Historians have noted that throughout American history, public thought and religious life have consistently impacted each other, and evangelicals are no exception.84 The correspondences between larger cultural trends and evangelical movements do not necessarily negate the significance of the latter since there is nothing inherently contradictory about holding a biblical belief that is also reflected in some way in the contemporary culture. However, they should at least give us pause to ask whether this influence is hindering our ability to see other ways of understanding gender.
