Here is your short essay on The Study of Fundamentalism !
In 1910-1915 Fundamentalism as a concept was first used when Anonymous authors published 12 volumes of literature called them ‘The Fundamentals’. The print media used this word in the early 20s with reference to conservative Protestant groups in North America. These groups were too much worried to see the liberal interpretations of the Bible. Alarmed by this, the conservatives insisted on some “fundamentals” of faith.
These included belief in the virgin birth, divinity, the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ and the infallibility of the scripture. These along-with other fundamentals were published in 12 pamphlets called The Fundamentals between 1910-1915. In this way, began the specialized usage of the concept of “fundamentalism”.
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In this way, a fundamental movement is one which takes infallibility of a scripture as a basic issue and as a guide to life. In the opinion of some fundamentalists, there is no need to even interpret the scripture because meaning in it is self- evident.
According to T.N. Madan (0993), the word Fundamentalism has gained wide currency in the contemporary world. It refers to a variety of norms, values, attitudes which either judge the fundamentalists or condemn them outright. The word fundamentalism has become a blanket term. Various fundamental movements across the world are actually not identical but differ in various ways.
Fundamentalist movements are of a collective character. They are often led by charismatic leaders who are usually men. In this way, Ayatollah Khomeini led the 1979 Iranian movement and the recent Sikh fundamentalist upsurge by Saint Bhindranwale. Fundamentalism leaders need not be religious leaders. Maulana Maududi, founder of the Jamati Islami in India was a journalist. K.B. Hedgewar, founder of the Rashtriya Sewak Sangh was a physician.
The fundamentalists are a practical people and try to purge the way of life of all impurities (religiously speaking). They reject all corrupt lifestyles. Assertion of spiritual authority and criticizing the culture are two aspects of fundamentalism. A third crucial element is that of the pursuit of political power.