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'''Fundamentalism''' is a theological tendency seeking to follow and preserve what are believed to be the essential fundamentals of a [[religion]] or ideology. Followers of fundamentalism often seek to prevent what they perceive to be the liberalization of these fundamentals.

'''Fundamentalism''' is a movement which began within [[Protestantism|Protestant]] [[Christianity]] in the late [[19th century]] in opposition to the emergence of [[modernism]] within several denominations.  It developed as an extension of the [[doctrine of inerrancy]] in response to turn-of-the-century Protestant clergy concerns regarding professional authority.  The term itself was popularized by [[R.A. Torrey]] when he published his book ''The Fundamentals'' in 1917.  Fundamentalism stresses several points:

 

Often the term "fundamentalism" is used in a pejorative way by opponents of conservative [[Christianity]]<ref> Chapter 19 "The Fundamentalist and Neo-Evangelical Traditions" in [http://books.google.com/books?id=e7BXpAsDXh0C&pg=RA1-PA352&vq=Fundamentalist+fanatic&source=gbs_search_r&cad=1_1 ''American Religious Traditions: The Shaping of Religion in the United States''], Richard E. Wentz, Fotress Press, 2003, ISBN 0-8006-3616-3</ref>. [[Liberal Christianity]] often portrays Fundamentalism as a form of religious illiteracy, which is an absurd caricature since it is clearly 19th and 20th century [[Princeton theological seminary]] theology. Fundamentalism is a  19th through early 20th codification of 16th century Protestantism interpreted through 17th and 18th century Scottish [[Common-sense]] philosophy.  It developed as an extension of the [[doctrine of inerrancy]] in response to turn-of-the-century Protestant clergy concerns regarding professional authority.  Its primary purpose and development parallels the Roman Catholic doctrine of [[Papal Infallibility]].  Members of Christian Fundamentalism tend to value skills such as gifts of the spirit and rhetorical delivery on par with clergical education and institutional ordination. 

 

 

 

 

 

'''Fundamentalism''' is a movement which began within [[Protestantism|Protestant]] [[Christianity]] in the late [[19th century]] in opposition to the emergence of [[modernism]] within several denominations.  The term itself was popularized by [[R.A. Torrey]] when he published his book ''The Fundamentals'' in 1917.  Fundamentalism stresses several points:

* The inerrancy of the [[Bible]]

* The inerrancy of the [[Bible]]

Fundamentalism held to these points in opposition to such trends as [[higher criticism]] and the increasing acceptance of [[Darwinism]], which were popular among modernists.  Fundamentalist movements were found in most Protestant denominations by the early [[20th century]], with the debate between fundamentalists and modernists especially strong in [[Presbyterian]] and [[Baptist]] churches.  The term fundamentalism would later come to be closely associated with [[dispensationalist]] beliefs, belief in the impending Second Coming of Christ, and with [[Evangelical]] Christianity in general.

Fundamentalism held to these points in opposition to such trends as [[higher criticism]] and the increasing acceptance of [[Darwinism]], which were popular among modernists.  Fundamentalist movements were found in most Protestant denominations by the early [[20th century]], with the debate between fundamentalists and modernists especially strong in [[Presbyterian]] and [[Baptist]] churches.  The term fundamentalism would later come to be closely associated with [[dispensationalist]] beliefs, belief in the impending Second Coming of Christ, and with [[Evangelical]] Christianity in general.

Today the term is used by the [[liberal media]] to attempt to marginalize strong Christians, and is used as a pejorative by atheists and liberals to criticize Christianity.  It could also be applied to other religions, such as Islam and Hinduism, but the use of the term against those religions is much less frequent in the media. The media do refer to "radical" Islam when referencing Muslim terrorists, but the media generally do not use the term "fundamentalist" or "radical" to refer to any beliefs other than Christianity.

 

The term slowly came to mean all movements within religions that reject modernizing/liberalizing influences and attempt to stay true to the word of that religion's scriptures.  The term has been applied to Christians, Muslims, and Hindus.  Christian fundamentalism differs from Orthodoxy in its sole reliance on the Bible and disregard for previously established tradition.  Similarly, within Islam, the "fundamentalist" movements (such [[Wahhabism]]) seek to remove perceived impurities in Islam and return it to the believed roots.  Unlike Christianity, however, these uncovered roots have spawned incredibly amounts of violence.  "Fundamentalist" Hinduism is, in a way, a contradiction in terms.  Hinduism has no one sacred holy book, and thus no original scriptures to return to, and so the term is instead used to describe those Hindus who are intolerant of the existence of other religions (and occasionally non-Indians) in their communities. 

 

The term fundamentalist is also self applied by a breakaway movement from The [[Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]], calling itself Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  This group, who's leader was recently convicted on conspiracy charges relating to child rape, claims to continue the original revelations of Joseph Smith. It is held in apostate by the mainstream church, and cannot truly be called fundamentalist, as it ignores the doctrine of continuous revelation to the leaders of the church.

 

There are no fundamentalist Jews, as all movements to return to the basic tenets of [[Judaism]] simply result in increased orthodoxy.  Judaism may be unique in this regard.

 

In recent times, the [[liberal media|media]] has taken to describing any conservative non-denominational church or conservative evangelical church as fundamentalist.  While these churches do strive to return to the basics of Christianity, its fundamentals, there is a clear attempt to link these groups with other so-called fundamentalist groups in Islam and Hinduism which have perpetuated heinous acts of violence (the [[9/11]] attacks by a Muslim group and the assassination of [[Mohandas K. Gandhi]] by a Hindu for example). Recently, there has been something of a change, with the media starting to refer to Islamic extremists as "radical Muslims." Despite this, the attempt to associate the term fundamentalism with such unrelated concepts as [[Christian Identity]] has succeeded somewhat and it has turned into a pejorative term among [[atheists]], [[liberals]], and [[Darwinists]]. <ref> Chapter 19 "The Fundamentalist and Neo-Evangelical Traditions" in [http://books.google.com/books?id=e7BXpAsDXh0C&pg=RA1-PA352&vq=Fundamentalist+fanatic&source=gbs_search_r&cad=1_1 ''American Religious Traditions: The Shaping of Religion in the United States''], Richard E. Wentz, Fotress Press, 2003, ISBN 0-8006-3616-3</ref>

== Philosophical distinction between fundamentalism and fanaticism ==

== Philosophical distinction between fundamentalism and fanaticism ==