Today's evangelical movement has its roots in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. The "Reformers" were those who called Christians back to biblical fidelity, to the original apostolic teaching, and sought reform of what was believed to be a cumbersome and in some ways corrupt church hierarchy.
The Reformation spelled the end of the secular/sacred divide, empowering the laity to greater involvement in the church.
Evangelicalism is a movement which has always brought fresh vitality and enthusiasm into the church at large (which is why evangelicals in America and Britain were historically labeled "enthusiasts"). Modern evangelicalism has truly become trans-denominational; the desire to reform and encourage a personal relationship with Christ has led to evangelical movements in most Protestant denominations, as well as in Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.
Evangelicals today seek a deeper and more personal relationship with Jesus Christ and call individual Christians to deeper personal discipleship. We are not, as one major newspaper culturally defined us, “poor, uneducated, and easily led”; nor should we be defined by our attachment to either political party. The Manifesto well defines the character of evangelicalism as a theological movement. Though it seeks always to bring Christian truth to bear in all of society, including politics, evangelicalism stands astride the mainstream of the church and apart from and independent of any worldly structure.
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