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The Nature of Religious Fundamentalism “Fundamentalism” is a term that has been used increasingly in recent years. But it is incredibly difficult to define. Why is “fundamentalism” such a difficult word to use?... 1. ...because people use it to mean lots of different things: “fundamentalism is such a commonly and loosely used term, thrown around like a baseball in the media, backyard arguments, and political arenas. Sometimes the term fundamentalist is used to describe any group that takes religion seriously or that views religion’s role in public life to be greater than the labeler would wish it to be. The term also might be used for those who are too religiously confident or who engage in any sort of action out of religious conviction.” Emerson & Hartman, “The Rise of Religious Fundamentalism”, published in The Annual Review of Sociology 2006 2. ...because there isn't one accepted definition: If you look up the word in different dictionaries, you will read a variety of definitions. And most complex concepts can not be adequately defined in a sentence even if everyone agrees with their meaning. Various sociologists have tried, not to define the term in a sentence, but to offer features of a group or a person or a set of beliefs that may lead to it being known as “fundamentalist”. But again, there are lots of sociologists who each give different theories on what it is that makes someone a fundamentalist. 3. ...because some people use it in a pejorative way: For many people, being addressed as a fundamentalist would amount to an insult, an accusation or even an attack on them. But other people are happy to be known as a fundamentalist. In this unit, the groups we will class as fundamentalist will not necessarily be happy themselves with this label. 4. ... because the word is sometimes used to describe someone’s political position or even their tendency for violence rather than their religious viewpoint. Although the word fundamentalism originates in protestant Christianity, it has been used to describe elements in every religion. But some scholars argue that it is only applicable to the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam). Another problem is that people’s definitions of the term and approach to the issue will naturally be biased by their own standpoint. As Emerson and Hartman say: “From a modern, secular viewpoint, fundamentalists are reactionaries, radicals attempting to grab power and throw societies back into the dark ages of oppression, patriarchy, and intolerance. These fundamentalists are misguided, scary, and even evil… Conversely, for fundamentalists and their sympathizers, Western versions of modernization rush over them in a tidal wave of change, ripping apart communities, values, social ties, and meaning…. As Bruce states, “Fundamentalism is the rational response of traditionally religious peoples to social, political and economic changes that downgrade and constrain the role of religion in the public world. . . . Fundamentalists have not exaggerated the extent to which modern cultures threaten what they hold dear.” ” 1 Defining Fundamentalism Although there are various ways of defining the word, there are some elements that are common to most people’s understanding of what fundamentalism is. The sociologist Donald Taylor (1987) defines fundamentalism as involving the following: 1. A group of people perceive a challenge to an ultimate authority in which they believe. 2. These people decide that the challenge cannot be tolerated. 3. They reaffirm their belief in the authority that is being challenged. 4. The oppose those who have challenged the established beliefs, and often use political means to further their cause. “In general, a description of those who return to what they believe to be the fundamental truths and practices of a religion... More specifically, it denotes the view of Protestant Christians opposed to the historical and theological implications of critical study of the Bible.” Oxford Dictionary of Religion, 1999 “Fundamentalism means taking the Bible as literally inerrant or as “literal where possible” ...More loosely still, the term is applied to a strong antimodernist reaffirmation of any faith, for instance Islam.” The World's Religions, Ninian Smart, 1998 “a discernible pattern of religious militance by which self-styled ‘true believers’ attempt to arrest the erosion of religious identity, fortify the borders of the religious community, and create viable alternatives to secular institutions and behaviours.” The Fundamentalism Project, Almond et al., 2003 “a religiously based cognitive and affective orientation to the world characterized by protest against change and the ideological orientation of modernism.” Understanding Fundamentalism, Antoun, 2001 Emerson and Hartman have also produced the following table, outlining the findings of Almond’s research into fundamentalist groups. Although it is a good list of features as a starting point for research, as Emerson and Hartman point out: “there are critiques of these fundamentalist characteristics. For example, Iannaccone (1997) points out that the authors of these character traits say only two of the eighteen religious movements studied score high on all nine traits. In contrast, he states, religious movements not given any consideration by this or most any other research, such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, score high on every trait.” 