Religious Fundamentalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Religious Fundamentalism - Essay ExampleAt the beginning of the 1920s (the first stage), Christian fundamentalism appeared as a reaction against the culture of modernity (Robert 1998). Thus, for its adherents, Fundamentalisms biblical literalism provides grounds for denying the validity of unfriendly scientific evidence found in geological data and the claims of the supposition of evolution. The Fundamentalist grounds obtained its name from a series of ten paperback volumes entitled The Fundamentals A Testimony to the Truth published between 1910 and 1915 and in camera financed by two businessmen brothers (Robert 1998). Scholars have since regarded the necessary existence of these volumes as a patently transparent rearguard attempt by conservative Christians to reassert truths and doctrines that they believed to be seriously endangered. In this narrow sense, fundamentalism is a phenomenon barely a century old and associated with distinctly evangelical Protestant Christianity (Doll ar, 1973). In 1919, fundamentalists organized a convention and formed the Moody Bible Institute. The nest stage took place between 1920s-1940s. During this period of time, the Fundamentalist reading of the Bible supports patriarchal and traditional norms of sexual appearance and marriage patterns vis--vis modern social and legal permissiveness (Dollar, 1973). William Bryan was one of the most popular leadership of this movement in America. Fundamentalisms vesting of ultimate, absolute, and triumphal authority in create verbally scripture and its strictures underwrites firm boundaries between the saved and the unsaved and, thereby, weakens socio-cultural flexibility and the type of empathy in human affairs that is deemed to be dysfunctional in modern, complex, diverse, industrialized societies. The Christian Right that emerged with the formation of Jerry Falwells Moral Majority in 1979 was a response to the cultural transformations of the 1960s and 1970s (Munson, 2002, p. 31). Du ring 1940s-1970s, Christian fundamentalists fought against the Supreme Court divisions and racial questions. For instance, they fought against brownish v Board of Education (racial segregation in schools), Epperson v Arkansas (anti-evolution laws), Roe v Wade (abortion rights), etc. Christian fundamentalists identified themselves with right vanish of the Republican Parties and aggressively opposed all other parties and their bills. The new stage began with Ronald Reagan presidency and was nearly connected with religious and social crisis in America (1980s-2000). The leaders of this movement were G. Falwell, T. Haye, H. Lindsey, P. Robertson. In contrast to previous stages, they politicized this movement criticizing the government and political system (Dollar, 1973). Islamic fundamentalism generally attracts the young, the dispossessed, and the unemployed, who suffer the effects of marginalization and extreme pauperisation (Marin-Guzman, 2003, p. 63). The history of Islamic funda mentalism goes back to the middle of 18th century. Muhammad ibn abd al-Wahhab was the first reformer and founder of Wahhabism (1744). During the 19th century, Wahhabism became a political and social movement (Marin-Guzman, 2003). During the 19th century, this movement was directed against British rule and colonization in Africa and the Middle East. As a strong political force, Islamic fundamentalism reappeared in the 20th century and was closely connected with political changes and westernization of Asian societies. The new wave of Islamic