Fighting Fundamentalist: Carl McIntire and the Politicization of American Fundamentalism
No TL;DR found
Abstract
Contemporary historiography encompasses numerous examinations of the religious Right's rise to prominence in politics, including its neoconservative advocacy for a generously funded military, campaigns against a range of left-leaning social issues, and nostalgic rhetoric about small government. In historians’ constructions of this narrative, one figure has been marginalized, despite having shaped fundamentalism's growth. Until now. Markku Ruotsila's Fighting Fundamentalist contributes a solid biography of Carl McIntire, giving him the attention he deserves for making American fundamentalism a political power. McIntire established himself as a famous radio preacher and publisher through his pastorate at Collingswood Bible Presbyterian Church in New Jersey and his organization of conservative evangelical bodies such as the International Council of Christian Churches. From the 1930s to the early 2000s McIntire served as a distinct source of “fundamentalist polemics” (p. 2). While his militant approach placed him in a small subset of evangelicals, his publications, radio broadcasts, and penchant for publicity gave him a role more dominant than mere numbers might suggest and qualified him, according to Ruotsila, as one of the “principal founding fathers of the Christian Right” (p. 8).