Political Science

Religious Fundamentalism

 The term fundamentalism is highly controversial, its associated w things like

dogmatism, authoritarianism, even violence hence fundamentalists prefer to define
themselves as ‘traditionalists’, ‘conservatives’, ‘evangelical’ & ‘revivalists’
 It is characterized by the rejection of the distinction between religion and politics;
politics in effect is religion
 Some forms of religious fundamentalism co-exist w pluralism (Christian Fundamentalism
in USA) bec their goals are limited and specific, others are revolutionary (Islamic
Fundamentalism) as they aim to construct a theocracy

 Theocracy: Rule by God, religious authority should prevail over political authority for
example thru the domination of church over the state

 Advocates of secularization thesis (Spread of rationalist ideas in place of religious ones)

argued that modernization is invariably accompanied by the victory of reason over
religion
 Religious revivalism has taken an overtly political form for example, 1979 Islamic
Revolution in Iran (Religious fundamentalism had an upsurge in the final decades of the
20th century)
- Exact causes for upsurge @ that time aren’t clear however, it arises in deeply troubled
societies, particularly those afflicted by an actual or perceived crisis of identity
- Fundamentalism is driven by the search for meaning in a world of doubt and
uncertainty (Ruthven)

 The most influential theory which explains the emergence of religious fundamentalism
is that of the clash of civilizations by Samuel Huntington (Theory that post world war 2,
conflict would not primarily be ideological and economic but rather cultural in
character)
- Links civilizational conflict to changes in world order
- As ideological allegiances fade and economic identities become less distinct, people
seek meaning in their distinctive culture
-Supporters state advent of global terrorism is best explained in civilizational terms
(Islam and West)
-Criticists however say it is more of a conflict bw rival fundamentalist trends within
each civilization
- War on terror has been interpreted as a ‘of fundamentalism’
 3 important crises
- Secularization
- Post colonialism
- Globalization

1) Secularization:
- Decline of traditional religion
- Fundamentalism aims to restore rightful order and reestablish human link bw the
human world and the divine
- New Christian Right in USA
- Islamic fundamentalism in countries like Pak, Iran, Egypt, Turkey

2) Post-colonialism:
- Colonial rule suppressed indigenous cultures- weak sense of identity, compounded by
a debilitating attachment to western values and institutions
- Traditional imperialism was replaced by neo-colonialism (Economic intervention that is
exerted over foreign territory without extending to direct political control)- continued
global inequality and subordination to western powers
- Religious fundamentalism helps because it offers the prospect of nonwestern/ anti-
western political identity, articulates aspirations of urban poor & lower middle classes

3) Globalization:
- Cultural & economic impact on the developing world

 CORE THEMES
- Some fundamentalisms have been associated with violence and anti-constitutional
behavior, while others support law abiding and peaceful behavior
- It’s a style of political thought
- In certain cases it constitutes a form of ethnic nationalism
1) Religion as politics
2) The fundamentalist impulse
3) Anti- Modernism
4) Militancy

 RELIGION AS POLITICS
- Rejection of distinction bw religion and politics
- Religion: Community of people bound together by shared values & beliefs concerning
some kind of transcendent reality
- Spread of liberal cultures & ideas has restricted the impact of religion on politics
(Industrialized West)
 - Liberal secularism is not anti-religion, but instead believes in the public/private divide
(Guarantees individual liberty by restricting governments ability to interfere in private
life)
- ‘Privatization of religion’ has extended the public/private divide into a distinction bw
politics and religion (Separation of church & State for ex in USA)
- Rf rejects public/private divide, fundamentalism is a manifestation of politics of
identity
- Expansion of secular public realm has weakened, traditional social norms- leaving
people bereft of identities// ‘orphans in the modern world’ –Hobsbawm
- Fundamentalism establishes religion as the primary collective identity- providing
rootedness & a sense of belonging
- Its rejection of public/ private divide invests it w a radical political character &
ideological potency (Treating religion as a private issue invites evil & corruption to stalk
the public domain)
- Fundamentalist Solution: World must be made anew, existing structures replaced w a
comprehensive system founded on religious principals
- Perceived corruption of the secular public realm can give rise to 2 responses;
1) Passive Fundamentalism:
- Route of withdrawal
- Construct communities of believers untainted by the larger society (Amish in the USA)
- Believe that religion dictates social, economic and political principals but are
concerned w their own observation of these principals rather than regeneration of
society
2) Active Fundamentalism:
- Route of oppression & combat (Overtly political stance)
- View politics in term of government policy and state action
- Look to seize or at least exert influence over the modern state seeing it as an
instrument of moral regeneration

