religious fundamentalism
What to know
Religious fundamentalism is a form of strict adherence to religious practice that is associated with conservative interpretation and application of religious texts. Fundamentalism is based on attempts to interpret scripture literally, but in practice, these interpretations often prioritize certain values and texts over others. Fundamentalism describes an approach to religious practice and interpretation, not necessarily a particular religious affiliation. For example, while many evangelical Christians take a fundamentalist approach to their religion, it is possible to be an evangelical without taking on a fundamentalist approach to reading the Bible. This difference in interpretation means that non-fundamentalist evangelicals often hold differing political and social values from fundamentalist evangelicals.
Examples of religious fundamentalism include Christian fundamentalism, which emphasizes the authority of the Bible and promotes a literalist reading of the text. Biblical literalism is based on the idea that the Bible is the word of God and is an attempt to interpret and obey the words of the Bible exactly as they are written (even if certain values and texts are privileged over others in practice).
While fundamentalist ideologies are related to and can lead to religious extremism, it’s important to note that the two concepts aren’t synonymous. Note also that the term fundamentalist is sometimes used in a negative sense to discredit the beliefs and concerns of individuals and groups who may or may not in fact hold fundamentalist beliefs. Opting for person-first language to refer to people who hold fundamentalist beliefs helps to avoid this negative usage, while using “fundamentalist” in reference to particular beliefs, practices, groups, and leaders might not hold the same negative connotation. Investigating the beliefs of fundamentalist groups and putting them in conversation with differing interpretations of the same scriptures helps contextualize fundamentalist beliefs within a broader religious tradition. This gives insight into how religious texts are leveraged and deployed by fundamentalist groups and challenges ideas that fundamentalism is somehow more authentic because of its strict religious practices and literal interpretations.
Additional resources
- Christian Fundamentalism in America (Oxford Research Encyclopedias)
- Commentary: Faith, Power, and Violence: The Long Debate Over Religious Fundamentalism (War on the Rocks)
Summary
Religious fundamentalism is a form of strict adherence to religious practice that is associated with conservative interpretation and application of religious texts. While fundamentalist ideologies are related to and can lead to religious extremism, the two concepts aren’t synonymous. The term fundamentalist is sometimes used in a negative sense to discredit the beliefs and concerns of individuals and groups who may or may not in fact hold fundamentalist beliefs. Opting for person-first language to refer to people who hold fundamentalist beliefs can help avoid this negative usage, while using “fundamentalist” in reference to particular beliefs, practices, groups, and leaders might not hold the same negative connotation.