Religious fundamentalism refers a "deep and totalistic commitment" to a belief in the infallibility and inerrancy of a holy book, absolute religious authority, and strict adherence to a set of basic principles (fundamentals), away from doctrinal compromises with modern social and political life. A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos Biblical inspiration is the doctrine in Christian theology concerned with the divine origin of the Bible and what the Bible teaches about itself Biblical inerrancy is the conservative evangelical doctrinal position that in its original form the Bible is totally without error and free from all contradiction Doctrine (Latin doctrina) is a codification of beliefs or "a body of teachings quot or "instructions" taught principles or positions as the Modernism describes an array of Cultural movements rooted in the changes in Western society in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century ^[1][2][3][4]

The term fundamentalism was originally coined to describe a narrowly defined set of beliefs that developed into a movement within the US Protestant community in the early part of the 20th century. Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. Until 1950 there was no entry for fundamentalism in the Oxford English Dictionary;^[5] the derivative fundamentalist was added only in its second 1989 edition. The Oxford English Dictionary ( OED) published by the Oxford University Press (OUP is a comprehensive Dictionary of the English ^[6]

The term fundamentalist has since been generalized to mean strong adherence to any set of beliefs in the face of criticism or unpopularity, but has by and large retained religious connotations. ^[6] The collective use of the term fundamentalist to describe non-Christian movements has offended some Christians who desire to retain the original definition.

Fundamentalism is often used as a pejorative term, particularly when combined with other epithets (as in the phrase "Muslim fundamentalists" and "right-wing fundamentalists"). Islamic fundamentalism Arabic: usul (from usul the "fundamentals"] is a term used to describe religious ideologies seen as advocating a return to the ^[7][8] Richard Dawkins used the term to characterize religious advocates as clinging to a stubborn, entrenched position that defies reasoned argument or contradictory evidence. ^[9]

Contents 1 History 1.1 Christian origins 1.2 Later usage 2 The fundamentalist phenomenon 3 Criticism of fundamentalist positions 4 Universal aspects of Fundamentalism in all religions 5 Basic beliefs of religious fundamentalists 5.1 Buddhism 5.2 Christian views 5.3 Hinduism 5.4 Islamic views 5.5 Jewish views 5.6 Mormon views 5.7 Non-theistic "fundamentalism" 5.7.1 State atheism 5.7.2 Atheistic fundamentalism 6 Controversy over use of the term 7 See also 8 Citations and Footnotes 9 References 10 External links

History

Christian origins

The term "fundamentalism" came into existence at the Niagara Bible Conference which defined those things that were fundamental to belief. The Niagara Bible Conference (officially called the "Believers' Meeting for Bible Study" was held annually from 1876 to 1897 with the exception of 1884 The term was also used to describe "The Fundamentals", a collection of twelve books on five subjects published in 1910 by Milton and Lyman Steward^{[10] [11]}

Fundamentalism as a movement arose in the United States, starting among conservative Presbyterian academics and theologians at Princeton Theological Seminary in the first decade of the Twentieth Century. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Presbyterianism is a family of Christian denominations within the Reformed branch of Protestant Western Christianity Princeton Theological Seminary (PTS is a theological seminary of the Presbyterian Church located in the Borough of Princeton The twentieth century of the Common Era began on ^{[10] [11]} It soon spread to conservatives among the Baptists and other denominations during and immediately following the First World War. Baptist is a term describing individuals belonging to a Baptist church or a Baptist denomination. Denominationalism|List of Christian denominations|Church (disambiguation A Christian denomination is an identifiable religious body under a common name structure and doctrine within World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All ^{[10] [11]} The movement's purpose was to reaffirm orthodox Protestant Christianity and zealously defend it against the challenges of liberal theology, German higher criticism, Darwinism, and other "-isms" which it regarded as harmful to Christianity. Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. For liberal political views within Christianity see Christian left. Historical criticism or higher criticism is a branch of literary analysis that investigates the origins of a text as applied in Biblical studies it naturally Darwinism is a term used for various different movements or concepts related to a greater or lesser extent to Charles Darwin 's work on Evolution. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings ^{[10] [11]}

Since then, the focus of the movement, the meaning of the term Fundamentalism, and the ranks of those who willingly use it to identify themselves, have gone through several phases of re-definition,^{[10] [11]} though maintaining the central commitment to its orthodoxy.

Later usage

The Iran hostage crisis of 1979-80 marked a major turning point in the use of the term "fundamentalism". The Iran hostage crisis ( Persian: تصرف سفارت آمریکا was a diplomatic crisis between Iran and the United States where 52 The media, in an attempt to explain the ideology of Ayatollah Khomeini and the Iranian Revolution to a Western audience which had little familiarity with Islam, came to describe it as a "fundamentalist version of Islam" by way of analogy to the Christian fundamentalist movement in the U. Seyyed Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini ( Persian:, pronounced muːsæviː-je xomejniː}}( September 24, 1902 – June 3 1989 The Iranian Revolution' (mostly known as the Islamic Revolution, Persian: انقلاب اسلامی Enghelābe Eslāmi was the Revolution that transformed For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. S. Thus was born the term "Islamic fundamentalist", which would come to be one of the most common usages of the term in the following years, though this is a misconception amongst those who believe it began with Iran. Fundamentalists can also refer to other groups such as the IRA (Catholics) which has been instrumental in adhering to the meaning of fundamentalists for over 100 years.

