Fundamentalism#History

{{See also|Buddhism and violence}}

Buddhist fundamentalism has targeted other religious and ethnic groups, as in Myanmar. A Buddhist-dominated country, Myanmar has seen tensions between Muslim minorities and the Buddhist majority, especially during the 2013 Burma anti-Muslim riots (possibly instigated by hardline groups such as the 969 Movement).{{cite web|url= http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/30965 |date= March 30, 2013 |author= KYAW ZWA MOE |title= Root Out the Source of Meikhtila Unrest |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130827232539/http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/30965 |archive-date=August 27, 2013 |access-date=November 4, 2013 }} as well as during actions which are associated with the Rohingya genocide (2016 onwards).

Buddhist fundamentalism also features in Sri Lanka. Buddhist-dominated Sri Lanka has seen recent tensions between Muslim minorities and the Buddhist majority, especially during the 2014 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka{{cite news|url= https://edition.cnn.com/2014/06/19/world/asia/sri-lanka-muslim-aluthgama|title= Fear, shock among Sri Lankan Muslims in aftermath of Buddhist mob violence|first1= Iqbal|last1= Athas|first2= Tim|last2= Hume|date= June 24, 2014|work= CNN|access-date= January 23, 2020}} and in the course of the 2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka,

{{cite news

|url= https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-43305453

|title= Sri Lanka struggles to halt days of Buddhist riots

|date= March 7, 2018|work= BBC News

|access-date= January 23, 2020

}}

allegedly instigated by hardline groups such as the Bodu Bala Sena.{{Cite web |last=Riza |first=M. |title=Sri Lanka declares emergency amid communal riots |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/3/6/sri-lanka-imposes-state-of-emergency-after-communal-riots |access-date=2024-10-17 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}

Historic and contemporary examples of Buddhist fundamentalism occur in each of the three main branches of Buddhism: Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana. In addition to the above examples of fundamentalism in Theravada-dominated societies, the reification of a protector deity, Dorje Shugden, by 19th-century Tibetan lama Pabongkhapa could be seen as an example of fundamentalism in the Vajrayana tradition. Dorje Shugden was a key tool in Pabongkhapa's persecution of the flourishing Rimé movement, an ecumenical movement which fused the teachings of the Sakya, Kagyu and Nyingma,{{sfn|Schaik|2011|p=165-169}} in response to the dominance of the Gelug school. While Pabongkhapa had an initially inclusive view early in his life, he received a number of signs that he had displeased Dorje Shugden by receiving teachings from non-Gelug schools, and thus initiated a revival movement that opposed the mixing of non-Gelug practices by Gelug practitioners.{{sfn|Kay|2004|p=47}} The main function of the deity was presented as "the protection of the Ge-luk tradition through violent means, even including the killing of its enemies." Crucially, however, these "‘enemies’ of the Gelug refers less to the members of rival

schools than to members of the Gelug tradition ‘who mix Dzong-ka-ba’s tradition with elements coming from other traditions, particularly the Nying-ma

Dzok-chen’."{{sfn|Kay|2004|p=47}}

In Japan, a prominent example has been the practice among some members of the Mahayana Nichiren sect of shakubuku – a method of proselytizing which involves the strident condemnation of other sects as deficient or evil.

{{Main article|Christian fundamentalism|Christian nationalism|Christian terrorism|Sectarian violence among Christians}}

George Marsden has defined Christian fundamentalism as the demand for strict adherence to certain theological doctrines, in opposition to Modernist theology.{{as of|2023}}, Marsden's work has been cited over 3600 times, according to {{Cite web|title=Google Scholar

| url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=marsden+fundamentalism&as_sdt=1,27

|access-date=2023-01-02|website=scholar.google.com}} Its supporters originally coined the term in order to describe what they claimed were five specific classic theological beliefs of Christianity, and the coinage of the term led to the development of a Christian fundamentalist movement within the Protestant community of the United States in the early part of the 20th century.{{Cite web

| first = John | last= Buescher

|title=A History of Fundamentalism

|url=https://teachinghistory.org/history-content/ask-a-historian/24092

| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100714095134/https://teachinghistory.org/history-content/ask-a-historian/24092

| archive-date= 14 July 2010

|access-date=2023-01-02|website=teachinghistory.org}} Fundamentalism as a movement arose in the United States, starting among conservative Presbyterian theologians at Princeton Theological Seminary in the late 19th century. It soon spread to conservatives among the Baptists and other denominations around 1910 to 1920. The movement's purpose was to reaffirm key theological tenets and defend them against the challenges of liberal theology and higher criticism.{{sfn|Ammerman|1991}}Mark A. Noll, A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada (1992), pp. 376-86.

The concept of "fundamentalism" has roots in the Niagara Bible Conferences which were held annually between 1878 and 1897. During those conferences, the tenets widely considered to be fundamental Christian belief were identified.