Critics state that their desire to eliminate the public/private divide invests in it a
tendency towards totalitarianism

 THE FUNDAMENTALIST IMPULSE:

- It is a style of thought in which certain principals are recognized as essential truths
that have unchallengeable and overriding authority
- Fundamentalism can be seen as the opposite of relativism (Moral or factual statements
can only be judged in relation to their contexts bec there are no objective or absolute
standards)
- Fascism & communism can be placed nearer fundamentalist, while liberalism can be
placed nearer to relativism on the fundamentalist-relativism spectrum
- All ideologies contain a sense of fundamentalism- implies keeping faith w original or
 classical ideas (Opposite of revisionism)
- Classical Marxism- fundamentalist socialism, Social Democracy- Revisionist Socialism
- The ‘fundamentals’ have usually been derived from the content of sacred texts
(scriptural literalism- belief in the literal truth of sacred texts, revealed as the word of
God have unquestionable authority) Central feature of American protestant
fundamentalism
- Although often related religious fundamentalism should not be equated to scriptural
literalism
1) All texts contain a wide range of complex ideas, in order to treat a sacred text as a
political ideology it is necessary to extract out its ‘fundamentals- set of simple and clean
principals that provide an unambiguous definition of religious identity’
2) In contrast to the ultra-orthodox- live by the book, fundamentalists support an ‘active’
reading of the texts – reduces complexity of the scripture to a Theo political project
(Dynamic interpretation- Islam)
- Fundamentalists solve problem of selectivity and interpretation by reflecting on who
is doing the interpreting (Interpreter must be invariably male of deep faith & moral
purity as well as an activist whose spiritual insight has been deepened through the
experience of struggle)
- Explains why rf is associated w charismatic leadership, giving it an authoritarian
character
- Strength of fundamentalism: Ability to mobilize the faithful & generate political
activism
- Operates on psychological (offers certainty in an uncertain world) & social levels
(While appeal extends to educated classes, it is particularly successful in addressing
aspirations of those who feel economically and politically marginalized)
- Replaced socialism bec offers secure identity & prospect of social order
- Criticism: Stripped down character prevents it from dealing w complex problems &
developing comprehensive solutions

 ANTI MODERNISM:
-Modernization is equated w decline & decay, regeneration can only be brought by
returning to the spirits & traditions of a long past ‘golden age’
-Rf is selectively traditional but also selectively modern (mixture of resentment & envy
characterizes this relationship)
-Traditional face: strident anti-modernism; moral pollution for ex pornography,
prostitution, homosexuality.
- Liberal individualism encourages people to make their own moral choices, rf demands
conformation to a prescribed & divinely ordained moral system (For ex Islamic
fundamentalists calling for implementation of the Sharia Law)
- Differences bw conservatism & fundamentalism (temper & aspirations)
- C is modest and cautious, rf is strident & passionate
 - C is disposed to protect elites & defend hierarchy, rf embodies egalitarian and
populist inclinations
- C favours continuity & tradition, rf is radical and may be revolutionary
- Fundamentalism is more reactive than reactionary- orients towards a purified future
rather than an idealized past
- Parallels w populism (Claim to support the common people in the face of corrupt
economic or political elites), charismatic leadership, and psycho-social regeneration also
suggests parallels w fascism
- Other face: Enthusiasm for certain aspects of modernity:
1) Exploited modern techniques of mass communication
2) Willingness to use internet & other modern media, & even acceptance of nuclear
weapons suggests sympathy for the spirit of modernity (Islamic Science in Iran-
acceptance of Western science)
-Fundamentalism reconstitutes religion within the limits of modernity, even as it copes
w modernity within the limits of religion