2 Nine characteristics of fundamentalist groups Based on the findings of Almond et al. (1995). Ideological Characteristics: 1. Reactivity to the marginalization of religion: Fundamentalism is first and foremost a defence of a religious tradition, a tradition perceived to be eroding or under attack by the processes of modernization and secularization. Without this characteristic, a movement is not properly labelled fundamentalist. 2. Selectivity: Fundamentalism is selective. Rather than simply defending a religious tradition, it selects and reshapes aspects of the tradition, particularly aspects that clearly distinguish the fundamentalists from the mainstream (see also Antoun 2001). What is more, such movements affirm and use some aspects of modernity, such as much of modern science and modern forms of communication and other technologies. Finally, certain consequences or processes of modernity are singled out for special attention and focused opposition (such as abortion for U.S. Christian fundamentalists). 4. Absolutism and inerrancy: The text of the tradition (the Torah, Qur’an, or Bible, for example) “are of divine (inspired) origin and true and accurate in all particulars”. Fundamentalist movements in religions that do not have a clear sacred text (such as Hinduism) often privilege one text (or set of texts) over others. 3. Dualistic worldview: Reality is clearly divided into the good and the evil, light and darkness, righteousness and unrighteousness. 5. Millennialism and messianism: History has a miraculous and holy end. At the end of time, at the entry or return of the hopedfor one (the messiah, the hidden Imam, etc.), suffering will end, evil will be vanquished, and believers will be victorious. The Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) offer the most certain assurances; non-Abrahamic traditions, although tending to borrow from Abrahamic religion’s “end times” certainty, lack such fully elaborated assurances. Organisational Characteristics: 1. Elect, chosen membership: Those in fundamentalist movements view themselves as called, selected out, set apart for their mission to defend the religious tradition. 2. Sharp boundaries: People are either in the fundamentalist group or they are not. The boundaries are clearly set; there is no confusion. One is saved, righteous, a follower of Allah, a defender of the faith, or one is not. 3. Authoritarian organization: Fundamentalist movements are typically organized around charismatic leaders, with others the followers. The leader (or leaders) is viewed by the followers as specially chosen by their deity, someone with near supernatural qualities or special access to the deity, virtuous, a model for the followers, and one with special training and insight into the sacred texts. 4. Behavioural requirements: As an extension of the dualistic worldview and creating sharp boundaries, behavioural requirements are both elaborate and specific. Rules about appropriate speech, dress, sexuality, drinking, eating, family formation, children, entertainment pursuits, and other behaviours are common. 3 Task: Fill in Almond’s nine characteristics of fundamentalist movements with examples from different religions: Ideological 1. Reactivity to the marginalization of religion 2. Selectivity 3. Dualistic worldview 4. Absolutism and inerrancy 5. Millennialism and messianism Organizational 1. Elect, chosen membership 2. Sharp boundaries 3. Authoritarian organization 4. Behavioural requirements 4 AO1 Exam Questions Examine what is meant by the term “fundamentalism”. (45 marks) Examine ways in which ‘religious fundamentalism’ may be defined. (45 marks) 5 The Origins of Fundamentalism within Christianity Fundamentalism is the result of a split between Protestant Christians in America in the late 1800s/ early 1900s. To understand why this happened, we need to go back a little and see what was happening during the 1800s that caused this split. What was life like in America in the early 1800s? Massive Changes in American Society: Life in America at the end of the 1800s Society was changing very rapidly during this period, in America just as it was in Britain. For decades, each town had been based around a church. Parish churches controlled people's education, healthcare and welfare, and were very much at the centre of the community. The main factor that changed this was the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution led millions of people to move away