What is Fundamentalism? Definition and History

Fundamentalism is a brand of conservative religion that advocates for strict adherence to sacred scriptures. The term “fundamentalism” was once only used to describe American Protestants who insisted on the inerrancy of the Bible, but it was used more extensively to describe a wide range of theological movements starting in the late 20th century. In fact, many of the world’s main religions could be regarded to have fundamentalist movements in the broadest sense of the word. See fundamentalism, Christian for a comprehensive discussion of fundamentalism in American Protestantism.

History of Fundamentalism

In the early 20th century, the US is where fundamentalism’s intellectual history first begins. The editor of the Baptist publication Watchman-Examiner, Curtis Lee Laws, stated in 1920 that sincere Christians who continue to adhere to the tenets of the faith should be pleased to identify as “fundamentalists.” In this sense, the phrase means the opposite of “modernism,” which was defined as a contemporary, historical, and relativizing view of biblical truth.

Thus, the term “fundamentalism” was used by American Christian groups to express their own viewpoint in opposition to what they viewed as the liberal and irreligious tendencies of modern science and theology. They perceived Darwinian evolutionary theory as the new science of life, and modern historical philology and theology as the modern approach to the Bible, as the greatest threats to Christianity. Lay pastors who viewed the religious establishment as the issue were among the leaders who sought to resurrect Christianity and combat these characteristics of modernity.

The so-called “second wave” of fundamentalism in the US and political developments abroad, particularly the Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979, contributed to a significant development in the conceptual history of fundamentalism in the late 1970s. Scholars and pundits had to separate fundamentalism from its Christian roots in order to use it to explain occurrences in non-Christian societies, especially in the Islamic world, as a result of a new understanding of the worldwide relevance of religion in politics. The use of the term “fundamentalism” in literature and media, whether in English, German (fundamentalismus), or French (fondamentalisme), saw a real surge from the late 1970s onwards as a result of this conceptual broadening in the discussion of the role of religion in politics in many parts of the world.

Different Types of Fundamentalism

The main types of fundamentalism can be divided into at least three categories.

Firstly, it’s important to make a clear distinction between Christian fundamentalism and all other varieties. Secularization developed in various ways and at various rates as European colonial powers expanded and increased their dominance throughout the world. For instance, in Asian and African countries, old religious laws and courts frequently lost their legitimacy and their functions. While religious elites were frequently coopted by colonial powers or post-colonial regimes, the institutions and learning traditions that were built by world religions over centuries were quickly sidelined. In this time frame (late 1800s to early 1900s), fundamentalisms evolved in all major world religions as an attempt to fill the cultural void caused by the fall of established religious authority. For instance, the Muslim Brotherhood began to grow in the Islamic world in the 1930s, and the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in India saw a similar development. Aspects of Christian fundamentalism’s anti-modernism are shared by the majority of these non-Christian fundamentalisms, but they also frequently promote anti-Western and anti-colonial emotions and practices.

Secondly, there is some overlap between (extreme) nationalism and fundamentalism. For instance, radical nationalist movements that have arisen in Europe may fuse nationalism and Christianity. There are organizations within the radical Hindu movement in India known as the Sangh Parivar that are unmistakably nationalist and fundamentalist. In the Islamic world, fundamentalist (i.e., Islamist) movements were frequently perceived in the 1950s and 1960s as the primary adversaries of radical nationalisms. However, after the 1990s, fundamentalism and radical nationalism appeared to converge in some contexts, such as Turkey and Iran.

Thirdly, fundamentalist organizations vary in their levels of political participation. From 1987 through 1995, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences-funded Fundamentalism Project produced a number of books that included empirical and theoretical insights from experts in the social sciences and humanities. The project found four stances that fundamentalist groups frequently adopt toward the wider population. The most extreme viewpoint, known as “global conqueror,” denotes a desire to change the world drastically, possibly via violence. Jihadist organizations and the Christian Identity movement in the US serve as examples of this viewpoint. At the other extreme end are the “world renouncer” sorts that utterly reject all forms of politics and aim to isolate from the world. An excellent example of an apolitical movement or sect would be the Amish. The categories of “world transformer” and “world creator” lie somewhere between the two extremes.

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Characteristics of Fundamentalism

• Religious books are regarded as “gospel” — they are unquestionable absolute truths. They set the rules for every area of a fundamentalist’s lifestyle. They accept rigid moral rules and fundamental beliefs directly from their sacred texts. Fundamentalist arguments are frequently supported by selective application of Scripture.
• Fundamentalists sometimes have a “us versus them” mentality in which they isolate themselves or their group from the rest of the world and refuse to make any concessions. They oppose religious diversity and, for the most part, keep their distance from individuals who have opposing views.
• Every aspect of social life is seen as sacred, and participation in daily activities and everyday living are heavily influenced by religion. Fundamentalist Christians, for instance, believe they have been “born again” and will spend the rest of their lives in a unique relationship with Jesus.
• Fundamentalists are opposed to secularization and modernism because they think they weaken religious traditions and convictions and that modern society is morally corrupt.
• Fundamentalists frequently employ defensive/aggressive attitudes in response to perceived dangers since many parts of modernity are seen as threats to their value systems. These are meant to frighten, intimidate, or hurt others.
• Conservative and patriarchal political beliefs – Fundamentalists frequently hold conservative political views, which typically entails that they disapprove of the LGBT+ community and feel that women should adhere to conventional gender roles.