"Fundamentalism" was prefigured by The Fundamentals: A Testimony To The Truth, a collection of twelve pamphlets published between 1910 and 1915 by brothers Milton and Lyman Stewart. It is widely considered to be the foundation of modern Christian fundamentalism.

In 1910, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church identified what became known as the five fundamentals:George M. Marsden, "Fundamentalism and American Culture", (1980) p. 117

• Biblical inspiration and the infallibility of scripture as a result of this
• Virgin birth of Jesus
• Belief that Christ's death was the atonement for sin
• Bodily resurrection of Jesus
• Historical reality of the miracles of Jesus

In 1920, the word "fundamentalist" was first used in print by Curtis Lee Laws, editor of The Watchman Examiner, a Baptist newspaper.{{cite web |title=fundamentalist (adj.) |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/fundamentalist |website=Etymonline |publisher=Online Etymology Dictionary |access-date=January 29, 2021}} Laws proposed that those Christians who were fighting for the fundamentals of the faith should be called "fundamentalists".Curtis Lee Laws, "Convention Side Lights," The Watchman-Examiner, 8, no. 27 (1 July 1920), p 834.

Theological conservatives who rallied around the five fundamentals came to be known as "fundamentalists". They rejected the existence of commonalities with theologically related religious traditions, such as the grouping of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism into one Abrahamic family of religions. By contrast, while Evangelical groups (such as the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association) typically agree with the "fundamentals" as they are expressed in The Fundamentals, they are often willing to participate in events with religious groups that do not hold to the "essential" doctrines.Carpenter, Revive us Again (1997) p 200

{{See also|Indigenism|Ethnic religion}}

A few scholars label some indigenist revitalization movements within ethnic and indigenous religions who reject the changes brought by the modern states and major religions in favor of a return to traditional ways as fundamentalists in contrast with syncretic reform movements. Thus, numerous new generally fundamentalist Native American religious movements include the Pueblo Revolt (1680s), the Shawnee Prophet Movement (1805–1811), the Cherokee Prophet Movement (1811–1813), the Red Stick War (1813–1814), White Path's Rebellion (1826), the Winnebago Prophet Movement (1830–1832), the first Ghost Dance (1869–1870) and the second Ghost Dance (1889–1890), and the Snake movements among the Cherokee, Choctaw, and Muscogee Creek peoples during the 1890s.{{sfn|Champagne|2005|p=}}

{{See also|Hindutva|Hindu nationalism|Hindu terrorism}}

The existence of fundamentalism in Hinduism is a complex and contradictory phenomenon. While some would argue that certain aspects of Gaudiya Vaishnavism manifest fundamentalist tendencies, these tendencies are more clearly displayed in Hindutva, the predominant form of Hindu nationalism in India today, and an increasingly powerful and influential voice within the religion. Hinduism includes a diversity of ideas on spirituality and traditions, but has no ecclesiastical order, no unquestionable religious authorities, no governing body, no prophet(s) nor any binding holy book; Hindus can choose to be polytheistic, pantheistic, panentheistic, pandeistic, henotheistic, monotheistic, monistic, agnostic, atheistic or humanist.Lipner 2009, p. 8 quote: "... one need not be religious in the minimal sense described to be accepted as a Hindu by Hindus, or describe oneself perfectly validly as Hindu. One may be polytheistic or monotheistic, monistic or pantheistic, henotheistic, panentheistic, pandeistic, even an agnostic, humanist or atheist, and still be considered a Hindu."{{cite book | last=Kurtz | first=Lester R. | title=Encyclopedia of violence, peace, & conflict | publisher=Elsevier | publication-place=Amsterdam | date=2008 | isbn=978-1-84972-393-0 | oclc=436849045}}MK Gandhi, The Essence of Hinduism Archived 24 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Editor: VB Kher, Navajivan Publishing, see page 3; According to Gandhi, "a man may not believe in God and still call himself a Hindu." According to Doniger, "ideas about all the major issues of faith and lifestyle – vegetarianism, nonviolence, belief in rebirth, even caste – are subjects of debate, not dogma."Doniger 2014, p. 3.

Some would argue that, because of the wide range of traditions and ideas covered by the term Hinduism, a lack of theological 'fundamentals' means that a dogmatic 'religious fundamentalism' per se is hard to find.{{Citation|title=Hinduism not a religion, there's no book, no papacy: Sadhguru| date=May 24, 2016 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRxmg213lBc|language=en|access-date=2021-12-04}} Others point to the recent rise of Hindu nationalism in India as evidence to the contrary. The religion "defies our desire to define and categorize it." In India, the term “dharma” is preferred, which is broader than the Western term “religion.”Sharma 2003, pp. 12–13.

