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Fundamentalism - Empire? - Global Policy Forum Fundamentalism
By Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi*
May, 2000
Fundamentalism is a deep and totalistic commitment to religious belief, involving a return to supposed fundamentals, away from doctrinal compromises with modern social and political life. The term is used to describe a wide range of political and religious phenomena, including Protestant denominations, Jewish groups, Buddhist movements, Hindu political parties and Islamic governments.
The term has its origins in US religious history. In the early twentieth century, fundamentalism arose as a US Protestant movement, guided by the doctrine of complete faith in the five fundamentals -- the absolute truth of the Bible, the virgin birth of Jesus, the supernatural atonement, the physical resurrection of Jesus, and the authenticity of the Gospel miracles. A variety of Protestant groups have been described as fundamentalist because of their adherence to these (or similar) fundamental principles. Fundamentalism has been a significant political force in the United States since the 1920s.
Recently, fundamentalism has come to have a broader meaning and it has been increasingly seen as a global phenomenon -- movements analogous to those in the US having appeared in many countries and regions. Though the concept is somewhat problematic outside the context of US Christianity, the term is now very widely used, both in the popular news media and in scholarly literature. It denotes a variety of movements worldwide, both religious and religio-political.
The historical process of secularization provides a background for all discussions of fundamentalism. Societies and individuals have moved away from the dominance of religious institutions and ideas. Religion and state have been separated and religious-based laws and prohibitions have been abolished. Fundamentalism rejects this secularization process and seeks to reverse it.
Fundamentalism takes so many forms, in so many different religious and cultural traditions, that generalizations can be only approximate. Fundamentalist ideology typically centers on the following three beliefs: (1)that there is is one set of religious teachings that contains the fundamental, basic and essential truth about humanity and the deities, (2)that this truth is opposed by forces of evil which must be vigorously fought, and (3)that this truth must be followed according to unchangeable traditions; and that those who espouse this idealogy have a special relationship with the deities.
Fundamentalists are commonly individuals who feel threatened by urbanization, industrialization, and modern secular values. Their ideology may have little substantial social or political consequences as long as it remains within the religious realm and is limited to a relatively small group. Typically, fundamentalist beliefs are tied to political conservatism, authoritarianism, and prejudice. Fundamentalist ideology thus reflects a hostile confrontation with modern society. The fundamentalist strategy not only rejects any accommodation, but also contains a utopian vision for reconstructing society.
The messianic or apocalyptic dreams of many religious groups include the idea of political domination of a state (or even the world) by their membership. Believers may take such dreams seriously, and the fantasy of future greatness and domination can compensate for their current deprivation. In some cases, adherents translate messianic dreams into plans for political action. The ideology of fundamentalism then becomes a political ideology embodied in a substantial political movement, which may gain mass support or even political power. By contrast to secularization, which calls for the separation of religion and politics, fundamentalism looks to the resacralization of politics and the politicization of religion. Fundamentalism rejects modernity, though it does not necessarily reject modern technology. It opposes the modern ideals of individualism, voluntarism, pluralism, free speech and the equality of women.
Fundamentalist movements often present a telling critique of late capitalist society, which they portray as being composed of alienated, atomistic, selfish individuals, engaged in the obsessive pursuit of pleasure without heed for its consequences for others (or even for themselves). Fundamentalist ideologies share a critique of modernity and its consequences -- materialism, selfishness, tolerance for uncontrolled sexualities, decline of family ties, and urban crime.
This cultural aspect accounts for some of the breadth of the fundamentalist appeal. The deprivations and stresses of modernity, be they economic, psychological, or cultural, feed fundamentalist movements, as the crisis of global capitalism is felt in center and periphery nation-states. As a solution to alienation and dislocation, fundamentalism prescribes a commitment to gender-role, family and community. A rhetoric of "family values" and patriarchal authority can be heard in fundamentalist doctrine from Oklahoma to Tehran. The fundamentalist ideology everywhere appears as collectivist and communalist -- individual rights are seen as secondary to the interests of the community. Fundamentalists call for reversing the historical course of secularization and modernity, and recreating a pre-modern, (or pre-colonial) idealized past.
