Fundamentalism

Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that are characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishing one's ingroup and outgroup,[1][2][3][4] which leads to an emphasis on some conception of "purity", and a desire to return to a previous ideal from which advocates believe members have strayed. The term is usually used in the context of religion to indicate an unwavering attachment to a set of irreducible beliefs (the "fundamentals").[5]

The term "fundamentalism" is generally regarded by scholars of religion as referring to a largely modern religious phenomenon which, while itself a reinterpretation of religion as defined by the parameters of modernism, reifies religion in reaction against modernist, secularist, liberal and ecumenical tendencies developing in religion and society in general that it perceives to be foreign to a particular religious tradition.[6] Depending upon the context, the label "fundamentalism" can be a pejorative rather than a neutral characterization, similar to the ways that calling political perspectives "right-wing" or "left-wing" can have negative connotations.[7][8]

  1. ^ Altemeyer, B.; Hunsberger, B. (1992). "Authoritarianism, religious fundamentalism, quest, and prejudice". International Journal for the Psychology of Religion. 2 (2): 113–133. doi:10.1207/s15327582ijpr0202_5.
  2. ^ Kunst, Jonas R.; Thomsen, Lotte; Sam, David L. (June 2014). "Late Abrahamic reunion? Religious fundamentalism negatively predicts dual Abrahamic group categorization among Muslims and Christians: Late Abrahamic reunion". European Journal of Social Psychology. 44 (4): 337–348. doi:10.1002/ejsp.2014.
  3. ^ Kunst, J. R.; Thomsen, L. (2014). "Prodigal sons: Dual Abrahamic categorization mediates the detrimental effects of religious fundamentalism on Christian-Muslim relations". The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion. 25 (4): 293–306. doi:10.1080/10508619.2014.937965. hdl:10852/43723. S2CID 53625066.
  4. ^ Hunsberger, B (1995). "Religion and prejudice: The role of religious fundamentalism, quest, and right-wing authoritarianism". Journal of Social Issues. 51 (2): 113–129. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1995.tb01326.x. ... the fundamentalism and quest relationships with prejudice are especially meaningful in light of an association with right‐wing authoritarianism. ... In the end, it would seem that it is not religion per se, but rather the ways in which individuals hold their religious beliefs, which are associated with prejudice.
  5. ^ Nagata, Judith (June 2001). "Beyond Theology: Toward an Anthropology of "Fundamentalism"". American Anthropologist. 103 (2): 481–498. doi:10.1525/aa.2001.103.2.481. Once considered exclusively a matter of religion, theology, or scriptural correctness, use of the term fundamentalism has recently undergone metaphorical expansion into other domains [...].
  6. ^ Armstrong, Karen (2004). "Fundamentalism and the Secular Society". International Journal. 59 (4): 875–877. doi:10.2307/40203988. JSTOR 40203988.
  7. ^ Harris, Harriet (2008). Fundamentalism and Evangelicals. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-953253-7. OCLC 182663241.
  8. ^ Boer, Roland (2005). "Fundamentalism" (PDF). In Tony Bennett; Lawrence Grossberg; Meaghan Morris; Raymond Williams (eds.). New keywords: a revised vocabulary of culture and society. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing. pp. 134–137. ISBN 978-0-631-22568-3. OCLC 230674627. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 10, 2008. Retrieved July 27, 2008. Widely used as a pejorative term to designate one's fanatical opponents – usually religious and/or political – rather than oneself, fundamentalism began in Christian Protestant circles in the eC20. Originally restricted to debates within evangelical ('gospel-based') Protestantism, it is now employed to refer to any person or group that is characterized as unbending, rigorous, intolerant, and militant. The term has two usages, the prior one a positive self-description, which then developed into the later derogatory usage that is now widespread.

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