The fundamentalist phenomenon

This formation of a separate identity is deemed necessary on account of a perception that the religious community has surrendered its ability to define itself in religious terms. The "fundamentals" of the religion have been jettisoned by neglect, lost through compromise and inattention, so that the general religious community's explanation of itself appears to the separatist to be in terms that are completely alien and fundamentally hostile to the religion itself.

Some fundamentalist movements, therefore, claim to be founded upon the same religious principles as the larger group, but the fundamentalists more self-consciously attempt to build an entire approach to the modern world based on strict fidelity to those principles, to preserve a distinctness both of doctrine and of life.

The term itself is borrowed from the title of a four volume set of books called The Fundamentals published in 1909. The Fundamentals or The Fundamentals A Testimony To The Truth edited by A The books were published by the Bible Institute of Los Angeles (B. I. O. L. A. now Biola University), and edited by R. Biola University is a private, Non-denominational, Evangelical Christian university located near Los Angeles, noted for its conservative A. Torrey, who was a minister affiliated with the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. Moody Bible Institute ( MBI) was founded by evangelist and businessman Dwight Lyman Moody in 1886 Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. Initially the project was funded by Lyman Stewart, president and cofounder of the Union Oil Company of California (currently known as UNOCAL), and cofounder of B. Lyman Stewart (1840 – 1923 was a US businessman and cofounder of what eventually became Unocal. Union Oil Company of California dba Unocal is a defunct company that was a major petroleum explorer and marketer in the late 19th century through the 20th century and into the early I. O. L. A. The books were a republication of a series of essays that were sent by mail to every minister in the United States. They were called "The Fundamentals" because they appealed to all Christians to affirm specific fundamental doctrines such as The Virgin Birth and bodily Resurrection of Jesus. The virgin birth of Jesus is a religious Tenet of Christianity and Islam which holds that Mary miraculously conceived Jesus while Within the body of Christian beliefs the resurrection of Jesus is a core event on which much of Christian doctrine and theology depend This series of essays came to be representative of the "Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy" which appeared late in the 19th century within the Protestant churches of the United States, and continued in earnest through the 1920s. The Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy was a religious controversy in the 1920s and '30s within the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America. Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the

The pattern of the conflict between Fundamentalism and Modernism in Protestant Christianity has remarkable parallels in other religious communities, and in its use as a description of these corresponding aspects in otherwise diverse religious movements the term "fundamentalist" has become more than only a term either of self-description or of derogatory contempt. Fundamentalist Christianity, also known as Christian Fundamentalism or Fundamentalist Evangelicalism, is a movement that arose mainly within British and For liberal political views within Christianity see Christian left. Fundamentalism is therefore a movement through which the adherents attempt to rescue religious identity from absorption into modern, Western culture, where this absorption appears to the enclave to have made irreversible progress in the wider religious community, necessitating the assertion of a separate identity based upon the fundamental or founding principles of the religion. Westernization or occidentalization (from occident, see wiktionary) is a process whereby societies come under or adopt the Western

Criticism of fundamentalist positions

Many criticisms of fundamentalist positions have been offered. One of the most common is that some claims made by a fundamentalist group cannot be proven, and are irrational, demonstrably false, or contrary to scientific evidence. For example, some of these criticisms were famously asserted by Clarence Darrow in the Scopes Monkey Trial. Clarence Seward Darrow ( April 18, 1857 – March 13, 1938) was an American Lawyer and leading member of the American The " Scopes Trial " ( Scopes v State 152 Tenn 424 278 S

Sociologist of religion Tex Sample asserts that it is a mistake to refer to a Muslim, Jewish, or Christian Fundamentalist. Tex Sample is a Sociologist of religion lecturer author and emeritus Professor of Church and Society at the St A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Rather, a fundamentalist's fundamentalism is their primary concern, over and above other denominational or faith considerations. ^[12]

A criticism by Elliot N. Dorff: "In order to carry out the fundamentalist program in practice, one would need a perfect understanding of the ancient language of the original text, if indeed the true text can be discerned from among variants. Elliot N Dorff (born 24 June 1943) is a Conservative rabbi a professor of Jewish Theology at the American Jewish University (formerly Furthermore, human beings are the ones who transmit this understanding between generations. "Even if one wanted to follow the literal word of God, the need for people first to understand that word necessitates human interpretation. Through that process human fallibility is inextricably mixed into the very meaning of the divine word. As a result, it is impossible to follow the indisputable word of God; one can only achieve a human understanding of God's will. " (A Living Tree, Dorff, 1988)

A criticism of fundamentalism is the claim that fundamentalists are selective in what they believe. For instance, the book of Genesis dictates that when a man's brother dies, he must marry his widowed sister-in-law. ^[13] Yet fundamentalist Christians do not adhere to this doctrine, despite the fact that it is not contradicted in the New Testament. However, according to New Testament theology, large parts, if not all of the Mosaic Law, are not normative for modern Christians. They may cite passages such Colossians 2:14 which describes Jesus Christ as "having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us" (NKJV). The Epistle to the Colossians is a book of the Bible New Testament. Other fundamentalists argue that only certain parts of the Mosaic Law, parts that rely on universal moral principles, are normative for today. Therefore, in their view, there is no contradiction between such passages in the Old Testament and their belief in biblical infallibility.

