester E. The Foreign Missions Controversy in the Northern Baptist Convention. Chicago: Conservative Baptist Fellowship, 1950. An eyewitness account from a participant in this conflict.
Utzinger, J. Michael. Yet Saints Their Watch Are Keeping. Macon, Ga.: Mercer University Press, 2006. Examines fundamentalist perceptions of the proper nature of the church from 1887 to 1957.
Ward, Keith. What the Bible Really Teaches. London: SPCK, 2004. A liberal critique of conservative beliefs.