Causes of Religious Fundamentalism

Here, let’s examine a few sociological justifications for religious fundamentalism.

Globalisation

According to Anthony Giddens (1999), globalization and its link to Western morals, attitudes, and lifestyles are destabilizing forces in many parts of the world. Westernization is seen as a danger to conventional authoritarian power structures and patriarchal supremacy because of its links to equality for women and minorities, free expression, and the advancement of democracy.

This, together with the effect of Western materialism and consumerism, which is seen to be “spiritually hollow,” implies that the onset of globalization has significantly increased people’s sense of unease. Therefore, the rise of fundamentalist religion is both a result of and a reaction to globalization, offering straightforward solutions in a constantly shifting environment. But according to Steve Bruce (1955), religious fundamentalism doesn’t always come from the same place. He distinguished between two types.

In less developed economies, communal fundamentalism develops in response to external pressures like those mentioned above. However, individualist fundamentalism, which is more prevalent in industrialized countries, is a response to societal changes brought on by rising variety, multiculturalism, and modernity.

Religious Differences

According to Samuel Huntington (1993), in the latter half of the 20th century, a “clash of civilizations” between fundamentalist Islam and Christianity actually took place. Due to a number of circumstances, such as the waning significance of nation-states and the resulting rise in the importance of religious identity, as well as increasing international interaction brought on by globalization, religious disparities between Christians and Muslims are currently worsening. As a result, there are now hostile “we against them” connections, and it is more likely that past disputes will resurface.

Huntington’s theory has drawn heavy criticism for stereotyping Muslims, failing to acknowledge differences within religions, and downplaying the influence of Western imperialism on the rise of fundamentalist movements, it should be mentioned.

Prevalence of Fundamentalism

The topic of whether fundamentalism is growing more or less relevant now appears to have at least two viable answers. On the one hand, there is the ongoing intellectual discussion of the world’s secularization or de-secularization. According to some academics, fundamentalism will gradually fade along with other kinds of religion since religion is doomed to decline. However, this viewpoint is becoming less and less common. On the other hand, there is a more focused discussion regarding religion’s resurgence as a kind of identity defense in the face of rising immigration and globalization. Understanding modern right-wing ideology and politics in the Western world requires a thorough understanding of this dispute. Not least as a response to immigration from Muslim-majority nations, Christianity has grown to be a crucial frame for far-right organizing.

However, the fusion of populist and far right politics with fundamentalist Christianity is not a recent development. As a response to Muslim immigration, an exclusionary Lutheran sort of nationalism began to evolve in Denmark in the middle of the 1980s. This nationalism subsequently influenced at least some politicians in the populist right Danish People’s Party, such as Marie Krarup.

From its beginnings in 1972 under leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, the political party Front National (Rassemblement national, after 2018) in France was intimately associated with the fundamentalist Catholicism championed by conservative archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (1905-1991). This religious background played a significant role in the party’s antisemitism, French nationalism, and orthodox family values. Therefore, it appears that fundamentalist religion can offer a sizable amount of resources for far-right movements across a variety of cultural contexts.

Christian Fundamentalism in the United States

Christian fundamentalists fiercely resisted theological modernism, known as the “higher criticism” of the Bible, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This movement attempted to harmonize old Christian beliefs with contemporary science and historiography. The term “fundamentalist” was first used in 1920 to refer to conservative Evangelical Protestants who backed the ideas presented in The Fundamentals: A Testimony to the Truth (1910–15), a collection of 12 pamphlets that reaffirmed the inspiration of Scripture and refuted modernist theories of biblical criticism. The fundamentals’ main tenet was that the Bible is God’s infallible message. The belief that the Bible should always be interpreted literally and that believers should live their lives in accordance with its moral teachings, notably the Ten Commandments, were associated with this philosophy.

However, American Christian fundamentalism did not largely focus on politics for the most of the 20th century. In fact, from the late 1920s through the late 1970s, the majority of Christian fundamentalists steered clear of politics because they believed it to be a sinful space ruled by non-Christians. The theory of separation, which states that genuine Christians must keep their distance from the impurity and corruption of those who have not been born again, was a crucial tenet of Christian fundamentalism, particularly in its early years.

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Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel

Fundamentalist trends in Israeli Judaism have been identified as militant religious Zionism, Ashkenazi ultra-Orthodoxy (Jews of Eastern European heritage), and Sephardi ultra-Orthodoxy (Jews of Middle Eastern descent), as represented by the Shas political party. All three groups emphasize the necessity of strict adherence to the moral and religious commandments found in the Torah and Talmud, two holy Jewish books.

