Fundamentalism

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[[File:DavidWoronieckiWithSign.jpg|right|165px|thumb|When pedestrians carry [[nut pole]]s…]]
[[File:A protest against an anti-Islamic film.JPG|right|165px|thumb|A protest in Duraz, Bahrain against an anti-Islamic film. The banner (in Arabic) reads: "The Islamic nation will not tolerate with those who offend its sanctities"]]{{religion}}
{{cquote|The fundamentalists have taken the fun out of the mental.|||{{wpl|Ken Kesey}}<ref>[http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/k/kenkesey364915.html The fundamentalists have taken the fun out of the mental.] purportedly by Ken Kesey, ''Brainy Quote''.</ref>}}
'''Fundamentalism''' is a term used to describe religious movements that reject [[modernity|modernism]] (particularly scientific thought and [[secularism]]), that claim to find all truth, including [[science]], [[history]], and [[psychology]], in their [[Holy book|sectarian scriptures]], and that often try to impose some degree of religious law on all citizens of any [[government]] they are able to control. The {{wpl|type species}} is the [[Fundamentalist Christianity|Christian Fundamentalism of the 1920s]], which is a reaction against [[Evolution|Darwin's theory of evolution]]; by extension, the term is applied to {{wpl|Haredi Judaism}} and [[Wahhabism]] in [[Islam]], which, with the former, form the {{wpl|type genus}} of "[[Abrahamic religions|Abrahamic]] fundamentalism". In more abstract terms, it can refer to any movement to recapture an [[Partisan|ideological "purity"]] within a religion, especially an Abrahamic religion, that supposedly has been lost by mainstream adherents of the religion at large. Note that this definition would also apply to liberal [[Christians]] who seek a Sermon-on-the-Mount purity by engaging in works of [[charity]]. Fundamentalists often assert the primacy of their own idiosyncratic interpretation of religious [[Holy book|texts]] over centuries of acquired [[knowledge]] and practice. This has the advantage of making [[Deepity|great insights]] and {{wpl|Obscurantism|profound wisdom}} available to all believers, but puts them at odds not only with the secular world and members of other religions, but also with their own brethren who find meaning in the modern world.

Though the term has been applied to anyone within any religion desiring to go back to the so-called fundamentals of the religion, the term originally applied to a more formal movement within [[Protestant]] Christianity in the 1920s that emphasized a [[Biblical literalism|literal reading of the Bible]] and a more militant approach to Christianity. The formal movement (often represented with a capital F) ran out of steam in the mid-1930s, but the emphasis on literalism, inerrancy, and [[American exceptionalism|exceptionalism]] have permeated many different [[denomination]]s within Christianity, giving rise to local churches within the larger body, who self-identify as "fundamental churches".

Fundamentalists are sometimes referred to pejoratively as "[[fundy|fundies]]".

Fundamentalist Christian groups can be [[Pentecostal]] and/or otherwise pietistic (doctrinally focused on one's [[Personal savior|personal relationship]] with [[God]]).

Fundamentalism is generally not [[fun]] at all, but is usually quite {{Tooltip|which can convey the meaning of being extremely stupid in British English|mental}} — duh.

==Introduction==
{{cquote|The problem is that moderates of all faiths are committed to reinterpreting or ignoring outright the most dangerous and absurd parts of their scripture, and this commitment is precisely what makes them moderates. But it also requires some degree of [[intellectual dishonesty]] because moderates can't acknowledge that their moderation comes from outside the faith. The doors leading out of scriptural literalism simply do not open from the inside.

In the 21<sup>st</sup> century, the moderate's commitment to [[rationality]], [[human rights]], [[Feminism|gender equality]], and every other modern value, values that are potentially universal for human beings, comes from the last 1000 years of human progress, much of which was accomplished in spite of religion, not because of it. So when moderates claim to find their modern ethical commitments within scripture, it looks like an exercise in self-deception. The truth is that most of our modern values are antithetical to the specific teachings of [[Judaism]], Christianity, and Islam. And where we do find these values expressed in our [[holy book]]s, they are almost never best expressed there.