Fundamentalism thrives in conditions of economic and social crisis. In countries of the periphery in particular, fundamentalism has often arisen where secular, authoritarian governments have held power and failed. In these circumstances, fundamentalism arises as an alternative project, and its anti-modern ideology assumes wide appeal because of its similarity to the ideology of anti-imperialism and the hostility to Western domination. In some cases, ironically, fundamentalism has been supported and manipulated by foreign countries in their efforts to influence local or regional politics. This was very clear in Afghanistan, where the Islamic guerrilla movements fighting against the Soviet occupation in the 1980s were funded and trained by the United States, with support from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Conservative goverments have also promoted fundamentalist political groups as a counterweight to left oppositions, as was the case in Egypt under Sadat in the 1970s.
Fundamentalist ideology has much to say about the lives of women and reproductive rights. Fundamentalist movements are usually opposed to contraception and in favor of modest dress and the overall subordination of women. Fundamentalist regimes have often issued dress codes and laws about the segregation of the sexes in public. They also typically limit women's involvement in public life, their freedom of movement, and their legal rights. Male superiority and privilege is formally embodied in the law. Yet fundamentalist movements have attracted much support from women, whose domestic role is especially threatened by market relations and extreme individualism.
Political fundamentalism rejects liberal democracy, and proposes an elite ruling class, made up of religious leaders or leaders sanctioned by the religious authority. Fundamentalist regimes are authoritarian because a religious state must follow the religious authority invested in the clergy who alone can interpret the scriptures. Some may describe this as totalitarian, because religious law is applied to all aspects of life.
Fundamentalism is inclined to suppress the rights of other religions or secular foces in society and even to organize violence against them. In India, Hindu fundamentalist movements have attacked Muslims and burned mosques. In Israel, Jewish fundamentalists have demanded religious-based laws and practices (closing down all public transportation on the sabbath, for example) and some have violently attacked Palestinians. In the United States, fundamentalists have demanded religious prayers in public schools and some have been involved in killing doctors practicing abortions.
Fundamentalism as a religio-political ideology can be found all over the world. As a significant political movement aspiring to create a religious state it can be found in about thirty nations, but as a dominant power it exists in very few countries. We find the label applied to Christian groups with political influence in Southern Africa and Latin America, to Mormons in the United States and to Buddhists in South Asia. Sinhala-Buddhist fundamentalism in Sri Lanka, inspired by a vision of the Sinhala as the curators of Buddhism, is a factor in the protracted and bloody conflict between Sinhalese and Tamils. Another example of Buddhist fundamentalism, the Dalai Lama, represents a vision of a feudal Tibetan state ruled by the clergy.
Many important fundamentalist movements and even several fundamentalist regimes are to be found in the Islamic world, a vast region from Indonesia and Malaysia at one end, to Algeria and Morocco at the other, and from the so-called Islamic republics of the former USSR to West Africa, especially Nigeria. In some of these countries, fundamentalist attempts to make their version of Islam binding on the whole population have led to serious conflicts. Afghanistan, Algeria, and Egypt are three cases where fundamentalists gained wide followings and their bids for power led to extreme violence. Each one of these countries suffered from deep economic and social crises and from failed authoritarian secular regimes.
Have fundamentalist movements and regimes, which seek to reverse secularization and to create a re-sacralization of politics, succeeded in their goal? In a few cases, and in the short term, the anwer may be yes. But over the longer term, most evidence suggests they have not succeeded. Even where fundamentalism appears to have triumphed, as in Iran, its success has been transitory and based on a population still deeply religious and not yet secularized. As the Iran case shows, even when a fundamentalist clergy control poltical power for twenty years (1980-2000), they cannot hold back secularizing trends. Eventually the Iranian population has opted for a more open and tolerant kind of politics, pushing religion back towards a more restricted or private sphere.
Fundamentalism may not be as potent a force as some thought in the 1980s, but it remains an important religious, social and political phenomenon. In a world of wrenching change and uncertainty, millions of people will continue to turn to fundamentalist movements in their search for a more secure and morally-grounded social order.
Bibliography: Martin E. Marty, ed., The Fundamentalisms Project. 5 volumes. Chicago, 1991-1995). Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi and Michael Argyle, The Psychology of Religious Experience, Belief, and Behaviour. (London, 1997). Lawrence Davidson, Islamic Fundamentalism. (Westport, CT: 1998).
*Professor of Psychology of Religion a the University of Haifa, Israel.
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