The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism

by Tim Alberta

That sounded harsh, and perhaps Thomas was utilizing some hyperbole to make his point. But he wasn’t wrong. Unlike the Catholic Church, which at least offsets its scandals with bountiful, centralized, highly visible social programs—for the hungry, the disabled, the drug addicted, the abused, the sick, and anyone else who needs help—the evangelical Church is not exactly synonymous with charity. This isn’t because evangelicals are not themselves charitable; to the contrary, research has shown time and again that Christians, both Protestant and Catholic, are more generous with donations than their non-religious peers. It’s really a matter of emphasis—as influenced by theology. Whereas Catholics stress the “works” that must accompany faith, Protestants adhere to the doctrine of salvation by grace alone. Intrinsically, then, the “public priorities” of many evangelicals skew away from the social good even as their churches make profound contributions to it.