Howard Thurman was interviewed in the late 1970s for a BBC feature on religion. Howard Thurman (born 1899 in Daytona Beach Florida - April 10, 1981 in Daytona Beach Florida) was an influential American Author He told the interviewer, "I say that creeds, dogmas, and theologies are inventions of the mind. It is the nature of the mind to make sense out of experience, to reduce the conglomerates of experience to units of comprehension which we call principles, or ideologies, or concepts. Religious experience is dynamic, fluid, effervescent, yeasty. But the mind can't handle these so it has to imprison religious experience in some way, get it bottled up. Then, when the experience quiets down, the mind draws a bead on it and extracts concepts, notions, dogmas, so that religious experience can make sense to the mind. Meanwhile religious experience goes on experiencing, so that by the time I get my dogma stated so that I can think about it, the religious experience becomes an object of thought. "

American futurist John Renesch expands upon this notion by stating, "For me, fundamentalism is an attempt to comprehend that which cannot be comprehended, to rationalize the unfathomable, “effing” the ineffable. John Renesch is a Futurist with a business background social activist speaker and author having published numerous books many of which are collections of original essays It is similar to trying to measure the immeasurable or the “indefinitely extensive. ” It is the human mind doing what it is supposed to do, making sense of things. But some things are ineffable and attempts to make sense of them are fruitless unless one is willing to settle for any explanation just to have one. Again, this goes for business, law, medicine, romance, politics…anything, not just religion. "

Universal aspects of Fundamentalism in all religions

Fundamentalists believe their cause to have grave and even cosmic importance. They see themselves as protecting not only a distinctive doctrine, but also a vital principle, and a way of life and of salvation. Community, comprehensively centered upon a clearly defined religious way of life in all of its aspects, is the promise of fundamentalist movements, and it therefore appeals to those adherents of religion who find little that is distinctive, or authentically vital in their previous religious identity.

The fundamentalist "wall of virtue", which protects their identity, is erected against not only other religions, but also against the modernized, nominal version of their own religion. In Christianity, fundamentalists can be known as "born again" and "Bible-believing" Protestants, as opposed to "mainline", "liberal", "modernist" Protestants. In Islam there are jama'at (Arabic: (religious) enclaves with connotations of close fellowship) fundamentalists self-consciously engaged in jihad (struggle) against the Western culture that suppresses authentic Islam (submission) and the God-given (Shari'ah) way of life. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language Jihad (جهاد ʤɪhæːd an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. Sharia ( Arabic: ar شريعة) is the body of Islamic Religious law. In Judaism fundamentalists are Haredi "Torah-true" Jews. Haredi or Chareidi Judaism is the most theologically conservative form of Orthodox Judaism. There are fundamentalist equivalents in Hinduism and other world religions. Hinduism is a religious tradition that originated in the Indian subcontinent. These groups insist on a sharp boundary between themselves and the faithful adherents of other religions, and finally between a "sacred" view of life and the "secular" world and "nominal religion". Fundamentalists direct their critiques toward and draw most of their converts from the larger community of their religion, by attempting to convince them that they are not experiencing the authentic version of their professed religion.

Many scholars see most forms of fundamentalism as having similar traits. This is especially obvious if modernity, secularism or an atheistic perspective is adopted as the norm, against which these varieties of traditionalism or supernaturalism are compared. Modernity is a term that refers to the Modern era. It is distinct from Modernism, and in different contexts refers to cultural and intellectual movements of the Secularism is generally the assertion that governmental practices or institutions should exist separately from Religion or religious beliefs Atheism The term supernatural or supranatural ( Latin: super, supra "above" + natura "nature" pertains to entities events From such a perspective, Peter Huff wrote in the International Journal on World Peace:

"According to Antoun, fundamentalists in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, despite their doctrinal and practical differences, are united by a common worldview which anchors all of life in the authority of the sacred and a shared ethos that expresses itself through outrage at the pace and extent of modern secularization. " [3]

Basic beliefs of religious fundamentalists

For religious fundamentalists, sacred scripture is considered the authentic, and literal word of their religion's god or gods. Fundamentalist beliefs depend on the twin doctrines that their god or gods articulated their will precisely to prophets, and that followers also have a reliable and perfect record of that revelation. Revelation is the act of revealing or disclosing (see etymology or in the theological perception making something obvious and clearly understood through active or passive communication

Since a religion's scripture is considered the word of its god or gods, fundamentalists believe that no person is right to change it or disagree with it. Within that though, there are many differences between different fundamentalists. For example, many Christian fundamentalists believe in free will, that every person is able to make their own choices, but with consequence. The appeal of this point of view is its simplicity: every person can do what they like, as much as they are able, but their god or gods will bring those who disobey without repentance ("turning away from sin") to justice. This is made clear by the commands of Jesus in the New Testament concerning any kind of revenge ("Vengeance is Mine, sayeth the Lord" for one). The Judaist belief is similar, but they do not believe that it is wrong to take vengeance. The fundamentalist insistence on strict observation of religious laws may lead to an accusation of legalism in addition to exclusivism in the interpretation of metaphysical beliefs. Legalism, in Christian Theology, is a pejorative term referring to an over-emphasis on law or codes of conduct or legal ideas usually implying an allegation