from villages and small towns, to look for jobs in the cities. As a result of the Industrial Revolution, life became based around the manufacturing industry. This broke up the small communities and Christianity lost its dominance in people's thoughts and lost influence in their lives. Church attendance and even belief in God became seen as more of a matter of personal choice. During this period, social attitudes changed radically, especially people's views about relationships and the roles of men and women. Women went to work in factories just the same as men did. Science and technology progressed rapidly too. Electric light, telephones, radioactivity, X-rays and electrons were all invented/ discovered in the 1800s, which changed people’s daily lives and their views on the world around them. 6 The scientific method was also applied to many other areas of life. The fields of Sociology and Psychology were developed during the 1800s, giving scientific explanations for people’s personalities, thoughts and behaviour (things which were previously thought to be ordained by God). In 1859, Charles Darwin published his book The Origin of the Species, in which he first put forward his theory of evolution. HW Task Research the reaction of religious and non-religious people to the publication of Darwin's theory. For all of these reasons, the end of the 1800s was a time when fewer and fewer people were starting from the assumption that Christianity is unquestionably true. Because of all of these changes in science and society, Christianity had to respond. Some Christians chose to adapt their faith to accommodate the changes (known as “modernists”). Others maintained their faith as it always had been, despite some of their beliefs contradicting modern science or the new liberal views of society (known as “conservatives”). This was also the time in which a new field of Biblical scholarship emerged. Originating in Europe, Higher Criticism involves studying the Bible in the same manner as any other ancient text, and not as the authoritative word of God. It uses historical and scientific evidence to work out who wrote the texts, when, and what their meaning and intention was. During the 1800s, Higher Criticism was being developed among European Bible scholars, allowing European modernists to interpret the Bible more liberally. Although every Protestant denomination experienced divisions between modernists/ liberals and conservatives, the disagreements were felt most strongly in the Presbyterian church (one of the largest denominations in America), so we’ll take them as an example of what happened: Division in the Presbyterian denomination In the 1800s, ministers in the Presbyterian denomination were taught at either the Princeton Theological Seminary (which had an “Old-School” approach) or the Union Theological Seminary (which had a “New-School” approach). The differences between these two institutions became more and more apparent throughout the 1800s, and reflected a division that existed within other denominations. 7 Old-School approach (Princeton) Declared that the Westminster Confession is the foundation document of the Presbyterian church Accused the New School of allowing Arminianism and other ‘errors’ to be taught Believed that evangelism and mission work should be kept within the denomination to make sure they stick to its teachings Were very strictly Calvinist Demanded that Presbyterian ministers stuck to the Westminster Confession and supported heresy trials of any who didn’t Examples of Princeton scholars from this period include Charles Hodge, A.A.Hodge, B.B.Warfield, J.Gresham Machen New-School approach (Union) Opposed rigid acceptance of the Westminster Confession Allowed non-Presbyterians to teach at the seminary Were willing to set up parachurch ministries and co-operated with nonpresbyterians Preferred a more personal style of religion, focusing on an emotional encounter with the Bible, mediated by the Holy Spirit Were more relaxed about who they ordained and opposed heresy trials Examples of Union scholars from this period include Charles Briggs, Henry Van Dyke and Arthur Cushman McGiffert Charles Briggs studied HC in Germany in 1866. He became a professor at Union Theological Seminary in 1876. In 1881, he published an article which led to a series of responses and counter-responses between Briggs and the Princeton theologians. In 1891, Briggs was promoted to Professor of Biblical Theology and gave an address called “The Authority of Holy Scripture” in which he explained the main findings of HC: that most of the Old Testament “writers” didn't actually write the Old Testament. He also claimed that the doctrine of Biblical inerrancy taught at Princeton was wrong and called on other modernists in the church to join together to sweep away this dying doctrine. In 1893, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian church responded to this by making a statement which reaffirmed the Presbyterian church’s belief that the Bible is without error and that anyone who believes otherwise should withdraw themselves from its ministry. They tried Briggs for heresy and found him guilty, removing him as a minister in the Presbyterian church. In 1909, there was again heated debate within the Presbyterian church about whether or not to ordain three men who refused to accept the virgin birth of Jesus. They were ordained, but the debate led to the General Assembly drawing up a set of five doctrines that were “necessary and essential” to the Christian faith. 