Israel’s fundamentalist tendency is a result of circumstances that existed long before the nation was established in 1948. The majority of Jews had been dispersed far from the land of Israel, which God had promised to the Jewish people according to the Hebrew Bible, when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem’s Second Temple in 70 CE. Throughout their protracted “exile”. Every day, Jews around the world prayed for the Messiah to return to Israel and free them from the oppression of the Gentiles. Jews, mostly secular intellectuals in the late 19th century, such as Theodor Herzl (1860–1904), a journalist and playwright from Vienna, came to the conclusion that the only way to end anti-Semitism was to establish a Jewish state. Thus, the movement known as Zionism, which sought to found a Jewish state in Palestine, reflected a secularization of the ancient messianic idea. Zionists proposed that Jews should lead their own return to the land of Israel rather than waiting for God and the messiah to do it.

Islamic Fundamentalism

Many scholars prefer to refer to Islamic fundamentalists as “Islamists” and to speak of “Islamist movements” instead of Islamic fundamentalism because the term “fundamentalism” is Christian in origin, has negative connotations, and emphasizes the religious roots of the phenomenon while ignoring the nationalistic and social grievances that underlie it. (Those who are a part of these movements simply identify as Muslims.) However, since the late 20th century, the phrase “Islamic fundamentalism” has been used in both popular and academic literature.

Many scholars prefer to refer to Islamic fundamentalists as “Islamists” and to speak of “Islamist movements” instead of Islamic fundamentalism because the term “fundamentalism” is Christian in origin, has negative connotations, and emphasizes the religious roots of the phenomenon while ignoring the nationalistic and social grievances that underlie it. (Those who are a part of these movements simply identify as Muslims.) However, since the late 20th century, the phrase “Islamic fundamentalism” has been used in both popular and academic literature.

Islamist groups take many different forms around the world. Some Islamists use terrorism; others don’t. While some are more conservative, some advocate leftist political and economic agendas that draw inspiration from Marxism and other forms of socialism. However, the majority of Islamists demand adherence to a moral code based on a literal reading of sacred text. Additionally, they maintain that since religion permeates every element of life, politics and religion cannot be separated.

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Hindu Fundamentalism

Hinduism does not have a distinct sacred book to which obedience can be expected, hence nationalism has had a greater influence on what is commonly known as “Hindu fundamentalism” in India than religion. Furthermore, Hindu organizations like the Bharatiya Janata Party have never placed a high priority on adhering to a particular religious code (BJP). Hinduism is more of a national identification symbol for the members of these groups than it is a system of rules to follow.

The BJP is a nationalist party, and its name, “the Party of the Indian People,” reflects this. The Rashtriya Swayamesevak Sangh (RSS), a BJP-affiliated “self-defense” militia, goes under the moniker “National Volunteers Corps.” Both the BJP and the RSS oppose the establishment of a Hindu state. Both parties are primarily concerned about the threat that Islamic proselytization among lower-caste Hindus and Scheduled Castes (previously untouchables) poses to “the Hindu country.” Both groups have also passionately opposed Christian proselytization in India for the same reason. Few specific Hindu beliefs are mentioned in RSS tracts, and its adherents freely admit that they do not practice any religion.

Sikh Fundamentalism

Sikh fundamentalism came to light in the West for the first time in 1978 when the fiery preacher Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale allegedly led a march to disperse a gathering of the Sikh Nirankari movement, which orthodox Sikhs regarded as heretical (from Punjabi nirankar, “formless,” reflecting the movement’s belief in the nature of God). Like other fundamentalists, Bhindranwale emphasized the need of adhering to a sacred scripture (the Adi Granth) and the establishment of a Sikh state regulated by sacred law. However, nationalistic considerations took precedence over such fundamentalist ones, just as they did in the case of the Protestants in Northern Ireland. In the Indian province of Punjab, fundamentalist Sikhs in the late 20th and early 21st centuries wanted to establish an independent Sikh state. Despite the rhetorical references to holy war, their main foe was the Hindu state of India rather than secularism in general. So, nationalist separatism was at the heart of Sikh fundamentalism.

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Conclusion

Despite the fact that the terms fundamentalism and fundamentalist are now widely used and part of everyday speech, it is important to remember that the several movements that fall under this umbrella term have quite different histories, personalities, and worldviews. So, unlike their Christian and Jewish brethren, Islamic fundamentalist groups started out as primarily defensive responses to European colonial dominance. Early Islamic fundamentalists were reformers who wanted to restore Islam to what they saw as its pure original form in order to affirm the importance of their faith; their activities only gradually developed the militancy that characterizes much of religious fundamentalism today. But these movements also share with Christian and Jewish fundamentalism a dislike of secularism, a focus on the significance of traditional religiosity as understood by their adherents, and a rigid commitment to sacred texts and the moral precepts they are based on.

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