Religious Fundamentalism

Fundamentalism as a topic will result in questions in its own right but

it is also useful to illustrate other parts of the specification. For
example, the growth in fundamentalist movements can be used to
contradict the idea that secularisation is now the norm.
Fundamentalist movements tend to be global movements so any
response to a question on globalisation must include reference to
fundamentalism. Finally, many sects tend to be fundamentalist in
character and have broken away from a bigger religion because
fundamentalists believe their religious beliefs are being watered
down in some way. It is only by isolating themselves that
fundamentalists believe they can adhere to the true version of their
religion.

A key feature of global postmodern society has been the emergence of

fundamentalist religious factions within all the major world religions.
Fundamentalist wings can be seen in Catholic and Protestant Christianity,
Judaism, Hinduism and Islam. The late 20th century and early 21st
century in particular has seen a rise in religious fundamentalism among
Zionists in Israel, Muslims in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan and
Christian groups in the USA. For example, the worldwide membership of
the Jehovah’s Witnesses, a fundamentalist sect, has grown from 44,000
in 1928 to over 6 million today. This is expected to double by 2020.

Giddens (1999) defines fundamentalists as traditionalists who seek

to return to the basics or fundamentals of their faith. They believe
in the literal truth of their scriptures and holy texts and argue that these
provide the answers to all of life’s important questions from politics to
family life. They rely upon guardians of tradition, such as the clergy or
elders, to interpret the sacred text.

Their interpretation of theology often involves a strict adherence to

rigid and unchangeable moral codes of behaviour or rules of
lifestyle. Moreover, fundamentalists tend to look to the past, to a
‘golden age’ of religion when religion was supposedly at its ‘purest’ and
use this as a template to judge the present and the future.

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 Key features of fundamentalist groups
What fundamentalists do
They interpret ‘infallible’
sacred texts literally. They
often use scripture
selectively to support their
arguments.
They reject religious
pluralism because they
believe that theirs is the
only ‘true’ view of the
world. They generally do
not tolerate other religions
and avoid contact with
people who think
differently. They tend
therefore to see the world
in terms of conflict – ‘them’
versus ‘us’.
Followers generally have a
personal experience of
God’s presence – revelation
is all important.
They oppose secularisation
and modernity, and are in
favour of tradition.
Fundamentalists often see
mainstream society as a
threat to their value
system. They may adopt
‘defensive aggressive’
strategies such as suicide
attacks or murder in
response to these
perceived threats in order
to take the lives of non-
believers, e.g. 9/11; 7/7,
Timothy McVeigh & the
bombing of the federal
building in Oklahoma City.
They tend to promote
conservative beliefs,
including patriarchal ones.
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They tend to make
maximum use of modern
technology.
Why they do it
They do this in order to counter what
they see as the diluting influence of
excessive intellectualism among more
liberal religious and non-religious belief
systems.
They believe that tolerance of other
religious ideas waters down personal
faith.
All areas of social life are seen as sacred,
and as requiring a high level of religious
commitment and engagement. For
example, fundamentalist Christians are
‘born again’ to live the rest of their lives
in a special relationship with Jesus.
They believe that tolerance of a
changing world undermines religious
conviction and leads to moral corruption.
Fundamentalists argue that their beliefs
are so important that love of these
beliefs overcome any respect,
compassion or tolerance for those who
do not share them.
They argue that God intends humans to
live in heterosexual societies dominated
by men. In particular, they condemn
abortion and detest lesbian and gay
relationships. They generally prefer
women to occupy subordinate roles - to
obey men as wives and mothers.
To compete on equal terms with those
who threaten their very existence, the
Christian Right, for example, use
television (in their view, the prime cause
Causes of fundamentalism

(1) Globalisation

Giddens sees the growth of fundamentalism as a product of

and a reaction to globalisation which is seen by religious
scholars in traditional and especially relatively undeveloped
societies to undermine how things have always been.

Globalisation is often associated with Westernisation and/or

Americanisation. Western values and moral codes are
interpreted by fundamentalist scholars as too liberal and as
undermining traditional social norms concerning the
nuclear family, gender and sexuality (such as the
prohibition of abortion, homosexuality and sex outside
marriage). Western norms such as equal rights for women and
gays, free speech and the promotion of democracy are regarded
as threatening traditional authoritarian power bases such
as rule by elites based on divine right or military power or
inheritance, and particularly male dominance of these
societies.

Furthermore, globalisation has exposed many traditional

societies to the influence of Western consumerism and
materialism whose ‘decadence’ or spiritual emptiness is seen
by some fundamentalist members of less developed societies as
a threat to their faith and identity, and especially the
adherence of the next generation to religious rules of
lifestyle. The focus on materialism, fashion, pop culture etc in
western culture is seen to be corrupt in that it distracts young
people in traditional societies away from religion.