8 The Doctrinal Deliverance of 1909 became known as “The Five Fundamentals”, and this move to declare a set of beliefs that must be accepted by “true believers” is the root of what we now know as fundamentalism. The Development of Fundamentalism 1910-1925 At the same time, a wealthy Presbyterian businessman was concerned about the threats of modernism to the Christian faith, and used $250,000 to fund the publication of a series of articles defending it. The Fundamentals: a Testimony to the Truth were a series of pamphlets published between 1910 and 1915. These 12 pamphlets were designed to outline the fundamentals of the Christian faith, and to respond to threats to it posed by modernity. In particular, they attacked Higher Criticism of the Bible, Roman Catholicism, modern philosophy, atheism, socialism, evolution, and many other movements and ideas of the time. There were 90 articles in all, written by leading Christian scholars. Lyman Stewart’s $250,000 paid for the printing and distribution of about 2 million copies throughout the English-speaking world. The pamphlets were sent free to Christian ministers, missionaries, Sunday School leaders, and many other people engaged in Christian work all over the world. When they ran out of copies that were paid for out of the original money and there was still a high demand for copies, the Bible Institute of Los Angeles published them for sale. Task Go to http://user.xmission.com/~fidelis/ and have a look through the titles to get an idea of what they contained. If you’re feeling really brave, read some of the articles themselves! The publication of The Fundamentals was the beginning of people being labelled as “fundamentalists”. In the following decade, the fundamentalist movement grew rapidly, across many Protestant denominations. In 1919, The World’s Christian Fundamentals Association was founded by William B. Riley and in 1920 The Fundamentalist newspaper was launched. There were many rallies, meetings and publications which spread the fundamentalist message. However, not everyone who read The Fundamentals agreed with them. In 1922, Harry Emerson Fosdick gave a sermon entitled “Shall the Fundamentalists Win?”, in which he claimed that fundamentalism itself was a threat and called on modernists to unite against them. 9 This was followed by a sermon by Clarence Edward Macartney entitled “Shall Unbelief Win?”. As Frank Lambert points out, “The titles of the two sermons suggest that each side viewed the struggle as a mighty contest or even a war with dire consequences if the wrong side prevailed.” Task Read excerpts from these sermons and make notes on their key points The widespread publication of these and similar articles made the modernistfundamentalist debate a national one. Every Christian in America would now have heard about the issues and would have to take a side. What was previously a difference of opinions between scholars and ministers within denominations became a split between two kinds of Christians. Lambert comments that, “Each side in the controversy attacked the other’s position and defended its own with an intensity that deepened the gulf between them.” The debate really came to a head in 1925 with the Scopes Trial. Take notes on the key points of the trial: Task Read p16-25 in your textbook and the article The World of Fundamentalism. Take notes on how Christian fundamentalism developed between 1925 and 2000. 10 AO1 Exam Questions Examine the nature of fundamentalism from its origins to the present day (45 marks) Examine the origins of fundamentalism within Christianity (45 marks) 11 Factors in the rise and development of fundamentalism Rise means … Development means … This topic can include the early rise and development of Fundamentalism within Christianity, how it has risen and developed since the 1970s, and how it has risen and developed within other religions. Social factors 1- Rapid Social Change Late 1800s Britain and America 1800s Islamic countries 1960s Britain and America 12 (fundamentalist movements) “feed on contemporary alienation or anomie by offering solutions to contemporary dilemmas, buttressing the loss of identities sustained by many people (especially young people), at times of rapid social change, high social and geographic mobility, and other stressinducing factors.” Malise Ruthven Last year, we saw that the sociologist Wilson suggested that rapid social change could cause a rise in NRMs. The same reasoning applies to fundamentalist movements. Which aspects of fundamentalism make it appealing during times of rapid social change? 