Hence, certain scholars argue that Hinduism lacks dogma and thus a specific notion of "fundamentalism," while other scholars identify several politically active Hindu movements as part of a "Hindu fundamentalist family."{{Cite web|title=On the Difference Between Hinduism and Hindutva|url=https://www.asianstudies.org/publications/eaa/archives/on-the-difference-between-hinduism-and-hindutva/|access-date=2021-12-04|website=Association for Asian Studies|language=en-US}}{{cite book|author=Brekke|title=Fundamentalism: Prophecy and Protest in an Age of Globalization|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JGooYIEd9h4C&pg=PA127|year=1991|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=127|isbn=9781139504294}}

{{Main article|Islamic fundamentalism|Islamism|Islamofascism|Jihadism|Islamic terrorism|Sectarian violence among Muslims}}

Fundamentalism within Islam goes back to the early history of Islam in the 7th century, to the time of the Kharijites.{{cite book |author-last=Poljarevic |author-first=Emin |year=2021 |chapter=Theology of Violence-oriented Takfirism as a Political Theory: The Case of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) |editor1-last=Cusack |editor1-first=Carole M. |editor1-link=Carole M. Cusack |editor2-last=Upal |editor2-first=Muhammad Afzal |title=Handbook of Islamic Sects and Movements |location=Leiden and Boston |publisher=Brill Publishers |series=Brill Handbooks on Contemporary Religion |volume=21 |doi=10.1163/9789004435544_026 |doi-access=free |isbn=978-90-04-43554-4 |issn=1874-6691 |pages=485–512}} From their essentially political position, they developed extreme doctrines that set them apart from both mainstream Shia and Sunni Muslims. The Kharijites were particularly noted for adopting a radical approach to takfir, whereby they declared other Muslims to be unbelievers and therefore deemed them worthy of death.{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/another-battle-with-islams-true-believers/article20802390/|title=Another battle with Islam's 'true believers'|work=The Globe and Mail}}{{cite web|url=https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/fruits-of-the-tree-of-extremism|title=Imam Mohamad Jebara: Fruits of the tree of extremism|author=Mohamad Jebara More Mohamad Jebara|work=Ottawa Citizen|date=February 6, 2015}}{{cite web |author=Dr. Usama Hasan |date=2012 |url=http://www.quilliamfoundation.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/publications/free/the-balance-of-islam-in-challenging-extremism.pdf |title=The Balance of in challenging extremism |access-date=2015-11-17 |url-status=dead |publisher=Quilliam Foundation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140802045255/http://www.quilliamfoundation.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/publications/free/the-balance-of-islam-in-challenging-extremism.pdf |archive-date=August 2, 2014 |df=mdy }}