 MILITANCY:
- Heightened or extreme commitment- kind of passion or zeal typically associated w
struggle of war
- Rf’s embrace a state centered role of politics, however they have pursued a highly
distinctive style of political activity (vigorous, militant & sometimes violent)
- Happy to be seen as militants- implies passionate & robust commitment
Where does this militancy come from?
1) Tendency for conflicts surrounding religion to be intense bec religion deals w core
values & beliefs, people acting in the name of religion are inspired by a divinely ordained
purpose- explains why religious wars are so common
2) Fundamentalism is a form of politics of identity, based on divisions bw ‘them’ and ‘us’
- Rf is associated w an existence of a hostile and threatening ‘other’- creates a
heightened sense of collective identity strengthens combative character
‘other’ can take various forms, secularism & permissiveness, to rival religions, to
Westernization etc
3) Embrace a Manichean world view- conflict bw light & darkness/ good & evil
- People not agreeing to what God is saying, are not just people rf’s disagree w but they
are actively subverting God’s purpose on earth hence represent nothing less than a
‘force of darkness’
Implications of this militancy
- Willingness to engage in extra-legal, anti-constitutional political action
- Don’t disregard human law, image as terrorists is misleading, however it is impossible
to deny a link w terrorism & violence (Al-Qaeda attacks on the World Trade Center)
Common justifications for such acts is that they’re intended to eradicate evil and fulfil
the will of God. (Islamic suicide bombers- belief that they go straight to heaven)
 -Link bw fundamentalism and millenarianism (Belief in a thousand year period of divine
rule, offers sudden and complete emancipation from misery and oppression); increases
violence

 THE FAMILY OF FUNDAMENTALISMS

- They differ from each other in 3 crucial ways;
1) Derive from v different religions
-Islam and protestant Christianity have been seen as most likely to throw up
fundamentalist movements (Both based on single sacred text, believers have direct
access to spiritual wisdom
2) They emerge in very different societies
-Impact & nature of fundamentalist movements is hence conditioned by the social,
economic and political structures of the society in which they arise
3) Differ acc to the political causes they are associated w
- Means of achieving political renewal- particularly attractive to oppressed people
3 main types are
- Islamic fundamentalism
- Christian fundamentalism
- Other fundamentalisms

 ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM:
- Fundamentalism in Islam means an intense and militant faith in Islamic beliefs, as the
overriding principal of social life & politics as well as that of personal morality
- Religion over politics, an ‘Islamic state’ theocracy ruled by a spiritual rather than a
temporal authority and the application of Sharia
- Revival of Islamic fundamentalism can be traced back to 1920’s and Islamic
brotherhood in Egypt in 1928
- Most significant development was in 1979, revolution that brought ayatollah Khomeini
to power in Iran and declaring it an ‘Islamic State’
- Jihadi groups have also emerged since 1990’s for ex Al-Qaedah, led by Osama bin
Laden- against USA & Israel, and to remove western influence
- 3 Reasons for the strengthening of Islamic fundamentalism in the modern world
1) In line w the clash of civilization thesis, source of militancy can be seen to lie in
Islam itself
- Islam is inherently totalitarian- Islamic state based on sharia principals is anti-pluralist
& irreconcilable w the notion of public/private divide
However such a view, misrepresents Islam’s central tenets, the greater jihad is not
against the infidel, but an inner struggle, to become a better person through moral &
 spiritual discipline
2) Resurgent Islamic fundamentalism has been portrayed as a specific response to a
particular historical circumstance
- Muslim world is in crisis bec of the decline & stagnation of the middle east and bec of
the humiliation that followed- started w the decline of the ottoman empire, protracted
Arab-Israeli conflict, end of colonialism brought little benefit to the arab world, bec it
was succeeded by neocolonialism & middle eastern regimes tended to be inefficient &
corrupt
- Islamic fundamentalism can be viewed as a political rather than a cultural
phenomenon, breeding from a resentment against the enemy within (Un-islamic or
apostate leaders) and the enemy without (USA)
- Failure of socialism and secular arab nationalism also explains islamic fundamentalism

3) Islamic fundamentalism has been interpreted as a manifestation of a much broader

and deeper ideological tendency- Anti-Westernism
- World War 1 exploded the optimistic belief in progress & the advance of reason fueling
support for darker anti-liberal movements- in this light political islam shares much w
fascism and communism (Each of them promises 2 rid the society of corruption &
immorality & to make society anew as a single block like structure)
- Buruma and margalit placed islamic fundamentalism within a larger context of
‘Occidentalism’
A rejection of the cultural & political inheritance of the West
-Western society is characterized by individualism, secularism and relativism- organized
around greed & materialism, Occidentalism on the other hand offers organic unity,
moral certainty & politico-spiritual renewal