For example, the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have

been interpreted by some Muslim fundamentalists as part of a
Christian crusade against Islam to impose western values
and ways of thinking on the people of these societies.

Giddens argues that fundamentalism is attractive because its

rigid dogmatic beliefs promise certainty in an uncertain
world. It is a retreat from the ‘cosmopolitan’ (and
Western) modern world with its demand for rational

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 thinking and personal choice into faith-based answers and
submission to a higher spiritual authority. Giddens sees
fundamentalism as the enemy of cosmopolitan thought
and modernity.

However Haynes (1998) disagrees with Giddens and argues

that it is a mistake to see fundamentalism as a response to
globalisation. He argues that fundamentalism is often fuelled
by the failure of local elites to deliver on their promises to
improve the standard of living of the local poor.

(2) Existential Security

Norris and Inglehart argue that poorer people may face

life-threatening risks such as famine, poverty, disease and
environmental disasters on a daily basis. Consequently, they
are more likely to turn to fundamentalist religion because
religion provides security, comfort and compensation for
their negative daily experience. In other words it provides
existential security. (See guide 9a for more detail on this
theory).

(3) Postmodernity

Bauman (1992) sees fundamentalism as a response to

living in postmodernity. Postmodern society brings freedom
of choice, uncertainty and a heightened awareness of risk,
undermining the old certainties about how to live that
were grounded in tradition. In this situation, while some
embrace the new freedom, others are attracted to
fundamentalism by its claims of absolute truth and certainty.

(4) Secularisation

Other postmodernists have suggested that the rise of

fundamentalism may be a response to secularisation,
especially a perceived moral decline in the behaviour of the
society to which fundamentalists belong.

(5) The ‘Clash of Civilisations’

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Huntington (1993) argues that a clash of civilisations between
fundamentalist Islam and Christianity has appeared in the late 20 th
century. This was caused by three global trends:

 Political differences between nations have become less important as

a source of identity since the fall of communism.

 Globalisation has made nation-states less significant as a source of

identity – this has created a gap that religion has filled. For
example, Muslims world-wide identify primarily with other Muslims
across the world (ummah).

 Globalisation, especially through the internet makes contact

between civilisations easier and more frequent, and this increases
the likelihood of old conflicts re-emerging. For example, Christian
and Islamic civilisations have a history of conflict going back to the
Crusades.

In Huntington’s view, religious differences between Christians and

Muslims are creating a new set of hostile ‘us and them’ relationships. In
particular, Huntington sees the West as under threat from fundamentalist
forms of Islam and urges the West to re-assert its Christian identity.

However, Casanova points out that Huntington fails to acknowledge

differences within Islam, e.g. between Sunnis and Shias. Moreover,
only a tiny minority of the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims see
themselves at war with the West. Finally, Armstrong (2001) points
out that fundamentalism is not a reaction to Christian identity but rather
it is a reaction to Western foreign policy which has propped up
oppressive regimes such as those in Egypt and Tunisia.

(6) Steve Bruce

A criticism that is often directed at Giddens and Bauman by

Steve Bruce is that they lump all types of fundamentalism
together and consequently ignore the important
differences between them.

Bruce, for example, suggests that fundamentalism is

confined to monotheistic religions, i.e. those believing in a
single almighty God – such as Judaism, Islam and Christianity.
He claims that religions like Hinduism (with many gods) are less

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 likely to produce fundamentalist movements. However, the
Indian sociologist, Nanda has questioned this assumption
because she has noted that modern Hinduism has led to an
emergence of a type of fundamentalist Hinduism based on
ultra-nationalism which has created conflict between Hindus
and non-Hindu minorities.

Bruce argues that although all fundamentalists share the same

characteristics, they may have different origins. For example,
he notes that Christian fundamentalism has been triggered
by social change in Western societies, especially increased
social choices with regard to family diversity, sexual
permissiveness, gender equality, abortion rights and
secular education. In the USA, the Christian Right or moral
majority has developed in opposition to the teaching of evolution
in schools and proposals to legalise abortion, homosexuality etc.
The aim of Western fundamentalists is to re-assert ‘true’
religion and restore it to the public role where it can shape
the laws and morals of wider society.

In contrast, Bruce notes that in the developing world,

fundamentalism is usually a reaction to changes being
thrust upon a society from outside. For example, the
Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979 was triggered by
modernisation and globalisation. Western values were
imposed on Iran by foreign capitalism (i.e. oil interests) as well
as a repressive government which was supported by the UK and
USA.