Fear and trembling | Center Faith & Society

PROJECT | THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS

Fear & Trembling: Who is afraid of Evangelicals?

Post-Evangelicals and the Future of Christian Faith

The Church is in a crisis of perception. Public discourse is shaped by extremes. In mainstream media, “evangelicals” are often portrayed as rigid, fundamentalist, and even dangerous. In contrast, “post-evangelicals” seek to escape this narrow framework. But is that truly possible? Fear & Trembling is a critical and self-critical search for living expressions of Christian faith in a complex world.

Whenever terms like “free church members,” “pious zealots,” or “evangelicals” appear in public discourse, they tend to provoke immediate reactions. Personal accounts from deconstructing or ex-evangelicals reinforce a familiar narrative: that of liberation from oppressive religion. But why is this story so dominant? Does religious community necessarily restrict personal freedom? Is deep faith inherently suspect?

Fears of indoctrination, group pressure, or spiritual manipulation—sometimes rightly observed in evangelical and so-called “neo-communitarian” contexts (cf. Andreas Reckwitz)—create a cultural framing that can itself become narrow and dismissive.

Post-evangelicals attempt to step beyond inherited boundaries. They strive to retain what is good while leaving behind what harms. If certain forms of religious life truly pose risks, then it should be the Church itself that takes the lead in discerning and responding to them.

In this podcast, we explore the deeper roots of these tensions. We listen to critics and supporters alike. We examine the hopes and fears projected onto faith, community, and the self. And we ask what a future Christianity might look like that enables believers to grow into mature, collective agents of faith.

All Content is produced in german and some interviews in swiss german.

Scientific Contribution

Dürr, Oliver (2024). Wer hat Angst vor Evangelikalen? Post-Evangelikalismus und die Zukunftsformen des christlichen Glaubens. Theologische Literaturzeitung, 149(11):987-1002.