Moderates seem unwilling to grapple with the fact that all scriptures contain an extraordinary amount of stupidity and barbarism, that can always be rediscovered and made wholly anew by fundamentalists, and there's no principle of moderation internal to the faith that prevents this. These fundamentalist readings are, almost by definition, more complete and consistent, and therefore more honest. The fundamentalist picks up the book and says, "Ok, I'm just going to read every word of this and do my best to understand what god wants from me — I'll leave my personal [[bias]]es completely out of it." Conversely, every moderate seems to believe that his interpretation and selective reading of scripture is more accurate than god's literal words.|||[[Sam Harris]], ''Islam and the Future of Tolerance: A Dialogue''<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=3I7JCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA65 ''Islam and the Future of Tolerance: A Dialogue''] by Sam Harris (2015) Harvard University Press. {{Isbn|0674088700}}</ref>{{rp|65}}}}

Fundamentalist rhetoric is frequently [[apocalyptic]] in order to provide their crusade with a driving [[theological]] imperative. Typically, the world has become decadent and corrupt; their co-religionists have become tainted by it; and [insert deity of choice] is but a short time away from unleashing its loving Wrath (of [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMSHvgaUWc8 DOOM!]) upon the whole sorry mess. Only those who attain their stipulated degree of "purity" will be saved. In more extreme cases, only the 'elect', or [[predestination|those chosen before birth]] for [[salvation]], have the opportunity for salvation, and those less fortunate, no matter how [[saint]]ly, are doomed to [[damnation]] by a fickle and capricious deity.

Although such [[rhetoric]] may serve to recruit wavering co-religionists to the cause, it also serves as a natural limiting factor on how successful fundamentalist thought can be outside of these circles. Put simply, the majority of people respond very poorly to such a relentlessly aggressive and/or negative message. That they then champion 1000+ year old texts over the explanatory width and depth of modern science leaves the widespread acceptance of fundamentalist thought utterly hamstrung. After [[List of predictions of the end of the world|said date of apocalyptic fury]] comes and goes with nothing out of the ordinary happening, you'd expect for there to be apologies to those who believed. [[Cognitive dissonance|Instead]], however, a [[Moving the goalposts|new date is often set]]. This can get [[:Help:Bored|boring]] and lead to de-conversions after the fifth time someone has given away all their worldly goods in anticipation of the apocalypse. Thus, fundamentalism is often doing harm to its own cause.

Religious fundamentalism has often been compared to a [[parasite]] that hijacks the believers' [[brain]], and like some {{wpl|Nematomorpha|actual parasites}} alters the hosts' behavior to benefit its existence and replicate<ref>[https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mind-in-the-machine/201810/how-religious-fundamentalism-hijacks-the-brain How Religious Fundamentalism Hijacks the Brain]</ref> with some studies even linking brain damage with it<ref>[https://www.psypost.org/new-study-links-brain-network-damage-to-increased-religious-fundamentalism/ New study links brain network damage to increased religious fundamentalism]</ref> and other experts claiming it causes such kind of believers (at the very least [[Evangelicals]]) to be easier to [[gaslight]] and to be more suggestible as, especially when one has been educated since childhood into suppressing critical thinking, the [[brain]] becomes hardwired into accepting far-fetched statements without questioning them<ref>[https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mind-in-the-machine/201912/why-evangelicals-may-be-hardwired-believe-trumps-falsehoods Why Evangelicals May Be Hardwired to Believe Trump's Falsehoods]</ref>.

==Etymology==
The name "fundamentalism" is derived from ''The Fundamentals'', a series of pamphlets published anonymously in 1910 by Lyman Stuart, founder of Union Oil.<ref>''The Roots of Fundamentalism: British and American Millenarianism, 1800-1930'' by Ernest R. Sandeen (1970) University of Chicago Press. {{Isbn|0226734676}}</ref> The movement started among conservative [[Presbyterian]] theologians at Princeton Theological Seminary. ''Fundament'' (the foundation or basis of something) + ''al;'' Middle [[English]] (also denoting the base of a building, or the founding of a building or institution), from Old French ''fondement'', from [[Latin]] ''fundamentum'', from ''fundare'', "''to found''".<ref>''The New Oxford American Dictionary'' (2001) Oxford University Press. {{Isbn|019511227X}}</ref>{{rp|687}} In fact, ''fundament'' shares a root with ''foundation'', thus meaning "base", "underpinning", or "support". However, it also has a connotation of "bottom", sharing the same informal meaning, as fundament is also synonymous with [[asshole]].<ref>[https://www.synonyms.com/antonyms/fundament Fundament] ''Synonyms''.</ref> Similarity to "fund a mental" is largely [[Coincidence|coincidental]].