2-Change in family patterns Breakdown in family life, increase in divorce/ adultery, blurring of gender roles, women working full-time etc. How did this cause fundamentalism to develop from the 1970s, from how it was originally? 13 Economic Factors 1 “Capitalism” is the economic system based on privatelyowned companies selling or trading to make a profit. What values are encouraged in a capitalist society? “Consumerism” is a system where individuals are encouraged to purchase more and more material possessions. As capitalism and consumerism have spread to other countries, how has fundamentalism developed? 2 – Urbanisation and Geographic Mobility – people having to move geographically due to changes in market forces – “displacement”. Some people live in several areas or even countries during their lives. Why would this cause a rise in fundamentalism? 3 - Economic prosperity means that foreign travel and global communication is available to everyone. How has global communication affected people’s everyday lives? Why would this cause a rise in fundamentalism? How has this helped fundamentalism to develop? 14 Political Factors 1- Secularisation of politics and law Religion is increasingly being removed from the political arena and from public sight in general. In the UK/US… In other areas… Why would this cause a rise in fundamentalism? 2- Idea of a religious state The creation of the state of Israel after World War II and the success of the Iranian Revolution in securing a religious government supported the idea that a society based on religious rather than secular authority was possible. How has this caused fundamentalism to develop? 3 - Confusion of national/cultural/religious identity In many areas, people’s religious identity is tightly bound up with their ethnic, cultural or national identity. How has this caused fundamentalism to develop? 15 A Reaction to Scientific Rationalism Scientific Rationalism is the view that knowledge can be obtained through objective empirical observation of physical phenomena. This means that if something is true, then it can be proven scientifically, with physical evidence. Things that cannot be proven or explained in this way are disregarded. Scientific rationalism is obviously the approach that is taken within the study of science, but since the Enlightenment has spread throughout human experience. 1. Psychological and Sociological Accounts of Religion During the late 1800s, the fields of Psychology and Sociology were developed, which applied scientific principles to the study of human behaviour. Freud (1920s) Religious belief is : “an adolescent stage in the development of the human race from which humanity should free itself”. Marx (1848) Religion is “the opium of the people” “People can’t really be happy until the abolition of the illusion of religion.” 2. The Debate between Science and Religion Professor Richard Dawkins is an expert on evolutionary biology. In 2008, he declared that: “In order not to believe in evolution you must either be ignorant, stupid or insane.” But he has also come to prominence as being part of the “new atheism”, a movement characterised by its quest to rid society of religion. He founded the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science, which aims to “support scientific education, critical thinking and evidence-based understanding of the natural world in the quest to overcome religious fundamentalism, superstition, intolerance and suffering.” 16 How has fundamentalism developed in reaction to scientific rationalism? A Reaction to Liberal Modernist Religious Views 1. Higher criticism/ modern translations of scripture These are seen to threaten the authority and trustworthiness of scripture. 2. Decreasing adherence to traditional religious practices • Wearing tefillin in Judaism • Regular formal confession in RC • Keeping the sabbath (in Judaism and Christianity). 3. Decreasing adherence to traditional morality • • • • Adultery Inter-faith marriage in Judaism Homosexuality Sex before marriage in both Judaism and Christianity How has fundamentalism developed in reaction to liberal modernist religious views? 17 A reaction to Secularism Secularism is the view that society should be secular- separate from religion. 1. Declining attendance at places of worship (See statistics in your notes from Unit 2) 2. Increased legal/ moral acceptance of behaviours prohibited by religion • • • sabbath-breaking adultery blasphemy 3. Lack of respect for religion in public life • Widespread attacks on religion in entertainment and media How has fundamentalism developed in reaction to secularism? 18 AO1 Exam Questions Examine the development of fundamentalism as a reaction against science and secularism (45 marks) Examine reasons for the rise and development of religious fundamentalism (45 marks) 19