The divergent movement emerged from certain interactions with evangelical Christians in the 1950s, which included the publication of Questions on Doctrine in 1957.
One scholar wrote in 2001: "It is only within the last few decades that the Adventist Review has recognized editorially that there exists within the Seventh-day Adventist Church, at least in North America, 'liberals,' 'liberal churches,' 'liberal colleges/universities' and 'liberal conferences.'