==Christian fundamentalism==
There are 5 main tenets of the Christian fundamentalist, namely:
{{Main|Fundamentalist Christianity}}
#Inerrency of the [[Bible]]. The fundamentalist views the Bible as a divinely-inspired work authored by men acting under the direction of God, and as such is entirely error-free, even when [[Biblical contradictions|it contradicts itself]], which it doesn't really, because… we said so, ok?
#[[Biblical literalism]]. Biblical literalism is an approach to Biblical interpretation; literalists hold that the meaning of the text is given by the plain meaning of the author(s). Only those passages which are clearly allegorical or [[Symbolism|symbolic]] ought to be understood as allegory or symbolism. That said, discerning which passages are clearly allegorical is exceedingly difficult, and, tellingly, differs from one congregation to another. Also, it is hard to treat a text as the literal word of God when that text is a translation from a dead language.
#The [[virgin birth]] of [[Jesus Christ]]. Fundamentalists hold this against encroaching [[materialism]] which denies the [[supernatural]].
#The doctrine of substitutionary atonement. Christ inserts his own perfect record, in place of ours, into the [[Divine retribution|divine retributive]] mechanism. The [[ethical]] implications of substituting guilt, like the questionable ethics of [[original sin]], are studiously ignored.
#The bodily [[resurrection of Jesus]], the imminent personal [[Second Coming|return of Jesus Christ]]. Some believe that this will result in True Believers™ being [[Rapture|whisked away]] to [[Heaven]] on [[Judgement Day]], while unbelievers suffer first on Earth and later in [[Hell]]. This fundamental is held in opposition to those who say Jesus appeared to [[Saint Peter|Peter]] as a spirit, or that he will return only in a symbolic sense.

Catholicism, a large branch of Christianity, also has its own set of fundamentalism unique to itself.
{{Main|Traditionalist Catholicism}}

==Jewish fundamentalism==
The term [[Jewish]] fundamentalism may refer to militant [[Zionism]], or Ashkenazi or Sephardic Haredi Judaism. It may also refer to the more extreme elements within the settler movement in [[Israel]], like {{wpl|Meir Kahane||,}} extremists in the Jewish community itself, such as ultra-orthodox extremism.

It has recently taken the form of attempting to get public buses [[Segregation|segregated]] by [[gender]], with women having to sit in the back of the bus. The year 2013 also saw the start of ethnic bus segregation in Israel, but that may not have to do with Jewish religious fundamentalism.

Sometimes, Jewish fundamentalism gets violent,<ref>[http://www.humanreligions.info/judaism_fundamentalism.html "Fundamentalist Judaism and Jewish Terrorism"] by Vexen Crabtree (2016) ''The Human Truth Foundation''.</ref> such as [[pogrom]]s against [[Palestinians]] by settlers in the West Bank (or Gaza, back in the day), or Judaism-inspired [[terrorism]] in the West Bank, in the case of the Bat Ayin Underground, or like when violent, somewhat arsonist, demonstrations took place in recent years within Israel proper to protest the Israeli government getting more serious about preventing parents from using [[corporal punishment]]. Attacks on [[LGBT]] Israelis at times have occurred.

There are also, however, Jewish fundamentalists that oppose the current Zionism movement — the Neturei Karta, for example — based on the doctrine that God must give approval to retake the Promised Land first, since them losing control of it was apparently a punishment from God. Some of these go so far as supporting Palestinian terrorists.

