Joseph W. Kemp and the impact of American fundamentalism in New Zealand

Abstract

The contemporary rise of within conservative Christianity observers puzzled. Although the group, the Coalition of Concerned with the American 'Moral Majority', politically-active fundamentalism in New Zealand has left many New Zealand fundamentalist action Citizens, has denied direct links it is clear that the contemporary fundamentalist resurgence in New Zealand owes much to politicoreligious movements i n the United States of America. Some Christians who see fundamentalism as a distortion of the Christian faith have been quick to point out this American connection. In so doing, they implicitly reject the movement as being alien to more recent developments and attempts to create a distinctly indigenous theology in New Zealand. Can fundamentalism be ejected thus as a foreign body?