What’s Fundamentalism?

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Fundamentalism is the strict adherence to a set of beliefs, in most cases religious. The term is often applied to some sects of Christianity, but is common to most of the world’s religions. Fundamentalism is often spoken of in a derogatory way and is associated with extremism and its negative associations. Fundamentalists do not find their beliefs extreme, but rather basic or fundamental.

In Christianity, most fundamentalists are those who advocate rigorous reading and following of biblical texts. Churches considered to practice fundamentalism are those that tend to read most biblical texts as the unquestioned word of God, which cannot be negotiated or watered down, as many modern versions of Christianity argue. Such churches exist in most Christian sects and may be promoted as “back to basics” or “Bible-based” churches.

Since the Bible is the source of the word of God, in fundamentalism there can be no argument for dispute over the Word. Criticisms leveled against Christian fundamentalism state that fundamentalists often prefer the Old Testament to the New, particularly when considering things like homosexuality or the relative age of the earth. Furthermore, less fundamental biblical scholars point to glaring inconsistencies in most biblical books, which can be explained by suggesting that the Bible is the word of God as interpreted by the flawed human.

In return, Christian fundamentalists would respond by saying that to question the origins of the Old Testament, or those of the New, is to question the word of God. What appear as inconsistencies do not matter, because the study of the Word will help us to become wiser, as adherence to the Word will ensure passage to heaven. If an inconsistency appears, then we are simply not wise enough to understand it.

In one form of Christianity, Mormonism, fundamentalists advocate not only careful reading of and adherence to biblical teachings, but also to the teachings of the Book of Mormon. These views are often considered extreme by mainstream Mormons because they advocate polygamy and blood atonement, in which those who commit murder must literally have their blood spilled on the ground as punishment. Additionally, these teachings often forbid blacks from participating in the priesthood. Most Mormons are not fundamental in their beliefs, and while they are quite religious, they find some aspects of the teachings of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young repugnant or at least inapplicable to modern life.

In Islam, Westerners often attribute fundamentalism to Shiites. However, Muslims in general do not consider Shiites to be fundamentalists. Instead, they mean the Wahhabis, a group of Sunnis who are fundamental in the stricter interpretation of biblical texts and the refutation of prayer to saints or beloved Sufi leaders. Of great importance is to remember that it is only the “One God” that people can pray to. Any other prayer is polytheistic and against the fundamental teaching of Islam.
True fundamentalism in Judaism is hard to find, as nearly all Jews believe that interpretations of the Tanakh, or what Christians would call the Old Testament, are necessary for understanding its teachings. Only a small group, the Karaites, do not interpret Tanakh texts by reading the Torah and Mishnah. One could classify Orthodox and Hasidic Jews as basic, but they are not, because they rely on textual interpretations, even when their adherence to Jewish law is inflexible.

Fundamentalism also evokes some political connotations. Suicide bombings and gun stockpiling in rural America, as well as other countries, sometimes associated with extremist religious right-wing groups, are seen as outgrowths of fundamentalist beliefs. While fundamentalism can be associated with extremism, this is not always the case. Many fundamentalists simply want to get as close to their sacred texts as possible and have nothing to do with jihad or political extremism of any kind. It is quite inaccurate to give all fundamentalists the same brush as political extremists.

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