==Islamic fundamentalism==
{{main|Islamism}}
[[File:PewExtremismResearch.png|right|thumb|210px|2013 Pew Research Poll concerning global Muslims' views of various fundamentalist groups.]]
Islamic fundamentalists see [[sharia]] (Islamic law based on the verses of the [[Qur'an]]) as the cornerstone of their [[faith]]. Their primary goal is the establishment of sharia-governed [[state]]s. Nations such as the Islamic Republic of [[Iran]] and [[Saudi Arabia]] are frequently criticized by [[human rights]] advocates for their brutal and illiberal treatment of women, [[homosexuals]], and non-Muslims. An example: for the "[[Blaming the victim|crime]]" of having been [[rape]]d, a Saudi woman could be severely beaten, perhaps to [[Honor killings|death]], ''by her own family'' for bringing dishonor upon the tribe.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/11/17/saudi.rape.victim/ "Saudi court ups punishment for gang-rape victim"]. ''CNN''.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20040508072404/http://www.iran-bulletin.org/women/RAPE.html "Rape under a fundamentalist regime"]</ref> [[Apostasy]], the renouncing of one's faith, is regarded as an insult to [[Allah]] and can also be punishable by death.

===Terrorism===
{{main|Terrorism}}
Several Sharia-governed states have been accused of supporting terrorist groups. The most notorious example was the [[Taliban]] government of [[Afghanistan]], which sheltered [[Osama bin Laden]] and his [[Al-Qaeda]] terror organization, until being toppled by the [[US]] government.

==Characteristics of fundamentalists==
{{cquote|The problem not only with fundamentalist Christians but with [[Republican]]s in general is not that they act on blind faith, without thinking. The problem is that they are incorrigible doubters with an insatiable appetite for Evidence. What they get off on is not Believing, but in having their beliefs tested. That's why their conversations and their media are so completely dominated by implacable bogeymen: [[Same-sex marriage|marrying gays]], [[liberal]]s, the [[ACLU]], Sean Penn, [[Europe]]ans and so on. Their faith both in God and in their political convictions is too weak to survive without an unceasing string of real and imaginary confrontations with those people — and for those confrontations, they are constantly assembling [[evidence]] and [[fact]]s to make their case.

But here's the twist. They are not looking for facts with which to defeat opponents. They are looking for facts that ensure them an ever-expanding roster of opponents. They can be correct facts, incorrect facts, irrelevant facts, it doesn't matter. The point is not to win the argument, the point is to make sure the argument ''never stops''. Permanent war isn't a policy imposed from above; it's an emotional imperative that rises from the bottom. In a way, it actually helps if the fact is dubious or untrue (like the [[Swiftboating|Swiftboat]] business), because that guarantees an argument. You're arguing the particulars, where you're right, while they're arguing the underlying generalities, where they are.

Once you grasp this fact, you're a long way to understanding what the [[Sean Hannity|Hannity]]s and [[Rush Limbaugh|Limbaugh]]s figured out long ago: [[Credulity|These people will swallow anything you feed them]], so long as it leaves them with a [[demon]] to wrestle with in their dreams.|||[[Matt Taibbi]]<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20080619021313/http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/6539082/bush_like_me/4 Bush Like Me: Ten weeks undercover in the grass roots of the Republican Party] by Matt Taibbi (Posted Oct 06, 2004 12:00 AM) ''Rolling Stone.</ref>}}
#Religious [[idealism]] is the basis for both [[WAKE UP|personal]] and [[Echo chamber|communal]] identity alike.
#Fundamentalists understand "perfect [[truth]]" to exist, [[Other ways of knowing|revealed and unified]].
#It is [[Appeal to emotion|intentionally scandalous]]: [[Othering|outsiders cannot understand it and will always be outsiders]]. (This also means they see things [[Moral absolutism|just in black and white]] ("Us VS Them") with no greys in the middle.)
#Fundamentalists [[Persecution complex|envision themselves as central]] to [[Eschatology|a grand cosmic struggle]], and any criticism of either them or their worldview is seen as persecution.
#They [[Pseudohistory|seize on historical moments]] and [[Shoehorning|reinterpret them in light of this cosmic struggle]].
#They systematically [[Poisoning the well|demonize]] and [[Straw man|simplify]] all positions that aren't their own.
#They are [[nostalgic]] about [[theocratic]] rule from the past, and are [[reactionary]].
#Fundamentalists are [[Cherry picking|highly selective in what parts]] of their [[Appeal to tradition|tradition and heritage]] are stressed, whether they are aware of this or not (and they're probably not, since they often criticize the moderately religious for [[Cafeteria Christianity|doing the exact same thing in the name of modernity, conventional morality, sanity, and actually having a life]]).
#They are primarily led by a narrow [[demographic]] (e.g., [[WASP|old, white males]] or at least just old males). Likewise, claims of them [[Born again|having converted in adulthood]], [[Zeal of the convert|leaving behind a sinful life]] as drug addicts, criminals, etc., are also common (whether those claims [[Pious fraud|are actually true or not]] is another topic), as are those about them having discovered the [[No True Scotsman|True version™]] of their religion, being often also against "organized religion" (assuming [[Christianity is not a religion|they call it such way]], that is.)
#They envy modernist [[cultural]] hegemony and try to overturn the distribution of power;<ref>These were taken from [https://web.archive.org/web/20080204164626/http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/02/thats_some_memory_hole.php here] (post #94) based on the work of Martin Marty. A better reference would be appreciated.</ref>
#Their "[[Bullshit|logic]]" is [[Not even wrong|so different]] from normal [[logic]] that [[Fractal wrongness|they almost cannot be argued with]]. For instance, in an argument over the existence of God — which is ''supposed'' to initially assume nothing — [[Begging the question|fundamentalists assume there is a God]] [[Presuppositionalism|and that opposing statements are irrelevant]].