The Shia and Sunni religious conflicts since the 7th century created an opening for radical ideologues, such as Ali Shariati (1933–77), to merge social revolution with Islamic fundamentalism, as exemplified by the Iranian Revolution in 1979.{{Cite journal|last=Griffith|first=William E.|date=1979|title=The Revival of Islamic Fundamentalism: The Case of Iran|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2626789|journal=International Security|volume=4|issue=1|pages=132–138|doi=10.2307/2626789|jstor=2626789 |s2cid=154146522 |issn=0162-2889}} Islamic fundamentalism has appeared in many countries;Lawrence Davidson, Islamic Fundamentalism (Greenwood, 2003) the Salafi-Wahhabi version is promoted worldwide and financed by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Pakistan.{{cite web |title=Terrorism: Growing Wahhabi Influence in the United States |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-108shrg91326/html/CHRG-108shrg91326.htm |date=26 June 2003 |website=www.govinfo.gov |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=United States Government Publishing Office |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215092631/https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-108shrg91326/html/CHRG-108shrg91326.htm |archive-date=15 December 2018 |url-status=live |access-date=26 June 2021 |quote=Nearly 22 months have passed since the atrocity of September 11th. Since then, many questions have been asked about the role in that day's terrible events and in other challenges we face in the war against terror of Saudi Arabia and its official sect, a separatist, exclusionary and violent form of Islam known as Wahhabism. It is widely recognized that all of the 19 suicide pilots were Wahhabi followers. In addition, 15 of the 19 were Saudi subjects. Journalists and experts, as well as spokespeople of the world, have said that Wahhabism is the source of the overwhelming majority of terrorist atrocities in today's world, from Morocco to Indonesia, via Israel, Saudi Arabia, Chechnya. In addition, Saudi media sources have identified Wahhabi agents from Saudi Arabia as being responsible for terrorist attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq. The Washington Post has confirmed Wahhabi involvement in attacks against U.S. forces in Fallujah. To examine the role of Wahhabism and terrorism is not to label all Muslims as extremists. Indeed, I want to make this point very, very clear. It is the exact opposite. Analyzing Wahhabism means identifying the extreme element that, although enjoying immense political and financial resources, thanks to support by a sector of the Saudi state, seeks to globally hijack Islam ... The problem we are looking at today is the State-sponsored doctrine and funding of an extremist ideology that provides the recruiting grounds, support infrastructure and monetary life blood of today's international terrorists. The extremist ideology is Wahhabism, a major force behind terrorist groups, like al Qaeda, a group that, according to the FBI, and I am quoting, is the 'number one terrorist threat to the U.S. today'.}}{{cite book |last=DeLong-Bas |first=Natana J. |author-link=Natana J. DeLong-Bas |year=2004 |title=Wahhabi Islam: From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=797QCwAAQBAJ |location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0195169913}}{{cite magazine |last=Armstrong |first=Karen |author-link=Karen Armstrong |date=27 November 2014 |title=Wahhabism to ISIS: how Saudi Arabia exported the main source of global terrorism |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/world-affairs/2014/11/wahhabism-isis-how-saudi-arabia-exported-main-source-global-terrorism |location=London |magazine=New Statesman |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141127132619/http://www.newstatesman.com/world-affairs/2014/11/wahhabism-isis-how-saudi-arabia-exported-main-source-global-terrorism |archive-date=27 November 2014 |url-status=live |access-date=28 June 2021}}{{cite news |last=Crooke |first=Alastair |author-link=Alastair Crooke |orig-date=First published 27 August 2014 |date=30 March 2017 |title=You Can't Understand ISIS If You Don't Know the History of Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/alastair-crooke/isis-wahhabism-saudi-arabia_b_5717157.html |location=New York |work=The Huffington Post |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140828141900/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/alastair-crooke/isis-wahhabism-saudi-arabia_b_5717157.html |archive-date=28 August 2014 |url-status=live |access-date=28 June 2021}}{{cite news |author-last=Sells |author-first=Michael |date=22 December 2016 |title=Wahhabist Ideology: What It Is And Why It's A Problem |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/wahhabist-ideology-what-it-is-and-why-its-a-problem_b_585991fce4b014e7c72ed86e?guccounter=1 |location=New York |work=The Huffington Post |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408032152/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/wahhabist-ideology-what-it-is-and-why-its-a-problem_b_585991fce4b014e7c72ed86e |archive-date=8 April 2020 |url-status=live |access-date=28 June 2021}}{{cite web|last1=Lindijer|first1=Koert|title=How Islam from the north spreads once more into the Sahel|url=http://theafricanists.info/how-islam-from-the-north-spreads-once-more-into-the-sahel/|website=The Africanists|access-date=24 November 2014|date=24 August 2013|quote=Hundreds of years later, Islam again comes to the Sahel, this time with an unstoppable mission mentality and the way paved by money from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Pakistan. Foreigners, and also Malians who received scholarships to study in Saudi Arabia, introduce this strict form of Islam, and condemn the sufi's{{sic}}.}}{{verify source|date = November 2014}}

The Iran hostage crisis of 1979–80 marked a major turning point in the use of the term "fundamentalism". The media, in an attempt to explain the ideology of Ayatollah Khomeini and the Iranian Revolution to a Western audience described it as a "fundamentalist version of Islam" by way of analogy to the Christian fundamentalist movement in the U.S. Thus was born the term Islamic fundamentalist, which became a common use of the term in following years.{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/archivesearch?ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&tab=wn&q=Islamic+fundamentalist&scoring=n&sa=N&sugg=d&as_ldate=1990&as_hdate=1991&lnav=d4&hdrange=1992,2005|title=Google News Search: Chart shows spikes in '79 (Iran hostage crisis), after 9/11 and in '92 and '93 (Algerian elections, PLO).|access-date=December 9, 2008}}{{original research inline|date = November 2014}}

{{Main article|Jewish fundamentalism|Jewish extremist terrorism}}

Jewish fundamentalism has been used to characterize militant religious Zionism, and both Ashkenazi and Sephardic versions of Haredi Judaism.{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1191955/fundamentalism/252664/Jewish-fundamentalism-in-Israel#ref883280|title=fundamentalism - religious movement|website=britannica.com|access-date=October 22, 2017}} Ian S. Lustik has characterized "Jewish fundamentalism" as "an ultranationalist, eschatologically based, irredentist ideology".{{cite journal |url=http://www.geocities.com/alabasters_archive/dangerous_fundamentalists.html |author=Ian S. Lustik |title=Israel's Dangerous Fundamentalists |journal=Foreign Policy |issue= 68 |date=Fall 1987 |pages=118–139 |issn=0015-7228 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091021171748/http://geocities.com/alabasters_archive/dangerous_fundamentalists.html |archive-date=October 21, 2009 |access-date=November 4, 2013 |df=mdy-all }}

