Fundamentalism- Religious

 

Religious Fundamentalism is a concept in the psychology of religion that has been defined in different ways but generally refers to a set of religious beliefs based on literal to near literal interpretations of sacred texts.

In the United States where most religious people are Christian, the history of fundamentalism appeared as a protest against the teachings of religious scholars who employed methods of critical analysis of the Bible. This critical method known as higher criticism, occurred at a time when conservative Christians were also concerned about the science of evolution and its apparent contradiction of the Genesis creation text.

Behavioral scientists began looking for ways to broaden the concept of fundamentalism beyond lists of orthodox beliefs. Researchers focused on findings of militancy and authoritarianism in their samples (e.g., Altemyer and Hunsberger). Others focused on a literal interpretation of scriptures and some psychologists also looked at intelligence and personality traits associated with people considered fundamentalists.

 In 2005, psychological scientists, Ralph Hood, Peter Hill, and Paul Williamson, observed that some religious groups were not militant unless faced with a threat. And that even then, some groups like the Amish, remained nonviolent. They also reported research that did not support authoritarianism. In fact, personality factors seemed weak at best. Their idea: Fundamentalism can be explained by the principle of intratextuality.

The principle of intratextuality states that fundamentalists derive truth from God via their sacred text and they rely solely upon various parts of the text to interpret other parts of the text. For example, Christian fundamentalists who want to understand God’s plan for marriage will rely solely on the books of the Protestant Bible rather than external sources of knowledge such as psychology. To understand a passage about marriage in one book within the Bible, they will examine other portions of the Bible for teachings about marriage. 

In contrast, nonfundamentalist Christians search for truth using an intertextual method. Nonfundamentalists will consider the sacred text in light of science, history, archaeology, anthropology, and scholarly research. Nonfundamentalists respect the sacred text and still consider it privileged and even crucial to consult before reaching a conclusion about a moral approach or stance toward some social policy. In Christianity, the view people take toward the Bible distinguishes a Fundamentalist from an Evangelical or a Progressive.

FIVE DIMENSIONS OF INTRATEXTUALITY

 

Initially, Williamson and others (2010) considered six dimensions of intratextuality. They developed a measurement scale, and based on cross-cultural research, they found five items useful in identifying five dimensions – Five perspectives on the sacred text. The principle of intratextuality is not just about Christianity. The items were written in such a way as to apply to other world religions. Here are the five dimensions.

1. Divine: The sacred text is a revelation from God (or of divine origin) to humans. Regardless of the involvement of people in the writing of the text, God (or a deity) is the author.
2. Inerrant: The sacred text does not contain errors, inconsistencies, or contradictions. The text is objectively true.
3. Privileged: The sacred text of the fundamentalist group is not just another sacred writing. It is the truth. Fundamentalists may show respect to people from other religions and their sacred writings but they do not consider other texts to be on the same level as their own text.
4. Authoritative:  The sacred text is the final authority. If a conflict in belief arises, the sacred text wins.
5. Unchanging: The sacred text is unchangeable and true for eternity. The truths are absolutes. The truths can be depended on to understand the world and as a guide for life.

 

Related Concepts

Selective Fundamentalism

Selective fundamentalism refers to a type of Intratextual fundamentalism that insists on reading some texts as literally true but not others.

 

Fact Fundamentalism

Fact fundamentalism is a concept attributed by Marcus Borg to Huston Smith. Fact fundamentalists may be religious fundamentalists who insist on reading the statements found in their texts as historically accurate facts. Ironically, religious critics may also be fact fundamentalists when they also take the view that unless something in a religious text is a historical fact then it is not true. Borg’s point is that truth should not be limited to historical facts but that truth can be found in metaphors as well.

Measuring Fundamentalism

 

Psychology of Religion researchers have developed scales to measure religious fundamentalism and related concepts. I have written about these elsewhere. Here I list the measures and provide links to those measures.

Biblical Literalism Scale

Intratextual Fundamentalism Scale (IFS)

 

References

Altemeyer, B., & Hunsberger, B. (2005). Fundamentalism and authoritarianism. In R.F. Paloutzian, & C.L. Park (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of religion and spirituality (pp. 378–393). Guilford Press.

Hood, R.W., Jr., Hill, P.C., & Spilka, B. (2009). The psychology of religion: An empirical approach (4th ed). Guilford. [ Link to the 5th Edition]

Hood, R.W., Jr., Hill, P.C., & Williamson, W.P. (2005). The psychology of religious fundamentalism. Guilford.  [On Amazon - A key reference to the model]

Kelly, H.L., Sutton, G. W, Hicks, L., Godfrey, A. & Gillihan, C. (2018). Factors predicting the moral appraisal of sexual behavior in Christians. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 37, (2), 162-177. [Use of the IFS in research]     Academia Link     ResearchGate Link  

Marsden, G.M. (1980). Fundamentalism and American culture: The shaping of twentieth century Evangelicalism 1870–1925. Oxford University Press. [Link to 3rd Edition]

Marty, M.E., & Appleby, R.S. (Eds.). (1991–1995). The fundamentalism project (Vols 1–5).  University of Chicago Press.

Sutton, G. W. (2016). A House Divided: Sexuality, morality, and Christian cultures.  Pickwick. ISBN: 9781498224888  [An application of intratextual fundamentalism to understanding Christian morality]

Sutton, G. W., Arnzen, C., & Kelly, H. (2016). Christian counseling and psychotherapy: Components of clinician spirituality that predict type of Christian intervention. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 35, 204-214.  [Use of the IFS in a counseling study.]   Academia Link      ResearchGate Link

Sutton, G. W., Kelly, H., Worthington, E. L. Jr., Griffin, B. J., & Dinwiddie, C. (2018) Satisfaction with Christian Psychotherapy and Well-being: Contributions of Hope, Personality, and Spirituality. Spirituality in Clinical Practice, 5 (1), 8-24, doi: 10.1037/scp0000145    [Use of the IFS in research]     Academia Link      ResearchGate Link

Williamson, W.P., Hood, R. W. Jr., Ahmad, A., Sadiq, M., Y Hill, P.C. (2010). The intratextual fundamentalism scale: cross-cultural application, validity evidence, and relationship with religious orientation and the Big 5 factor markers. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 13, 721-747.

AMAZON LINK

A HOUSE DIVIDED on AMAZON

Fundamentalism and American Culture 3rd Ed.