Christian “Fundamentalists” have traditionally defined themselves not only by doctrine, but also by a disposition of “earnestly contending for the faith” through persistent evangelism, ecclesiastical separation, and an aggressive confrontation of apostasy through spoken and written word. Recently, adherents have recognized a definite shift in the use of the label “fundamentalist” in the public media and popular culture (including frequent references made to “Islamic fundamentalists”), although few laypeople can explain the details of the noticeable alteration. This inability can be partially explicated through a curious irony: fundamentalists have generally avoided secularized institutions of higher education, and the shift in terminological definition began in academia without fundamentalists themselves present at the discussion table.