Evangelicals refer to themselves as "people of faith." Almost without exception, however, either overtly or covertly, they mean truth when they talk about their beliefs. They are unable or unwilling to understand that propositions of faith are accepted without evidence. Truth, on the other hand, applies to propositions or claims that have been established as true based on logic or facts. The significant consequence of this clarification is that propositions of faith can never qualify as truth until verification has happened.
It needs to be made clear that opposition to fundamentalism does not mean that suppression is called for. The best way to contain fundamentalism is to teach people to think. Facts and reason will, in the long run, win out over self-imposed ignorance. Evangelicals try to short-circuit this process by pulpit thumping and loud shouting. But this will not add force to their case.
If the past is any predictor of the future, the religious right will make the usual charge that secular humanists are trying to undermine all religion. However, humanists are a pitifully small number of people and are about as popular as a frog in the collection plate.
