History Faculty Publications
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
2003
Publication Source
The Blackwell Companion to Protestantism
Abstract
The term "fundamentalism" has been used to describe a host of religious movements across the globe that are militantly antimodernist, aggressively patriarchal, literalist in their reading of sacred texts, and assiduous in their efforts to draw boundaries between themselves and outsiders. While "Islamic fundamentalism" has received the most attention, particularly after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, scholars and journalists have also applied the term to movements within such disparate traditions as Judaism, Sikhism, and Hinduism, as well as to various Christian groups.
There are benefits to understanding fundamentalism as a global movement that grows out of deep-seated and intense opposition to (aspects of) modernity, and that is found in a wide array of religious traditions. Among other things, such an approach allows for interesting and often insightful comparative analysis. But there are problems with defining fundamentalism generically and applying it globally. Not only does such an approach not lend itself to definitional precision, it can devolve into derogatory shorthand for reactionary religious groups. As a result, and for the purposes of this chapter, it is best to understand fundamentalism where it started, as a religious movement within Protestantism.
Fundamentalism had its origins in late nineteenth and early twentieth-century Anglo-American evangelicalism, and it blossomed into a full-fledged religious movement in the years immediately after World War I (see Brereton, 1990: 165-70; Carpenter, 1997: 3-12). To a great degree fundamentalism has been an American phenomenon, with its origins and greatest strength in the United States, although it has had a limited presence in Canada (although, as George Marsden has observed, it has often been "successfully propagated overseas by its vigorous missions"). While there are a multitude of evangelical connections between the United States and the remainder of the Anglo-American world, for a variety of reasons — including a greater commitment to established churches and to ecumenism — the fundamentalist movement never had the impact in England or even in Canada that it had in the USA.
Inclusive pages
344-356
ISBN/ISSN
978-1405157469
Document Version
Postprint
Copyright
Copyright © 2003, Blackwell Publishing.
Publisher
Blackwell Publishing
Place of Publication
Malden, MA
eCommons Citation
Trollinger, William Vance, "Protestantism and Fundamentalism" (2003). History Faculty Publications. 10.
https://ecommons.udayton.edu/hst_fac_pub/10
Included in
Christian Denominations and Sects Commons, History of Religion Commons, Liturgy and Worship Commons, New Religious Movements Commons
Comments
The document available for download, included in the repository in compliance with publisher policies on self-archiving, is the author's accepted manuscript. Some variations may exist between this version and the published version; as such, it is suggested that if a researcher wishes to quote directly from this source, he or she should consult the version of record.
Permission documentation is on file.
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