{{Main article|New Atheism}}

The term New Atheism describes the positions of some atheist academics, writers, scientists, and philosophers of the 20th and 21st centuries.{{Cite book |last1=Lee |first1=Lois |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XguDDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT48 |title=A Dictionary of Atheism |last2=Bullivant |first2=Stephen |date=2016-11-17 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-252013-5 |language=en |access-date=12 March 2017 |archive-date=20 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230120215619/https://books.google.com/books?id=XguDDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT48 |url-status=live }}{{Cite magazine |last=Wolf |first=Gary |date=November 1, 2006 |title=The Church of the Non-Believers |language=en-US |magazine=Wired |url=https://www.wired.com/2006/11/atheism/ |access-date=2023-01-19 |issn=1059-1028 |archive-date=21 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170721010426/https://www.wired.com/2006/11/atheism/ |url-status=live }} Critics have described New Atheism as "secular fundamentalism".{{cite book |last=Hedges |first=Chris |title=When Atheism Becomes Religion: America's New Fundamentalists |year=2008 |publisher=Free Press |isbn=978-1-4165-7078-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b-f_HU9MZuYC&dq=new+atheism+fundamentalism&pg=PA1}}{{cite journal |last=McAnulla |first=Stuart |title=Secular fundamentalists? Characterising the new atheist approach to secularism, religion and politics |journal=British Politics |volume=9 |pages=124–145 |year=2011 |issue=2 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |doi=10.1057/bp.2013.27 |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/bp.2013.27}}{{cite book |last=LeDrew |first=Stephen |title=Relativism and Post-Truth in Contemporary Society |chapter=Scientism and Utopia: New Atheism as a Fundamentalist Reaction to Relativism |year=2018 |pages=143–155 |publisher=Springer |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-96559-8_9 |isbn=978-3-319-96558-1 |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-96559-8_9}}{{cite book |last=Stahl |first=William |title=Religion and the New Atheism: A Critical Appraisal |chapter=One-Dimensional Rage: The Social Epistemology Of The New Atheism And Fundamentalism |year=2010 |pages=95–108 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-19053-5 |chapter-url=https://brill.com/display/book/9789004190535/Bej.9789004185579.i-253_008.xml}}

In modern politics, fundamentalism has been associated with right-wing conservative ideology, especially social conservatism. Social conservatives often support policies in line with religious fundamentalism, such as support for school prayer and opposition to LGBT rights and abortion.{{cite book |last=Martin|first=William|year=1996|title=With God on Our Side: The Rise of the Religious Right in America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tzi7bIDP3aMC|location=New York|publisher=Broadway Books |isbn=978-0-553-06745-3}} Conversely, secularism has been associated with left-wing or liberal ideology, as it takes the opposite stance to said policies, however, various left-wing policies have likewise been deemed forms of fundamentalism,{{Citation |last=Graham |first=Peter |title=Liberal Fundamentalism and Its Rivals |date=2006-06-08 |work=The Epistemology of Testimony |pages=0 |editor-last=Lackey |editor-first=Jennifer |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/43179/chapter-abstract/362367716?redirectedFrom=fulltext#:~:text=Liberal%20Fundamentalism%20holds%20that%20it%20is%20a%20priori,confers%20justification%20on%20S%20's%20belief%20that%20P. |access-date=2025-01-15 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-927601-1 |editor2-last=Sosa |editor2-first=Ernest}} notably stronger forms of wokeness.{{Cite web |last=Kaufmann |first=Eric |date=2020-11-20 |title=Liberal Fundamentalism: A Sociology of Wokeness |url=https://americanaffairsjournal.org/2020/11/liberal-fundamentalism-a-sociology-of-wokeness/ |access-date=2025-01-15 |website=American Affairs Journal |language=en-US}}

Political usage of the term "fundamentalism" has been criticized. It has been used by political groups to berate opponents, using the term flexibly depending on their political interests. According to Judith Nagata, a professor of Asia Research Institute in the National University of Singapore, "The Afghan mujahiddin, locked in combat with the Soviet enemy in the 1980s, could be praised as 'freedom fighters' by their American backers at the time, while the present Taliban, viewed, among other things, as protectors of American enemy Osama bin Laden, are unequivocally 'fundamentalist'."Nagata, Judith. 2001. Toward an Anthropology of "Fundamentalism." Toronto: Blackwell Publishing, p.9.

