A/N: Hi there, people who are reading my politico-religious rambling (otherwise known as an essay)!  For anyone who read “Why Gay People are so Scary,” this essay grew out of my religious explanation for homophobia…I’ve branched out some, and gone into much greater detail.  My thoughts on religious fundamentalism.  Background info: 18 yr. old who attends REALLY conservative Southern Baptist church (unless my parents are finally serious about finding another church, which I kinda doubt, as they’ve been talking about it for two years now).

“The Lure of Fundamentalism”

If I were to come up to you on the street and ask you what the most pressing threat to peace and freedom in the world today is, you’d probably answer “terrorism.”  Actually, you’d probably look at me strangely and/or ask if I were doing some sort of poll or TV show, but after I’d assured you that, no, I was not, and no, I did not need your name or any other personal information, you’d answer “terrorism.”  And, in my humble opinion, you would be dead wrong.

Terrorism is not the most dangerous problem in the world today, though it is definitely dangerous and merits careful attention.  No, the most dangerous problem across the world today deals with the attitudes of people and their outlook on life, liberty, and the importance of life and liberty for their fellow humans.  And I contend that the threat to those attitudes is manifested in the growing power of religious fundamentalism.  The belief system(s) which tends to alienate non-believers and nearly always has as its goal, stated or non-, the implementation of a theocratic government.

There are probably fundamentalists in every religion, from Christianity to tribal nature-worship.  These ultra-conservatives are making their mark on the world today and gaining infamy in many nations.  If you spend any time in front of the television, the group that first springs to mind when you hear the term “fundamentalist” is, I’m sure, the extremist brand of Islam that is gaining momentum in the Middle East.  It has not only given rise to the group Al Qaida and other terrorist organizations, but it infects the government of Saudi Arabia, Iran, and other Asian countries.  Less well-known to outsiders, India is seeing its own problems with religious hardliners.  Fundamentalist Hindus are trying to tie the secular government of India closer to their religion.  And, of course, my fellow American fictionpressers will recognize the names Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson (among others), our own, homegrown, reactionary blowhards.  Falwell, Robertson, and others like to them in beliefs represent the Religious Right, which has allied itself with right-wing conservatives in the nation’s political landscape. 

Well, now that we’ve gotten some names out of the way (and now that we’ve let me do a little name-calling and let off a little steam), we’ll tackle the next big mystery: why is fundamentalism gaining popularity nowadays?  I can only speak for the fundamentalism I’ve been exposed to, which is Christian, and my comments will be about Christian fundamentalism, though I suspect that some of them could apply across the board.

First off, let’s define Christian fundamentalism.  According to Webster’s Dictionary, fundamentalism is “a movement in 20th century Protestantism emphasizing the literally interpreted Bible as fundamental to Christian life and teaching.”  Fundamentalists’ doctrines are based on the belief that every single word in the Bible is divinely inspired, inerrant, and should be interpreted literally without regard for the cultural climate in which the scriptures were written.  As can be expected, fundamentalism has become dogmatic and unbending; when all of your rules for morality and living are clear-cut and sitting right in front of you, you can be dogmatic.  This underlying principle has led fundamentalists to several “trademark” views in America today:

1) Homosexuality is wrong and should be discouraged by law.

2) Women should be subordinate to men.  In fact, a lot of our troubles started when the feminists appeared on the scene.

3) Evolution and the Big Bang theory are wrong and their proponents are often godless humanists (gasp!).

4) America was once a Christian nation, but now we are falling prey to secularizing forces.

5) The ACLU is the abode of Satan (see #4).

6) Liberals are untrustworthy folks who hate Christianity and are trying to erase any mention of it from the public sphere (see #5).

I could go on, but I’d probably get flamed.  Now, some of these views may seem ridiculous to you, and some may seem reasonable.  But, when all are put together, along with the blinding knowledge that your way is RIGHT (no pun intended), this creates a borderline dangerous worldview.  Especially in the sphere of politics.