 Varieties of Islamism:
1) Wahhabism:
- Official version of islam in saudia arabia
- Seek to restore Islam by purging of heresies & modern innovations; ban pictures,
photographs, singing, tv, videos, celebration of prophet’s birthday
- Had a particular impact on the Muslim Brotherhood, founded by Hassan al Banna-
Sought to revitalize what they thought to be a corrupted Islamic faith, by applying
Islamic principles to economic, political, as well as personal morality. Trained young
people to take part in jihad 2 achieve their objectives
- Sayyid Qutub was the most influential thinker of the MB- primary targets were the
Westernized rulers of Egypt & other Islamic States
- Qutubs ideas were best exemplified by the Taliban regime in Afghanistan- refused to
cooperate w any ideas that varied from their world view, women were taken out of the
public sphere completely (Highly authoritarian rule)
 2) Sunni & Shia Fundamentalism
- Shias believe it is possible to remove sins through the experience of suffering and
leading a devout simple life
- More political than the Sunni sect- especially attractive to the poor and the down
trodden, also more emotional

-All forms of Islamism are not militant & revolutionary, when compared to Christianity,
Islam has generally been more tolerant of other religions & rival belief systems (Turkey
was founded on strict secularism and embraced a western model of political & social
development)
-Political Islam gathered support in the form of the western party (turkey) but military
intervention prevented an Islamist government from being formed

 CHRISTIAN FUNDAMENTALISM:
- There are 3 main divisions, Catholic, Orthodox & Protestant Churches
1) Catholic:
- Based on the spiritual and the temporal leadership of the Pope in Rome
(Unchallengeable authority bec of papal infallibility)
- Papal infallibility: Being God’s spokesperson on Earth the popes teachings are infallible
& therefore unquestionable
2) Orthodox:
- Emerged w the split from Rome in 1504 and developed into a number of autonomous
churches- Russian and Greek orthodox churches being the most important
3) Protestant:
- Bible is the sole source of truth & it is possible for people to have a direct personal
relationship w God
- The political significance of Christianity declined since the Reformation
- Advance of liberal constitutionalism was reflected in the separation of the church and
the state & the secularization of political life (Helped to frame Christian
fundamentalism)
- Stable social and political structures, have led to fundamentalists being content to
work within a pluralist and constitutional framework, focus more on single issues, or on
moral crusading rather than seeking 2 establish a theocracy
-Christian fundamentalism has helped to articulate ethnic nationalism (Ulster
fundamentalism equates the idea of a united Ireland w the victory of Catholicism and
Rome

The New Christian Right

- Emerged in the late 1970’s and sought to fuse religion and politics
- Broad coalition of groups concerned w moral and social issues & intent on maintaining
 and restoring what is seen as ‘Christian culture’
- 2 factors explain its emergence
1) Post World War 2 period, there was an extension of the public sphere (Banning of
prayers in American schools, Southern conservatives felt that their values were being
threatened)
2) Increasing political prominence of groups representing blacks, women and
homosexuals whose advance threatened traditional social structures
- Anti abortion movements (Catholics were prominent but also some evangelical
protestants
- 2 divisions among evangelicals, some are fundamentalists- stay apart from the non-
believing society & the others are charismatics or evangelicals- believe holy spirit can
operate through individuals giving them powers like healing

 OTHER FUNDAMENTALISMS:
- Many fundamentalisms can be seen as sub varieties of ethnic nationalism (Bec of
reaction to change in national identity// growth of rival ethnic or religious groups or
accs or threatened territorial changes)
- Attraction of religion rather than nation as the principal source of political identity is
that it provides a supposedly primordial and & seemingly unchangeable basis for the
establishment of group membership
-Hinduism appears to be inhospitable to fundamentalism- example of an ethnic religion
(Emphasis is placed on customs and social practice rather than texts or doctrines)
- However fundamentalism has increased in India post Nehru-Gandhi decline- aims to
challenge the multi-cultural mosaic of India by making Hinduism the basis of national
identity (RSS)
-Sikh fundamentalism: Associated w the struggle to find an independent nation state-
distinguished from liberal nationalism by its vision of the nation as a religious identity
-Sikh nationalism is defined by its antipathy to Hinduism
-Jewish and Buddhist fundamentalisms are also closely linked to a sharpening of ethnic
conflict
- Jewish fundamentalists have transformed Zionism into a defence of ‘The Greater Land
of Israel’ characterized by territorial aggressiveness
- The spread of Buddhist nationalism has been largely bec of the growing tension bw the
Buddhist Sinhalese population & the minority Tamil community
-Buddhism is the least fundamentalist of the major religions

 RELIGIOUS FUNDAMENTALISM IN A GLOBAL AGE:

- Many religions have had a global orientation from their earliest days- 2 reasons
1) Religion has often served as a cultural dimension of imperial expansion
2) Certain religions may have stronger global orientations, by virtue of their doctrinal
character specially if they accommodate evangelicalism (Spreading of religious beliefs
mainly through missionary campaigns)