Buddhism

H. H. the Dalai Lama has agreed that there exist also extremists and fundamentalists in Buddhism,^[14] arguing that fundamentalists are not even able to pick up the idea of a possible dialogue. The Dalai Lama is the spiritual and political leader of the Tibetan people according to Tibetan Buddhism. ^[14]

The Japanese Nichiren sect of Buddhism, which believes that other forms of Buddhism are heretical, is also sometimes labelled fundamentalist. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Nichiren (日蓮 ( February 16, 1222 &ndash October 13, 1282) born, later, and finally Nichiren, was a Buddhist Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices However, Nichiren Buddhism contains influences from Shintō and a strongly nationalistic streak. is the native religion of Japan and was once its State religion.

At the height of the Dorje Shugden Controversy Robert Thurman claimed: "It would not be unfair to call Shugdens the Taliban of Tibetan Buddhism" referring to the Muslim extremists of Afghanistan, who believe in swift and brutal justice. Dorje Shugden ( " Vajra Possessing Strength" or Dolgyal Shugden ( "Shugden King of Dhol" is a Deity in Tibetan For the baseball player see Bob Thurman; for the novelist see Rob Thurman Robert Alexander Farrar Thurman (born August 4 The Taliban ( طالبان, also anglicised as Taleban; translation "students" is a Sunni Islamist, predominately Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including ^[15] A statement which was rejected by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, founder of the New Kadampa Tradition (aka NKT), arguing: "This really is a false accusation against innocent people. Kelsang Gyatso is a Buddhist Monk, Gelug teacher (scholar and author of 21 Buddhist books based on the works of Buddha Shakyamuni and Je The New Kadampa Tradition (NKT is a global Buddhist tradition founded by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso in England in 1991 We have never done anything wrong. We simply practise our own religion, as passed down through many generations. ";^[16]

David N. Kay argued in his doctoral research that the NKT fit into the criteria of Robert Lifton’s definition of the fundamentalist self. The New Kadampa Tradition (NKT is a global Buddhist tradition founded by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso in England in 1991 Robert Jay Lifton (born May 16, 1926) is an American Psychiatrist and author chiefly known for his studies of the psychological causes Robert Jay Lifton (born May 16, 1926) is an American Psychiatrist and author chiefly known for his studies of the psychological causes ^[17] Inken Prohl stated: "Kay’s argument shows that, due to the NKT’s homogenous organizational structure, its attempts to establish a uniformity of belief and practice within the organization, and an emphasis on following one tradition coupled with a critical attitude toward other traditions, the NKT fits into Lifton’s category of “fundamentalism”. Kay describes how struggles for control of NKT’s institutional sites and NKT’s repressed memory of its institutional conflicts both contribute to NKT’s later 'fundamentalist' identity. "^[18] However Prohl states also: "Although this observation presents a convincing and challenging observation of a mechanism at work in Buddhist organizations in the West, I would hesitate to characterize, as Kay does, such organizations as 'fundamentalist' due to the vague and, at the same time, extremely political implications of this term. "^[18]

Christian views

Main article: Fundamentalist Christianity

Christian fundamentalists see the Bible (both the Old Testament and the New Testament) as infallible and historically accurate. Fundamentalist Christianity, also known as Christian Fundamentalism or Fundamentalist Evangelicalism, is a movement that arose mainly within British and Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin In Western Christianity, the Old Testament refers to the books that form the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon.

It is important to distinguish between the "literalist" and Fundamentalist groups within the Christian community. Literalists, as the name indicates, hold that the Bible should be taken literally in every part. It would appear that there is no significant Christian denomination which is "literalist" in the sense that they believe that the Bible contains no figurative or poetic language. As the term is commonly used, "literalists" are those Christians who are more inclined to believe that portions of scripture (most particularly parts of the Book of Revelation) which most Christians read in a figurative way are in fact intended to be read in a literal way

Many Christian Fundamentalists, on the other hand, are for the most part content to hold that the Bible should be taken literally only where there is no indication to the contrary. The Book of Revelation, also called Revelation to John, Apocalypse of John ( pronounced, from the Ἀποκάλυψις Ἰωάννου As William Jennings Bryan put it, in response to Clarence Darrow's questioning during the Scopes Trial (1925):

"I believe that everything in the Bible should be accepted as it is given there; some of the Bible is given illustratively. The " Scopes Trial " ( Scopes v State 152 Tenn 424 278 S For instance: 'Ye are the salt of the earth. ' I would not insist that man was actually salt, or that he had flesh of salt, but it is used in the sense of salt as saving Ebba's people. "

Still, the tendency toward a literal reading of the Bible is criticized by mainline Protestant scholars and others. ^[19][20][21]