So now, we must turn back to the original question: why is this worldview gaining political, and possibly numerical, strength?  From my own experiences in a conservative church, I can give an answer.  My family began attending a borderline fundamentalist Southern Baptist church when I was in fifth grade, and by sixth grade, I had been totally won over to the conservative worldview.  I remember several debates in 6th grade science/social studies class about religion, in at least one of which I made some disparaging comments about gays (I repent!  I repent!).  I began to question as early as seventh grade, and by ninth grade, I was in confirmed rebellion mode.  But I’m still drawn, much as I hate to admit it, back to the fundamentalist mindset, even though I disagree with it.  What is this strange lure it has on my mind? 

Two things: fundamentalism is an easy faith to accept and believe.  It doesn’t require overmuch thought or argument.  And secondly, fundamentalism, however much its teachings may alienate outsiders, is incredibly comforting to the insiders.  It provides a security that is rarely found in the modern world. 

Much as I hate to admit it, in any debate between a fundamentalist and an evolutionist, the fundamentalist is going to win.  Same goes for a debate between a Christian moderate and a fundamentalist.  Why?  Well, the dialogue would go something like this:

Question: Please explain your views on evolution.

Fundamentalist: The Bible is the inerrant word of God, which I believe in wholeheartedly.  The Bible says God created the world in six days and formed each animal species the way it is today.  Evolution is a fallacious construct of modern, misguided, atheistic science.

Evolutionist: Evolution rests on several basic assumptions: first, that the laws of nature that are in evidence today existed in Earth’s past, and guided the happenings and the origins of everything we see on Earth today.  Second, that all of Earth’s species came to be the way they are today without divine intervention; that we can explain the universe without relying on the supernatural.  Within this framework of assumptions, evolution is the most viable theory for explaining the fossil record and how living things came to be and have changed from one-celled organisms into the wonders we are today.

Fundamentalist: Ah, so, it seems we are both relying on a “religion” of sorts.  I can see several large holes in yours.  The fossil record is inconclusive as far as “missing links” and human evolution. 

Evolutionist: This is true.  Our theory is imperfect, however, it changes as we find new evidence and new interpretations for old evidence.

Fundamentalist: YOUR “religion” of evolution changes with the winds of evidence.  My Bible, however, remains the same despite outside forces.  I know all evidence will eventually point to the Genesis creation account.  Because Truth never changes.

Which is more comforting: explanations that are partial, incomplete, and subject to change when new evidence is discovered?  Or a Book that has unchanging truths for all generations?  Yeah.  I like the fundamentalist view, too. 

Any argument about religion will invariably be won by the fundamentalist, because all other views require logical constructs and long interpretations of the meaning behind certain Biblical passages.  A fundamentalist can look at the same passage, give a one-sentence explanation of it, and be done.  In the face of such utter certainty, the most well-reasoned theological interpretations look like the wafflings of sinners unwilling to admit to their error and skittering their feet in their attempt to make a lie look like the truth.  It’s no coincidence that fundamentalists are patently anti-intellectual. 

Since fundamentalism is so easy to explain, it creates an artificial feeling of certainty and moral authority.  Fundamentalism is “getting back to the basics.”  A fundamentalist can appeal to his audience’s love of simplicity and their instinctive feeling for right and wrong.  Often, this instinctive feeling is that everything in the Bible is correct.  Because coming up with a reason for why it isn’t requires a lot of thought and reasoning and careful deduction, and instincts are not thought-oriented.  The instincts revert to what the person already “knows.”  This can create an artificial feeling of guilt in some for not believing the fundamentalist view (I myself can attest to that).  This easy dogmatism makes fundamentalism catchy, alluring, and fulfilling for those who adhere to it.  I mean, after all, it feels good to be right.  It feels good to be the voice of morality.  It probably feels better than almost anything else in the world.

(Let’s take a quick time-out here for me to point this out: fundamentalism, while I disagree with it and find it dangerous, is a legitimate belief system.  And who knows?  Perhaps they are right after all.  I’m just highly doubtful of that.)

Second, fundamentalism is not only an easy belief system, but a comforting one as well.  And comfort is something that is rarely found in the confusion of the world today, or perhaps at any other time in history.