"Fundamentalist" has been used pejoratively to refer to philosophies perceived as literal-minded or carrying a pretense of being the sole source of objective truth, regardless of whether it is usually called a religion. For instance, the Archbishop of Wales has criticized "atheistic fundamentalism" broadlyAlister McGrath and Joanna Collicutt McGrath, The Dawkins Delusion? Atheist Fundamentalism and the Denial of the Divine, Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK), February 15, 2007, {{ISBN|978-0-281-05927-0}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.churchinwales.org.uk/press/display_press_release.php?prid=4542|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080316070109/http://www.churchinwales.org.uk/press/display_press_release.php?prid=4542|url-status=dead|title=Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru | The Church in Wales|archive-date=March 16, 2008|access-date=December 30, 2007}}{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7156783.stm | work=BBC News | title='Atheistic fundamentalism' fears | date=December 22, 2007 | access-date=May 3, 2010}} and said "Any kind of fundamentalism, be it Biblical, atheistic or Islamic, is dangerous".{{cite web |url=http://www.atheistnation.net/news/?atheist/article,00139 |title=Archbishop of Wales fears the rise of "Atheistic Fundamentalism" |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071227061935/http://www.atheistnation.net/news/?atheist/article%2C00139 |archive-date=December 27, 2007 |access-date=November 4, 2013 |df=mdy-all }} He also said, "the new fundamentalism of our age ... leads to the language of expulsion and exclusivity, of extremism and polarisation, and the claim that, because God is on our side, he is not on yours."{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7156783.stm |title=Atheistic fundamentalism" fears |work=BBC News |date=22 December 2007 |access-date=November 4, 2013}} He claimed it led to situations such as councils calling Christmas "Winterval", schools refusing to put on nativity plays and crosses being removed from chapels. Others have countered that some of these attacks on Christmas are urban legends, not all schools do nativity plays because they choose to perform other traditional plays like A Christmas Carol or "The Snow Queen" and, because of rising tensions between various religions, opening up public spaces to alternate displays rather than the Nativity scene is an attempt to keep government religion-neutral.{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/christmas2007/story/0,,2230951,00.html | work=The Guardian | location=London | title=Sorry to disappoint, but it's nonsense to suggest we want to ban Christmas | first=Polly | last=Toynbee | date=December 21, 2007 | access-date=May 3, 2010}}

In The New Inquisition, Robert Anton Wilson lampoons the members of skeptical organizations such as the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal as fundamentalist materialists, alleging that they dogmatically dismiss any evidence that conflicts with materialism as hallucination or fraud.Pope Robert Anton Wilson, The New Inquisition: Irrational Rationalism and the Citadel of Science. 1986. 240 pages. {{ISBN|1-56184-002-5}}

In France, during a protestation march against the imposition of restrictions on the wearing of headscarves in state-run schools, a banner labeled the ban as "secular fundamentalism".[http://www.iht.com/articles/2003/12/19/edscarf_ed3_.php "Secular fundamentalism"], International Herald Tribune, December 19, 2003{{Cite news|date=2004-01-17|title=Headscarf ban sparks new protests|language=en-GB|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3405453.stm

| publisher= BBC News

|access-date=2023-01-02}} In the United States, private or cultural intolerance of women wearing the hijab (Islamic headcovering) and political activism by Muslims also has been labeled "secular fundamentalism".{{Cite news

| first = Ayesha| last = Ahmad

| date = 22 April 2002

|title=Muslim Activists Reject Secular Fundamentalism|url=https://www.islamawareness.net/Secularism/activists.html|access-date=2023-01-02|website=www.islamawareness.net}}{{pb}}{{cite web

| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20030315140709/http://minaret.org/dinner5.pdf

| archive-date= 15 March 2003

| url = http://minaret.org/dinner5.pdf

| title= Minaret of Feedom 5th Annual Dinner Edited Transcript

| first = Imad-ad-Dean | last=Ahmad

| publisher= Minaret of Feedom

}}

The term "fundamentalism" is sometimes applied to signify a counter-cultural fidelity to a principle or set of principles, as in the pejorative term "market fundamentalism", used to imply exaggerated religious-like faith in the ability of unfettered laissez-faire or free-market capitalist economic views or policies to solve economic and social problems. According to economist John Quiggin, the standard features of "economic fundamentalist rhetoric" are "dogmatic" assertions and the claim that anyone who holds contrary views is not a real economist. Retired professor in religious studies Roderick Hindery lists positive qualities attributed to political, economic, or other forms of cultural fundamentalism, including "vitality, enthusiasm, willingness to back up words with actions, and the avoidance of facile compromise" as well as negative aspects such as psychological attitudes,{{which|date = November 2014}} occasionally elitist and pessimistic perspectives, and in some cases literalism.Hindery, Roderick (2008). [http://propagandaandcriticalthought.com/RHComparativeEthicsArticle2008.htm "Comparative Ethics, Ideologies, and Critical Thought"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128013058/http://propagandaandcriticalthought.com/RHComparativeEthicsArticle2008.htm |date=January 28, 2012 }}

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. 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.Dorff, Elliot N. and Rosett, Arthur, A Living Tree; The Roots and Growth of Jewish Law, SUNY Press, 1988.

