The Threat of fundmentalism?

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The Threat of fundmentalism?

By Rowland Croucher and others ⋅ February 15, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment

The threat of fundmentalism? Some Christian and Muslim Perspectives:

Compass Review of Topic l Theology , Winter 2004. Volume 38, No 2, 14-18.

by Trish Madigan OP

…

All fundamentalisms, in whatever context they emerge, tend to share some common features. They can be described as ‘a process of selective retrieval, embellishment and construction of ‘essentials’ or ‘fundamentals’ of a religious tradition for the purposes of halting the erosion of traditional society and fighting back against the encroachments of secular modernity’ (Marty and Appleby 1995, vol. 5, 6). The social and political framework, the intellectual, symbolic and other resources of the host religion and its structures, as well as the ‘trigger’ that begins the process of fundamentalist reaction and reconstruction, which all play a part in determining the singular characteristics of a particular fundamentalist movement, will vary according to the place, time and sociopolitical context. Fundamentalism differs from various forms of conservatism, traditionalism or evangelicalism in that it is a movement in conscious and organized opposition to a perceived threat of disruption of the tradition or orthodoxy coming from a changing world. …

Christian Fundamentalisms

Christian fundamentalism in its Protestant form developed as one response to a wide range of cultural changes associated with modernity which were taking place in late nineteenth century North America. Some Christians experienced their own beliefs and values becoming more and more marginalized to the extent that they were now ‘outsiders’ in their own culture and felt a need to defend their religious heritage. The movement is distinguished by its reference, even if unknowingly, to ideas, images and practices that were prevalent at that time. For example, the ‘traditional family’ is the middle class family that had emerged from nineteenth century industrialization with its ‘two spheres’ for men’s and women’s work; this explains its inability to accommodate the self-consciousness and aspirations of contemporary women. ‘Traditional’ music is likely to bear a copyright from late nineteenth century. The doctrines emphasized as most important, including the central concept of the ‘inerrancy of scripture’, are doctrines developed to defend against the inroads of ‘modernism’. It draws on the Baconian scientific worldview, the dominant scientific orthodoxy of the nineteenth century, which understands the world to be organized by rational principles established by an all-knowing God that are objectively available to human beings through their use of ‘commonsense reason’ (Ammerman 1995, 8 – 10). There is little place for a female subjectivity in this schema. …

It can beargued that the ‘threat’ in the case of Christian fundamentalisms would seem to be mainly to the Christian tradition itself. Fundamentalism inevitably results in adistortion of the religious tradition by the adoption of an ideologically driven selection of doctrines and practices which are emphasized to the almost total exclusion of balancing insights.

…. in Protestantism new doctrines such as’inerrancy’ of scripture are used ideologically to support predetermined positions. In theire xclusive and elitist orientations, by privileging one narrowly conceived set of doctrines over a broader perspective, and stressing one period of history over others, Christian fundamentalists fail to draw on all the many centuries of the lived ‘wisdom’ of the tradition which could usefully be brought to bear on the modern situation. They deprive themselves of the broader range of Christian ecclesiology and theology.

from http://www.cimer.org.au/_docs/articles_by_trish/the_threat_of_fundamentalism __some_christian_and_muslim_perspectives__compass_theological_review.pdf