Modern American society is probably the most confusing, tumultuous, loud, and disorienting society our country has ever experienced.  There are many historical reasons for this.  Probably, our ultimate culprit was the Industrial Revolution.  Several decades into said revolution, factories and jobs had lured fifty percent of the country into urban centers, a phenomenon called “urbanization.”  It was probably during this time period that poverty reached its modern desperate levels.  With so many people crammed together in the cities, slums formed and millions were caught up in the system of wage slavery and in life in the ghettos.  This early age of urbanization, the late 1800s, also saw the forerunner of the source of much societal strife nowadays: the gap between rich and poor.  In what Mark Twain dubbed “the Gilded Age,” wealthy capitalists built palaces for themselves to live in while the workers in their factories, who helped to give them all their wealth, wasted away in the slums.  It was this horrible situation that spawned the widespread socialist movements in Europe and spurred Marx to set forth his ideas on Communism.  At home, the situation survives to the present day.

Now that we’ve gotten the class warfare started, we are about to witness a radical change in the traditional American family.  From the women’s liberation and women’s suffrage movements grew the feminists, with their push for women’s rights.  Gradually, American families became more democratic, with the husband and wife now usually equal in decision-making powers.  This is preferable to the earlier I-am-man-obey-me-woman! model for relationships, but it is a lot more volatile.  Suddenly, when the wife doesn’t like a husband’s decision, she contradicts him!  Now, they have to talk (or argue, shout, fight) it out between themselves and reach agreement, instead of her simply acquiescing.  Much as I hate to admit it, this probably contributes to the high divorce rate nowadays.

Which brings us to the next point.  American families seem to be in crisis today.  They’ve certainly changed shape.  Single parents make up most households today.  And, unbelievably, gays and lesbians are demanding the right to form legally recognized families, too!

Let us not forget the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, either.  African Americans are, ideally, equal under the law now with white people.  There’s some definite question on this point, especially when you examine the tendencies of juries toward or against capital punishment for the two races in similar murder cases.  Now, racist comments can be grounds for firing, lawsuit, or other penalties.  Come to think of it, sexual harassment is too.  What did he say to her when and how and where were they and who heard them?  It’s the stuff lawsuits are made of.  Maybe that’s a good thing, maybe it’s a bad thing.

But, and even more importantly for our argument, it’s a confusing thing.  And it adds to society’s modern confusion, which is pretty much its signature trait.  We’re a society in transition, but we don’t know what we’re changing into.  We’re going from 20th century to 21st century, to a system that will hopefully be more just, more inclusive, and generally better for everyone.  But we’re not there yet, and the modern transition period is confusing and frustrating.  And to fundamentalists, it is one big, fat opportunity for followers.

Conservatives by definition resist change and believe that the traditional methods are the time-tested best methods.  Fundamentalists take this one step further and interpret the confusion of modern day society as being a threatening, evil thing.  They take it as evidence of our society’s slow tango with the forces of secularization.  We have problems, the fundamentalists argue, that would be alleviated in a society based on Biblical standards.  We have problems that, moreover, didn’t exist in the way back when when America was a Christian nation.  School violence?  They don’t allow prayer in schools anymore.  Climbing divorce rates?  It’s those damned feminists running roughshod over the true role of the woman.  Increasing juvenile delinquency?  How can they not fall into evil, what with the selfishness and anti-authority messages imparted to them by society?

And, much as I hate to admit it, the fundamentalist answer is extremely comforting.  Just go back to the Bible.  Just do what it says.  All your problems will be alleviated.  Did they have these problems back when we believed in the Bible?  Back when we were a Christian nation?  Why can’t we go back to that?  Just accept the Bible.

Just accept the Bible.  It’s simple, it’s easy, it requires little thought, and hey, if we all listened to Jesus’ teachings the world would be a better place.  The idea, the thing to hold onto, the assurance that you are RIGHT and you can heal America, is awfully enticing.

That is why fundamentalism is a force to be reckoned with, and that is why it is hard to argue with it, even when your views clash with its very strongly.  Because there is still the nagging feeling in the back of your mind: hmm.  Maybe I am wrong.  Maybe the simple path is the true path.  And because you know that in the mind of your opponent, there is no such indecision.