===Religious fundamentalism and education===
One of the tenets of religious fundamentalism is how easy it is for the "pure" to be spoiled, which leads to a desire for as much of life as possible to be lived outside of mainstream society. Obviously, the unrestrained contact with others of different opinions/beliefs is dangerous to the young fundamentalist, and avoiding such opportunities may be achieved by [[homeschooling]] and/or a good dose of [[apologetics]], or in whole institutions dedicated to maintaining the purity of the schooled, with the added advantage of captive audiences who are more easily indoctrinated. See [[Pensacola Christian College]] and ''[[Jesus Camp]]'' for prime examples.

This can even be extended outside education, to other businesses that cater just to members of a faith such as for example lawyers for [[Jehovah's Witnesses]] only and those that are advertised at religious media (to the point the latter often seem to exist mostly to promote such businesses and/or products for such people as [[apologetics|apologetic]] media), as well as their [[Christian rock|entertainment]].

===The world of fundies===
The world of fundamentalists consists of [[Snake handling|snake handlers]], [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], [[Unification Church|Moonies]], primitive rockin' back 'n forth, eyes rolled back in their heads [[Southern Baptist]]s, roll-in-the sawdust, [[Speaking in tongues|babble-in-tongues]] gibbering [[Pentecostal]]s, whacked-out television and [[radio]] "send us yer money Thank Yaw Jesus!" [[Charlatan|crooked]] [[evangelist]]s, weird [[cult]]s in the desert, [[Domestic violence|beat your kids and wives]], vicious word-o'-the-Lord Christian whackos like [[Jim Bakker]], [[Jim Jones]], [[Bob Larson]], [[Jimmy Swaggart]], [[Peter Popoff]], Reverend Ike, [[Name it and claim it|prosperity]] preachers grubbing $20 from little old ladies on [[Social Security]], thieves, frauds, and [[Child sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church|pedophiles]], the [[Antisemitism|anti-Semitic]] remark of the day ''à la'' [[Pat Robertson]], [[Billy Graham]], et al., [[White supremacy|white man's nation, white man's religion, white power preachers]], [[skinhead]]s, [[Ku Klux Klan|Klansmen]], white citizen's councils with their whites-only religious schools, [[backward masking]], [[demon]]s, [[creationism]], [[black helicopters]], [[Red Scare|commies under every bed]], [[UN#The UN and conspiracy theories|UN is going to invade us]], [[militia movement|militia]]-joining, [[Tax protester|tax-resisting]], ''[[Harry Potter]]''/[[Meditation]] and the like/[[Halloween]]/[[Occult]]-fearing [[Hysteria|hysterical]] creeps and loonies who claim at the very least to practice the latter (ie, [[Tarot]] readings, [[witchcraft]], even [[Neopaganism|going Pagan]], etc) open the door for [[demonic possession]], [[spiritual warfare]] practitioners who believe they're fighting [[Satan]]'s forces 24 hours per day, kooks who claim all [[mythology|mythologies]], non-Christian gods, and other religions except Judaism are product of the Devil thus Satanic and/or the latter false ones despite insisting [[Christianity is not a religion]] and while being conveniently silent of the origins of theirs, [[pro-life]]rs who are against ''any'' kind of abortion [[hypocrisy|while not giving a damn about the fate of those who are already born]], [[homophobes]], people who claim [[Christianity is not a religion|not to be religious]] and consider religion to be anything but good (assuming they don't see other faiths as "atheism" or "agnosticism"), [[Anti-vaccination