Nedward’s reference is the Evangelicalism from the Simpsons fictional universe The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The show is set in the fictional town of Springfield and parodies American culture and society, television, and the human condition. Nedward "Ned" Flanders Jr. is a recurring character in the animated television series The Simpsons, voiced by Harry Shearer. He is the extremely religious, good-natured, cheery next-door neighbour to the Simpson family A scrupulous and devout Evangelical Christian, he is among the friendliest and most compassionate of Springfield's residents and is generally considered a pillar of the Springfield community. Evangelicalism (/ˌiːvænˈdʒɛlɪkəlɪzəm), also called evangelical Christianity, or evangelical Protestantism is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that maintains the belief that the essence of the Gospel consists of the doctrine of salvation by grace alone, solely through faith in Jesus' atonement. Evangelicals believe in the centrality of the conversion or "born again" experience in receiving salvation, in the authority of the Bible as God's revelation to humanity, and in spreading the Christian message. The movement has long had a presence in the Anglosphere before spreading further afield in the 19th, 20th and early 21st centuries. In 2016, there were an estimated 619 million evangelicals in the world, meaning that one in four Christians would be classified as evangelical. The United States has the largest proportion of evangelicals in the world. American evangelicals are a quarter of that nation's population and its single largest religious group.