One small group of Conservatives became intensely opposed to what they called Modernism. One such belief is that the Bible was verbally inspired by God. Therefore, they tend to take the words of Scripture in their literal sense. They also believe that if something is not found in Scripture, then it cannot be important to religious faith. However, the Second Vatican Council document on Divine Revelation points out the importance of considering history, culture, literary forms and the intentions of the sacred writers when interpreting Scripture.
Most fundamentalists stress the importance of an emotional experience of being born again.
Many of them say that a person cannot be considered a Christian unless he or she has had this kind of experience and that those who have not been born again in this manner will go to hell. In addition, most fundamentalist preachers are critical of basic Catholic beliefs and practices. For example, they deny the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, the authority of priests to forgive sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the power of intercessory prayer to Mary and the Saints. There are several differences among Fundamentalists concerning the meaning of certain Scripture passages, e.g., the time of the Second Coming, the method of Baptism and the necessity of speaking in tongues. Fundamentalism tend to disregard the Church's long history of discerning the meaning of Scripture.