Religious extremism of Bible Prebyterian Church

Religious extremism in Christian contexts emerges when absolutist ideology combines with specific theological commitments and institutional isolation. A religious extremist acts from religious motivations and justifies actions through religious teachings and interpretations, applying ideological positions that fall within the religion’s cognitive expressions.[1] Christian terrorism specifically involves actions by groups or individuals who appeal to Christian motives or goals.[1]

Fundamentalist ideology comprises absolute attitudes, values, and presuppositions yielding religio-political perspectives with totalizing claims, functioning as both a focused mindset and narrow worldview.[1] Critically, while most religious extremists are fundamentalists, the reverse isn’t necessarily true—a fundamentalist isn’t automatically an extremist or prone to violence.[1] Assertive fundamentalism creates conditions for religious extremism that escalates into impositional fundamentalism, which may produce violent behaviors.[1]

The Bible Presbyterian Church exemplifies this trajectory. Fundamentalist Presbyterians organized the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in 1936, then established the Bible Presbyterian Church two years later when disagreeing over premillennialism’s acceptability.[2] This institutional fragmentation reflected broader patterns: 1930s-1940s fundamentalism became increasingly alienated, separatistic and divisive, with groups unable to cooperate even with each other.[2] Separatistic fundamentalism grew more demanding and selective in doctrine and behavior—requiring specific eschatological beliefs, with spiritual condition judged by conformity to particular religious and social practices.[2]

The chief identifying element of Christian extremism is impositional absolutism, often drawing on apocalyptic literature expressing “an intrinsic connection between present forbearance and eschatological vengeance.”[1] Apocalyptic categories guarantee absoluteness through divine revelation, making them non-negotiable—herein lies the root of religious violence in Christian traditions.[1]

[1] Douglas Pratt, Religion and Extremism: Rejecting Diversity (New York, NY: Bloomsbury Academic, 2017), 81–82, 151.
[2] Daniel G. Reid, Robert Dean Linder, et al., in Dictionary of Christianity in America (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1990). [See here, here, here.]