movement|anti-vaxxers]], [[End Times]] fearmongers who wait for the [[Rapture|moment they'll be beamed up]] while everyone else is left to suffer, believers in the [[New World Order]] and other related [[conspiracy theory|conspiracy theories]] with of course the [[Book of Revelation]] well mixed in, people who see [[Militant atheism|militant atheists]] striving to abolish Christianity around every corner and/or claim [[witch]]es are out there to curse and mess with them, [[anti-science]] loonies [[Anti-intellectualism|ignoramus of even the most basic science]] and who attack scientific theories that they do not understand at all, people who rant that [[Persecution complex|they're mocked and insulted]] because they're Christians thus pacifists, and those who insult them [[Fatwa envy|would not attempt the same stunt]] [[Islam|at the gates of a Mosque]] despite such people sometimes [[Hypocrisy|claiming the Muslims are Satanists and/or follow a false religion]], God-fearing [[Anti-Catholicism#Wingnut fundamentalist Protestants|creeps]] who consider [[Catholicism]] to basically be [[Paganism]] in disguise and/or the [[Babylon#The Whore of Babylon|Whore of Babylon]] using as proof [[Easter#Alexander Hislop's The Two Babylons|long-debunked bullshit]] up to claiming worship of Mary and the Saints is witchcraft despite saying they see Catholics as Christians™ too, [[Pious fraud|professional]] [[Apologetics|liars]], [[Christian Zionism|supporters of Israel]] [[Dispensationalism|for their own]] [[Zionism#Christian_Zionism|interests]], people seemingly okay with a (often ''very'') high percentage of all the people who have existed, exist, and will exist being sent to [[Hell]], and finally those who consider any criticism of them [[Persecution complex|to be persecution]] because the Bible says they'd be persecuted just for being Christians.

==Atheist fundamentalism?==
{{main|Atheist fundamentalism}}
There really is no such thing, since [[Secular religions#Atheism as a religion|atheism is not a religion]] and does not have a set of tenets or doctrines. Thus the concept of "fundamentalism" cannot easily be applied to [[atheism]]. Nevertheless, terms like "[[atheist fundamentalist]]" are often used by critics of atheism to associate prominent and [[New Atheism|vocal atheists]] such as [[Richard Dawkins]] with the excesses of fundamentalism. [[Antitheism]] is ''[[Atheists hate god|closer]]'' to fundamentalism, but doesn't fully qualify unless it spirals over the edge into [[Misotheism|absolute loathing of the very ''concept'' of religion and all who subscribe to it]] (much as religious fundamentalists loathe [[Atheism#Persecution of atheists|atheists]] and [[Infidel|adherents of all religions other than their own]]).<ref group=note>To be fair, people like that who want religion to be destroyed and all religious people to die in agony ''do'' exist (just look on [[Reddit]] if you don't believe us), but they're not as common as fundies like to think they are.</ref>

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060216045909/http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2004_12_05_digbysblog_archive.html All Fundamentalists Believe The Same Things]
*[http://web.archive.org/web/20080708064742/http://www.abarnett.demon.co.uk/atheism/fundy.html How To Think Like a Fundamentalist]
*[http://www.fstdt.net Fundies Say the Darndest things!]

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

[[Category:Fundamentalism| ]]
[[Category:Religion]]
[[Category:We're on a mission from God]]
[[Category:Moral absolutism]]

Categories: Fundamentalism, Religion, We're on a mission from God, Moral absolutism