According to anthropologist Lionel Caplan,

"In the Protestant milieu of the USA, fundamentalism crystallized in response to liberals' eagerness to bring Christianity into the post-Darwinian world by questioning the scientific and historical accuracy of the scripture. Subsequently, the scourge of evolution was linked with socialism, and during the Cold War period, with communism. This unholy trinity came to be regarded as a sinister, atheistic threat to Christian America. . . Bruce [Chpt. 9 of Caplan 1987] suggests that to understand the success of the Moral Majority, an alliance between the conservative forces of the New Right and the fundamentalist wings on the mainly Southern Baptist Churches, we have to appreciate these fears, as well as the impact of a host of unwelcome changes - in attitudes to 'morality', family, civil and women's rights, and so on - which have, in the wake of economic transformations since the Second World War, penetrated especially the previously insular social and cultural world of the American South. " (Caplan 1987: 6)

The term fundamentalist has historically referred specifically to members of the various Protestant denominations who subscribed to the five "fundamentals", rather than fundamentalists forming an independent denomination. This wider movement of Fundamentalist Christianity has since broken up into various movements which are better described in other terms. Early "fundamentalists" included J. Gresham Machen and B.B. Warfield, men who would not be considered "Fundamentalists" today. John Gresham Machen ( July 28, 1881 – January 1, 1937) was an American Presbyterian theologian in the early 20th century Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield ( November 5, 1851 &ndash February 16, 1921) was the principal of Princeton

Over time the term came to be associated with a particular segment of Evangelical Protestantism, who distinguished themselves by their separatist approach toward modernity, toward aspects of the culture which they feel typify the modern world, and toward other Christians who did not similarly separate themselves. Evangelicalism is a theological movement tradition and system of beliefs most closely associated with Protestant Christianity, which identifies with the Gospel Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. Modernity is a term that refers to the Modern era. It is distinct from Modernism, and in different contexts refers to cultural and intellectual movements of the

Because of the prevalence of dispensational eschatology, some fundamentalists vehemently support the modern nation of Israel, believing the Jews to have significance in God's purposes parallel to the Christian churches, and a special role to play at the end of the world. Dispensationalism is a Christian theological view of history and Biblical interpretation that became popular during the 1800s and early 1900s and is For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics.

The term, fundamentalist, is difficult to apply unambiguously, especially when applied to groups outside the USA, which are typically far less dogmatic. Many self-described Fundamentalists would include Jerry Falwell in their company, but would not embrace Pat Robertson as a fundamentalist because of his espousal of charismatic teachings. Jerry Lamon Falwell Sr ( August 11 1933 – May 15, 2007) was an American evangelical Christian Pastor, Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson (born March 22 1930 is a controversial Televangelist from the United States. The term charismatic movement describes the adoption from the early twentieth century onwards of certain beliefs typical of those held by Pentecostal Christians — specifically Fundamentalist institutions include Pensacola Christian College, and Bob Jones University, but classically Fundamentalist schools such as Fuller Theological Seminary and Biola University no longer describe themselves as Fundamentalist, although in the broad sense described by this article they are fundamentalist (better, Evangelical) in their perspective. Pensacola Christian College (PCC is an unaccredited, Fundamentalist, Independent Baptist College in Pensacola Florida, founded Bob Jones University ( BJU) is a private, Protestant fundamentalist, Liberal arts University Fuller Theological Seminary, located in Pasadena California, is the largest multi-denominational seminary in the world Biola University is a private, Non-denominational, Evangelical Christian university located near Los Angeles, noted for its conservative Evangelicalism is a theological movement tradition and system of beliefs most closely associated with Protestant Christianity, which identifies with the Gospel (The forerunner to Biola U. - the Bible Institute of Los Angeles - was founded under the financial patronage of Lyman Stewart, with his brother Milton, underwrote the publication of a series of 12 books jointly entitled The Fundamentals between 1909 and 1920. )

Hinduism

Further information: Hindutva

Hinduism, being a conglomerate of religious traditions, contains a very diverse range of philosophical viewpoints and is generally considered as being doctrinally tolerant of varieties of both Hindu and non-Hindu beliefs. For Veer Savarkar's book see Hindutva (book. Hindutva (Devanagari हिन्दुत्व "Hinduness" a word coined by Vinayak Hinduism is a religious tradition that originated in the Indian subcontinent. ^[22]

In regards to attitudes to scriptures, many schools of Hinduism such as Smartism and Advaitism encourage interpretation of scriptures philosophically and metaphorically and not too literally, other schools, such as Vaishnavism stress the literal meaning (mukhya vṛitti) as primary and indirect meaning (gauṇa vṛitti) as secondary: sākṣhād upadesas tu shrutih - "The instructions of the shruti-shāstra should be accepted literally, without fanciful or allegorical interpretations. Smartism (or Smarta Sampradaya, Smarta Tradition, as termed in Sanskrit) is a denomination of the Hindu Advaita Vedanta ( IAST Advaita Vedānta; Sanskrit अद्वैत वेदान्त əd̪vait̪ə veːd̪ɑːnt̪ə is a sub-school of the Literature regarded as central to the Hindu literary tradition was predominantly composed in Sanskrit, Indeed much of the morphology and linguistic Vaishnavism is a tradition of Hinduism, distinguished from other schools by its worship of Vishnu or its associated avatars principally as Rama and "^[23]