Howard Thurman was interviewed in the late 1970s for a BBC feature on religion. He told the interviewer:

{{blockquote|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.{{Cite magazine

|url = http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/jul1981/v38-2-criticscorner1.htm

|title = An Interview With Howard Thurman and Ronald Eyre

|magazine = Theology Today

|volume = 38

|issue = 2

|date = July 1981

|url-status = dead

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20020906162337/http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/jul1981/v38-2-criticscorner1.htm

|archive-date = 6 September 2002

|publisher = BBC

|series = The Long Search

|via = Princeton Theological Seminary

|accessdate = August 26, 2008

}}}}

Influential criticisms of fundamentalism include James Barr's books on Christian fundamentalism and Bassam Tibi's analysis of Islamic fundamentalism.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}}{{Cite book|last=Tibi|first=Bassam|title=The Challenge of Fundamentalism: Political Islam and the New World Disorder|publisher=University of California Press|year=2002|isbn=978-0520236905}}

A study at the University of Edinburgh found that of its six measured dimensions of religiosity, "lower intelligence is most associated with higher levels of fundamentalism."{{cite web|title=The relationship between intelligence and multiple domains of religious belief: Evidence from a large adult US sample |author1=Gary J. Lewis |author2=Stuart J. Ritchie |author3=Timothy C. Bates |url=http://www.midus.wisc.edu/findings/pdfs/1197.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130421071042/http://www.midus.wisc.edu/findings/pdfs/1197.pdf |archive-date=2013-04-21 |url-status=live|date=2011-09-03}}

The Associated Press' AP Stylebook recommends that the term fundamentalist not be used for any group that does not apply the term to itself. Many scholars have adopted a similar position.[http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/may/12/can-anyone-define-fundamentalist/ "Can anyone define 'fundamentalist'?"], Terry Mattingly, Ventura County Star, May 12, 2011. Retrieved August 6, 2011. Other scholars, however, use the term in the broader descriptive sense to refer to various groups in various religious traditions including those groups that would object to being classified as fundamentalists, such as in the Fundamentalism Project.See, for example, Marty, M. and Appleby, R.S. eds. (1993). Fundamentalisms and the State: Remaking Polities, Economies, and Militance. John H. Garvey, Timur Kuran, and David C. Rapoport, associate editors, Vol 3, The Fundamentalism Project. University of Chicago Press.

Tex Sample asserts that it is a mistake to refer to a Muslim, Jewish, or Christian fundamentalist. Rather, a fundamentalist's fundamentalism is their primary concern, over and above other denominational or faith considerations.Tex Sample. Public Lecture, Faith and Reason Conference, San Antonio, TX. 2006.

{{Portal|conservatism|Religion|History of science|Philosophy}}

{{div col|colwidth=20em}}

• Authoritarianism
• Biblical literalism
• Christian identity
• Christian Reconstructionism
• Christian nationalism
• Creation science
• Cult
• Dogmatism
• Dominionism
• Evangelical atheism
• Evangelicalism
• Extremism
• Formalism (philosophy)
• Fundamentalism (sculpture)
• Historical-grammatical method
• Independent Fundamental Baptist
• Indoctrination
• Integrism
• Islamic extremism
• Islamic State
• Islamism
• Legalism (theology)
• Militant atheism
• Moral absolutism
• Mormon fundamentalism
• Pentecostalism
• Political radicalism
• Reactionary
• Religious discrimination
• Religious fanaticism
• Religious intolerance
• Religious nationalism
• Religious persecution
• Religious segregation
• Religious violence
• Restorationism
• Ritualism in the Church of England
• Sect
• Sectarianism
• True Orthodox church
• Violence against Muslims in independent India
• Violence against Christians in India

