World Church · October 5, 2026
Evangelical Press Association Considers Dropping Evangelical From Name
The Evangelical Press Association (EPA) is exploring the removal of the term Evangelical from its official name. The proposal was presented to members by the association’s board in August and will be put to a vote by October 7. EPA currently includes about 300 media outlets and organizations such as Christianity Today, WORLD and Decision. The board argues that the word evangelical now carries political, cultural and sociological connotations that obscure its original theological meaning. It stresses that a name change would not alter the association’s theological stance or membership criteria. A 2024 survey commissioned by EPA found that only 61 percent of Protestants who identify with evangelical beliefs describe themselves as evangelical Christians, while 39 percent do not use the label. Only 24 percent believe that evangelicals are viewed positively by American society. A Pew Research Center study from 2023‑2024 estimates evangelical Protestants make up 23 percent of the U.S. adult population. Politically, 70 percent of evangelicals lean Republican, with 80 percent of white evangelicals and 58 percent of Hispanic evangelicals supporting the party. Pew’s classification combines denomination, race and self‑identification as born‑again or evangelical, showing that the term cannot be reduced to a single political bloc. Some voices oppose the rename. Bonnie Christian, deputy editor of Christianity Today, warns that dropping Evangelical for Christian could create the impression that the organization now embraces Catholic, Orthodox and mainline Protestant bodies, blurring the boundaries of who is included.
The question of who belongs and who does not remains unresolved. In Japan, the Japan Evangelical Association (JEA) defines itself as a fellowship and cooperation body for evangelical churches rooted in biblical faith, comprising about 100 denominations, societies and churches. Its English name remains Japan Evangelical Association, and the term evangelical is still used as a clear self‑designation. The historical development of evangelicalism in Japan cannot be explained solely by current U.S. political conditions. JEA’s 2015 statement on the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II recalls the post‑war gathering of evangelical churches and emphasizes resistance to the nationalism that supported the imperial system and state Shinto. Its 2025 statement on the 80th anniversary reiterates a commitment to peace, describing believers as makers of peace. Thus, equating Japanese evangelicals with the U.S. religious right would overlook their distinct history and internal diversity. At the same time, the terminology itself appears to be in flux. The National Christian Council of Japan (NCC) noted in 2026 that the word evangelical has become a broad and varied concept, calling for greater mutual understanding and dialogue. The same shift applies to the term mainline, which in Japan is used to describe historic denominations within NCC, while JEA and related groups are labeled evangelical. The distinction is not a simple majority versus minority label, as NCC includes Japanese Christian Church, Japan Anglican Church, Japan Lutheran Church, Japan Baptist Convention and Japan Christian Church, among others, and collaborative projects across the labels are increasing.
For example, the 2021 East Japan Great Earthquake International Theology Symposium youth session was organized by groups such as the Korean Graduate Christian Association and the Student Christian Fellowship, representing both evangelical and mainline streams. A 2018 program hosted by this newspaper featured Shoshi Nezda, a longtime editor of the Christian newspaper, who reflected on a past tendency to define evangelical identity by opposition to liberal or social movements, and noted a recent shift toward emphasizing shared concerns. As church realities evolve, old maps of categorization may remain only as remnants. The debate over dropping the term evangelical is part of a larger conversation that also involves mainline, liberal, conservative, Christian right and other descriptors. Removing these words would not solve the underlying issues, and some classification is necessary to understand history and theology. Yet using such labels without clarifying their meaning risks turning religion into a mere tag, as when one equates evangelical with Trump support or mainline with liberal. The Japanese Christian community may be entering a phase of re‑examining whether the long‑used terms evangelical and mainline still accurately reflect the lived reality of its churches.