Islamic views

Main articles: Islamic fundamentalism and Islamism

Muslims believe that their religion was revealed by God (Allah in Arabic) to Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, the final Prophet delivered by God. Islamic fundamentalism Arabic: usul (from usul the "fundamentals"] is a term used to describe religious ideologies seen as advocating a return to the Islamism ( Islam + ism; Arabic: al-'islāmiyya) a set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion Allah ( Arabic: الله, ʔalˤːɑːh) is the standard Arabic word for ' IMPORTANT PLEASE READ ##### For all questions relating to the addition of (pbuh peace be upon him or other honorifics However, the Muslims brand of conservatism which is generally termed Islamic fundamentalism encompasses all the following:

• It describes the beliefs of traditional Muslims that they should restrict themselves to literal interpretations of their sacred texts, the Qur'an and Hadith. Islamic fundamentalism Arabic: usul (from usul the "fundamentals"] is a term used to describe religious ideologies seen as advocating a return to the The Qur’an ( القرآن, literally "the recitation" also sometimes transliterated as Qur’ān, Koran, Alcoran Hadith ( ar الحديث, pl aḥadīth; lit. "narrative" are oral Traditions relating to the words and deeds of the Islamic This may describe the private religious attitudes of individuals and have no relationship with larger social groups.

• It describes a variety of religious movements and political parties in Muslim communities. A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion

• As opposed to the above two usages, in the West "Islamic fundamentalism" is most often used to describe Muslim individuals and groups which advocate Islamism, a political ideology calling for the replacement of state secular laws with Islamic law. Islamism ( Islam + ism; Arabic: al-'islāmiyya) a set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only Sharia ( Arabic: ar شريعة) is the body of Islamic Religious law.

In all the above cases, Islamic fundamentalism represents a conservative religious belief, as opposed to liberal movements within Islam. Progressive Muslims have produced a considerable body of liberal thoughts within Islam (in Arabic: الإسلام الاجتهادي

Jewish views

Main article: Jewish fundamentalism

Most Jewish denominations believe that the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible or Old Testament) cannot be understood literally or alone, but rather needs to be read in conjunction with additional material known as the Oral Torah; this material is contained in the Mishnah, Talmud, Gemara and Midrash. The term Jewish fundamentalism is used to refer to fundamentalist religious beliefs among Jews The term "fundamentalism" has two uses Judaism (from the Greek Ioudaïsmos, derived from the Hebrew יהודה Yehudah, " Judah " in Hebrew יַהֲדוּת Yahedut See also Old testament, Septuagint, Targum, Peshitta The Tanakh (תַּנַ"ךְ (taˈnax or; also Tenakh or Tenak is According to Rabbinic Judaism, the oral Torah, oral Law, or oral tradition ( is the oral tradition received in conjunction with the written Torah The Mishnah or Mishna (he משנה "repetition" from the verb shanah he שנה or "to study and review" is a major work of Rabbinic Judaism The Talmud ( Hebrew: he תַּלְמוּד is a record of Rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history The Gemara (also transliterated Gemora or less commonly Gemorra) (from Aramaic גמרא gamar; literally " study" Midrash ( Hebrew: מדרש plural midrashim, lit "to repeat" is a Hebrew term referring to the not exact but comparative ( homiletic While the Tanakh is not read in a literal fashion, Orthodox Judaism does view the text itself as divine, infallible, and transmitted essentially without change, and places great import in the specific words and letters of the Torah. Orthodox Judaism is the formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized term " Torah " ( Hebrew: תּוֹרָה "teaching" or "instruction" sometimes translated as "Law" most commonly refers to As well, adherents of Orthodox Judaism, especially Haredi Judaism, see the Mishnah, Talmud and Midrash as divine and infallible in content, if not in specific wording. Orthodox Judaism is the formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized Haredi or Chareidi Judaism is the most theologically conservative form of Orthodox Judaism. Hasidic Jews frequently ascribe infallibility to their Rebbe's interpretation of the traditional sources of truth. Hasidic Judaism (also Chasidic, etc from the Hebrew: he '''''חסידות''''', Chassidus, meaning "piety" from the Hebrew Rebbe (רבי (pronounced in English which means master teacher or mentor is a Yiddish word derived from the identical Hebrew word Rabbi

Mormon views

Main article: Mormon fundamentalism

Mormon fundamentalism is a conservative movement of Mormonism that believes or practices what its adherents consider to be the fundamental aspects of Mormonism. Mormon fundamentalism (also called fundamentalist Mormonism) is a belief in the validity of selected fundamental aspects of Mormonism as taught and Conservatism is a term used to describe political philosophies that favour Tradition, where tradition refers to various religious cultural or nationally defined Mormonism is a term used to describe the religious, ideological and cultural elements of certain branches of the Latter Day Saint movement Mormonism is a term used to describe the religious, ideological and cultural elements of certain branches of the Latter Day Saint movement Most often, Mormon fundamentalism represents a break from the brand of Mormonism practiced by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and a return to Mormon doctrines and practices which adherents believe the LDS Church has wrongly abandoned, such as plural marriage, the Law of Consecration, the Adam-God theory, blood atonement, the Patriarchal Priesthood, elements of the Mormon Endowment ritual, and often the exclusion of Blacks from the priesthood. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the fourth largest Christian denomination in the United States and the largest and most well-known In the Latter Day Saint movement (also known as Mormonism) the law of consecration has two broad meanings In Mormonism, the Adam–God theory (also called the Adam–God doctrine) was a doctrine taught by Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and other early In Mormonism, blood atonement is the controversial concept that there are certain Sins to which the Atonement of Jesus does not In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Patriarchal priesthood (or Abrahamic priesthood) is one of three types (called "orders" of In Latter Day Saint theology the Endowment usually refers to an ordinance or ritual that is performed in Latter Day Saint temples. See Blacks and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for information specific to that branch in this movement The Latter Day Saint movement has had In the Latter Day Saint movement, priesthood is considered to be the power and authority of God including the authority to act as a leader in the church and to perform Mormon fundamentalists have formed numerous sects, many of which have established small, cohesive, and isolated communities in areas of the Western United States. The Western United States &mdashcommonly referred to as the American West or simply the West &mdashtraditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost

Non-theistic "fundamentalism"

Some refer to any literal-minded philosophy with pretense of being the sole source of objective truth, as fundamentalist, regardless of whether it is usually called a religion. A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos Others, including the blogger Austin Cline of atheism. about. com, argue that fundamentalist atheism does not exist, because it cannot exist on the grounds that atheism has no fundamental doctrines, and that fundamentalism is not a personality type. ^[24]

The use of the word "fundamentalism" has been used to label several positions that do not necessarily fit the original definition. Some atheists and those called "evolutionists" by creationists, for example, have been called fundamentalists due to their outspokenness and high level of certainty. Atheism eVolution is the third Album by eLDee, it was due to be released in 2008 On the Canadian talk show The Bigger Picture, the biologist Richard Dawkins said that his critics mistook passion for fundamentalism. Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL (born 26 March 1941 is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist, and Popular science He has also stated that, unlike religious fundamentalists, he would willingly change his mind if new evidence challenged his current position.

However, some view the atheistic position as making the same kind of claims as any of the theistic views. In this case, the assertion about the nature of a deity is the quality of non-existence, and seems to have exactly the same objections as any other claims about the nature of a deity. There appears to be a wide range of interpretations of the nature of the creator based on our observations of creation, the universe we live in. All of them seem to be equally unfalsifiable based on our not being able to directly access the theoretical realms beyond what we can observe. .

In France, the imposition of restrictions on public display of religion has been labelled by some as "Secular Fundamentalism". The idea of non-religious Fundamentalism almost always expands the definition of "fundamentalism" along the lines of criticisms.

In The New Inquisition, Robert Anton Wilson lampoons the members of skeptical organizations like CSICOP as fundamentalist materialists, alleging that they dogmatically dismiss any evidence that conflicts with materialism as hallucination or fraud. The New Inquisition (ISBN 1-56184-002-5 is a book written by Robert Anton Wilson and first published in 1986. Robert Anton Wilson or RAW (born Robert Edward Wilson, January 18, 1932 &ndash January 11, 2007) was an American The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry ( CSI) formerly known as the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal ( CSICOP) is a

Occasionally, it seems to represent an idea of purity, and is self-applied as signifying a rather counter-cultural fidelity to some noble, simple, but overlooked principle, as in Economic fundamentalism; but the same term can be used in a critical way. Roderick Hindery first lists positive qualities attributed to political, economic, or other forms of cultural fundamentalism. They include "vitality, enthusiasm, willingness to back up words with actions, and the avoidance of facile compromise. " Then, negative aspects are analyzed, such as psychological attitudes, occasionally elitist and pessimistic perspectives, and in some cases literalism.

State atheism

Main article: State atheism

State atheism is the official rejection of religion in all forms by a government in favor of atheism. State atheism is the official promotion of Atheism by a Government, typically by active suppression of Religious freedom and practice When Albania under Enver Hoxha declared itself an atheist state, it was deemed by some to be a kind of fundamentalist atheism and where Stalinism was like the state religion which replaced other religions and political ideologies. This article is about the country in southern Europe For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Albania topics. (ɛnˈvɛɾ ˈhɔdʒa 16 October 1908 11 April 1985 was the leader of the People's Republic of Albania from the end of World War II until his death in 1985 as the Stalinism is the political regime named after Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union from 1929–1953 A state religion (also called an official religion, established church or state church) is a religious body or Creed officially Any one practising a non-Stalinist religion or setting up a different political party would be sent to prison. See also North Korea, China and Vietnam. North Korea is the commonly used short form name for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (or DPRK) a State located in East Asia, China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Vietnam (ˌviːɛtˈnɑːm Việt Nam) officially

Atheistic fundamentalism

In December 2007, the Archbishop of Wales Barry Morgan criticised what he referred to as "atheistic fundamentalism", claiming that it advocated that religion has no substance and "that faith has no value and is superstitious nonsense" ^[25][26]. The Province of Wales in the Anglican Communion was created in 1920 as the Church in Wales, independent from the Church of England (of Barry Morgan (born 1947 has been the leader and Archbishop of the Church in Wales since 2003 He claimed it led to situations such as councils calling Christmas "Winterval", schools refusing to put on nativity plays and crosses removed from chapels, though others have disputed this ^[27]. Winterval is a Portmanteau word coined to describe all festivities taking place around the end of the year (the winter in the Northern Hemisphere)

Controversy over use of the term

The Associated Press' AP Stylebook recommends that the term fundamentalist not be used for any group that does not apply the term to itself. The Associated Press ( AP) is an American News agency. The AP is a Cooperative owned by its contributing Newspapers radio Many scholars, however, use the term in the broader descriptive sense to refer to various groups in various religious traditions, and the massive five-volume study The Fundamentalism Project published by the University of Chicago takes this approach. In popular discussions, the term fundamentalist is frequently used improperly to refer to a broad range of conservative, orthodox, or militiant religious movements.