{{div col end}}

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book |surname=Ammerman |given=Nancy T. |authorlink=Nancy Ammerman |chapter=North American Protestant Fundamentalism |chapter-url={{Google books|id=qd5yzP5hdiEC|plainurl=y|page=1|keywords=|text=}} |editor-surname=Marty |editor-given=Martin E. |editor-link=Martin E. Marty |editor-surname2=Appleby |editor-given2=R. Scott |editor-link2=R. Scott Appleby |year=1991 |title=Fundamentalisms Observed |series=The Fundamentalism Project, 1 |place=Chicago, Il; London |publisher=University of Chicago Press |pages=1–65 |url={{Google books|id=qd5yzP5hdiEC|plainurl=y|page=}} |isbn=0-226-50878-1}}
• Appleby, R. Scott, Gabriel Abraham Almond, and Emmanuel Sivan (2003). Strong Religion. Chicago, Il; London: 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}}
• {{cite encyclopedia |surname=Champagne |given=Duane |entry=North American Indian Religions: New Religious Movements |title=Encyclopedia of Religion: 15-volume Set |editor=Lindsay Jones |edition=2nd |place=Farmington Hills, Mi |publisher=Macmillan Reference USA |year=2005 |volume=10 |entry-url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/north-american-indian-religions-new-religious-movements |via=Encyclopedia.com}}
• 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.
• {{cite book |surname=Heilman |given=Samuel C. |authorlink=Samuel Heilman |surname2=Friedman |given2=Menachem |year=1991 |authorlink2=Menachem Friedman |chapter=Religious Fundamentalism and Religious Jews: The Case of the Haredim |chapter-url={{Google books|id=qd5yzP5hdiEC|plainurl=y|page=197|keywords=|text=}} |editor-surname=Marty |editor-given=Martin E. |editor-link=Martin E. Marty |editor-surname2=Appleby |editor-given2=R. Scott |editor-link2=R. Scott Appleby |title=Fundamentalisms Observed |series=The Fundamentalism Project, 1 |place=Chicago, Il; London |publisher=University of Chicago Press |pages=197–264 |url={{Google books|id=qd5yzP5hdiEC|plainurl=y|page=}} |isbn=0-226-50878-1}}
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• {{cite book |last1=Kay |first1=David N. |title=Tibetan and Zen Buddhism in Britain: Transplantation, Development and Adaptation |date=2004 |publisher=RoutledgeCurzon |isbn=978-0-415-29765-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gv_QmAEACAAJ |language=en}}
• Keating, Karl (1988). Catholicism and Fundamentalism. San Francisco: Ignatius. {{ISBN|0-89870-177-5}}.
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• {{cite book |editor-surname=Marty |editor-given=Martin E. |editor-link=Martin E. Marty |editor-surname2=Appleby |editor-given2=R. Scott |editor-link2=R. Scott Appleby |title=Fundamentalisms and Society: Reclaiming the Sciences, the Family, and Education |series=The Fundamentalism Project, 2 |place=Chicago, Il; London |year=1993 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |url={{Google books|id=Ye7DYE39tf8C |plainurl=y|page=}} |isbn=0-226-50880-3}}
• {{cite book |editor-surname=Marty |editor-given=Martin E. |editor-link=Martin E. Marty |editor-surname2=Appleby |editor-given2=R. Scott |editor-link2=R. Scott Appleby |title=Fundamentalisms and the State: Remaking Polities, Economies, and Militance |series=The Fundamentalism Project, 3 |place=Chicago, Il; London |year=1993 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |url={{Google books|id=doCmVaOnh_wC|plainurl=y|page=}} |isbn=0-226-50883-8}}
• {{cite book |editor-surname=Marty |editor-given=Martin E. |editor-link=Martin E. Marty |editor-surname2=Appleby |editor-given2=R. Scott |editor-link2=R. Scott Appleby |title=Accounting for Fundamentalisms: The Dynamic Character of Movements |series=The Fundamentalism Project, 4 |place=Chicago, Il; London |year=1994 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |url={{Google books|id=XTDteHrDgfAC|plainurl=y|page=}} |isbn=0-226-50885-4}}
• {{cite book |editor-surname=Marty |editor-given=Martin E. |editor-link=Martin E. Marty |editor-surname2=Appleby |editor-given2=R. Scott |editor-link2=R. Scott Appleby |title=Fundamentalisms Comprehended |series=The Fundamentalism Project, 5 |place=Chicago, Il; London |year=1995 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |url={{Google books|id=GFMx4bT1nNQC|plainurl=y|page=}} |isbn=0-226-50887-0}}
• Noll, Mark A. (1992). A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
• Ruthven, Malise (2005). "Fundamentalism: The Search for Meaning". Oxford: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-280606-8}}
• {{cite book |last1=Schaik |first1=Sam van |title=Tibet: A History |date=28 June 2011 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-15404-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=La1CWinaDR4C |language=en}}
• {{cite book |last1=Schirrmacher |first1=Thomas |title=Fundamentalism: When Religion becomes Dangerous |date=2013 |publisher=VKW |isbn=978-3-86269-054-1 |url=https://www.academia.edu/36807042 |language=en}}
• Torrey, R.A. (ed.). (1909). The Fundamentals. Los Angeles: The Bible Institute of Los Angeles (B.I.O.L.A. now Biola University). {{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}}.

• {{cite book |editor-surname=Marty |editor-given=Martin E. |editor-link=Martin E. Marty |editor-surname2=Appleby |editor-given2=R. Scott |editor-link2=R. Scott Appleby |volume=1–5 |year=1991–1995 |title=Fundamentalisms... |series=The Fundamentalism Project |place=Chicago, Il; London |publisher=University of Chicago Press}}

{{Wiktionary|fundamentalism}}

• [https://archive.knoxnews.com/entertainment/family/terry-mattingly-can-anyone-define-fundamentalist-ep-404467959-357836791.html Can Anyone Define Fundamentalist?] Article by Terry Mattingly via Scripps Howard News Service
• {{In Our Time|Fundamentalism|p00545gy|Fundamentalism}}
• [https://www.csmonitor.com/2001/1004/p25s1-wosc.html Q & A on Islamic Fundamentalism]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20111119100448/http://www.fas.harvard.edu/home/news-and-notices/news/press-releases/release-archive/releases-2007/fundamentalism-11072007.shtml Roots of Fundamentalism Traced to 16th Century Bible Translations], Harvard University, November 7, 2007.

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Category:Barriers to critical thinking

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