Christian fundamentalists, who generally consider the term to be positive when used to refer to themselves, often object to the placement of themselves and Islamist groups into a single category given that the fundamentals of Christianity are different than the fundamentals of Islam. Fundamentalist Christianity, also known as Christian Fundamentalism or Fundamentalist Evangelicalism, is a movement that arose mainly within British and They feel that characteristics based on the new definition are wrongly projected back onto Christian fundamentalists by their critics.

Many Muslims protest the use of the term when referring to Islamist groups, and object to being placed in the same category as Christian fundamentalists, whom they see as theologically incomplete. Islamism ( Islam + ism; Arabic: al-'islāmiyya) a set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only Unlike Christian fundamentalist groups, Islamist groups do not use the term fundamentalist to refer to themselves. Shia groups which are often considered fundamentalist in the western world generally are not described that way in the Islamic world.

See also

• Fundamentalist Christianity
• Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy
• Evangelicalism
• Faith-sufferer
• Fundie
• Historical-grammatical method
• Haredi Judaism
• Ideologies
• Indoctrination
• Islamism
• Islamic fundamentalism
• Jack Chick
• Jesus Camp, Award-winning documentary on Evangelical Christian conservative children in the United States
• Pentecostalism
• Sectarianism
• Seventh-day Adventism

Citations and Footnotes

References

• Appleby, R. Scott, Gabriel Abraham Almond, and Emmanuel Sivan (2003). Strong Religion. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-01497-5
• Armstrong, Karen (2001). The Battle for God: A History of Fundamentalism. New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-39169-1
• Brasher, Brenda E. (2001). The Encyclopedia of Fundamentalism. New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-92244-5
• Caplan, Lionel. (1987). "Studies in Religious Fundamentalism". London: The MacMillan Press Ltd.
• Dorff, Elliot N. and Rosett, Arthur, A Living Tree; The Roots and Growth of Jewish Law, SUNY Press, 1988.
• Gorenberg, Gershom. (2000). The End of Days: Fundamentalism and the Struggle for the Temple Mount. New York: The Free Press.
• Hindery, Roderick. 2001. Indoctrination and Self-deception or Free and Critical Thought? Mellen Press: aspects of fundamentalism, pp. 69-74.
• Lawrence, Bruce B. Defenders of God: The Fundamentalist Revolt against the Modern Age. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1989.
• Marsden; George M. (1980). Fundamentalism and American Culture: The Shaping of Twentieth Century Evangelicalism, 1870-1925 Oxford University Press, ([4])
• Marty, Martin E. and R. Scott Appleby (eds. ). The Fundamentalism Project. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
  • (1991). Volume 1: Fundamentalisms Observed. ISBN 0-226-50878-1
  • (1993). Volume 2: Fundamentalisms and Society. ISBN 0-226-50880-3
  • (1993). Volume 3: Fundamentalisms and the State. ISBN 0-226-50883-8
  • (1994). Volume 4: Accounting for Fundamentalisms. ISBN 0-226-50885-4
  • (1995). Volume 5: Fundamentalisms Comprehended. ISBN 0-226-50887-0
• Noll, Mark A. A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992.
• Ruthven, Malise (2005). "Fundamentalism: The Search for Meaning". Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-280606-8
• Torrey, R. A. (ed. ). (1909). The Fundamentals. Los Angeles: The Bible Institute of Los Angeles (B. I. O. L. A. now Biola University). Biola University is a private, Non-denominational, Evangelical Christian university located near Los Angeles, noted for its conservative ISBN 0-8010-1264-3
• "Religious movements: fundamentalist. " In Goldstein, Norm (Ed. ) (2003). The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law 2003 (38th ed. ), p. 218. New York: The Associated Press. ISBN 0-917360-22-2.

External links

• The Appeal-and Peril-of FUNDAMENTALISM by Dr. Bert B. Beach
• The Fundamentals
• Thoughts on "Religious Fundamentalism" Identity
• International Coalition Against Political Islam
• Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA)
• No to Political Islam
• Psychological Issues of Former Members of Restrictive Religious Groups by Jim Moyers, MA, MFT; originally written for psychotherapists working with ex-fundamentalists
• Q & A on Islamic Fundamentalism
• www.blessedquietness.com a conservative Christian website, maintained by Steve van Natten
• Mid-Acts Dispensational Fundamentals
• Reality With Bite A site highlighting the danger of religious fundamentalism, especially how it affects women.
• Women Against Fundamentalism (UK)
• The Rise of Religious Violence
• Life to the full - fundamentalism
• An investigation into the original meaning of the term
• Yahya Abdul Rahman's Take On Fundamentalists And Fundamentalism
• Universal Declaration of Independence from Fundamentalism
• Roots of Fundamentalism Found, Harvard University, November 7, 2007. Events 1492 - The Ensisheim Meteorite the oldest Meteorite with a known date of impact strikes the Earth around noon in a Wheat Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.

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