Fundamentalism

[hoverFrog]

What is a Fundy?

I know a little of the history of the Protestant Fundamentalist movement in the late 19th and early 20th century America but not much. The Fundamentals were a set of published beliefs that reinforced the inerrancy of scripture and promoted a literal reading of the bible. So the world is flat, the sun and stars resolve around us, the sky is solid firmament that God walks upon, the universe was created in 6 literal days, man was created from dust and woman from a spare rib, etc.

Clearly things have moved on a lot in nearly a century. Is this still what you think of when you think of Fundy?

That said, what would you think the phrase "atheist Fundy" means? A polar opposite of Christian Fundy? What does that look like?

[Doyle]

Isn't a Fundy a tasty new creme-filled snack cake?

[JulietEcho]

I'll hazard an attempt at a commonly-understood definition (as opposed to an academic definition, which I'm guessing isn't what you're looking for here).

I think some attributes of a "fundie" or Christian fundamentalist (Muslim fundamentalism seems to be understood differently by many; often specifically to refer to Muslim terrorists) are:

I think the central component is a literal interpretation of the Bible along with a belief in Biblical inerrancy. Some (not all) embrace the term "fundamentalist" as a very positive type of Christian to be, as they are generally quite vocal about their belief in the Bible as God's Word. The rest of this list may or may not apply to any given "fundie" but these beliefs are common among them, as a result of their Biblical interpretation and emphasis:

- Creationist beliefs (YEC especially) and criticism of evolution
- Homosexuality believed to be a sin ("therapy" for homosexuals seeking to be "cured" supported as well as anti-gay legislation)
- Pro-life beliefs (can include the Palin-esque belief that all abortion, even in cases resulting from incest or rape, should be illegal).
- Avid church-goers (often associated with Evangelical churches, mega-churches and pastors like Warren and Dobson)
- Belief in Hell as a literal place and belief that non-Christians will actually go there and suffer eternally.
- Support of missionaries (can include 'missionaries' seeking to convert American Jews, college students, etc.)
- Condemnation of other, closely-related belief systems including Mormonism, JW and even Catholicism as "cults"
- Belief in "end times," the rapture, etc. May interpret current events to indicate that we're already living in the end times or that they're coming soon.

People talking about "atheist fundies" are (in my experience) usually referring to atheists they consider radically militant or blindly clinging to their beliefs about the world. Also used to refer to atheists who seek to influence legislation (i.e. take the "In God We Trust" off currency; change the Pledge of Allegiance, etc).

I'm sure I'm missing a lot, and I certainly didn't aim for precision - it's hard to categorize such a big group. But I feel pretty confident that the common thread among Christians referred to as "fundies" is the belief that the Bible is the inerrant, literal Word of God. I should note that it's still rare to find anyone who truly takes everything in the Bible literally - "fundies" still take certain passages as allegorical and may allow that certain instructions were meant for the historical period when they were written and not for today's Christians. The main point, however, is that it's all God-inspired and all important.

[hoverFrog]

Doyle, is that a baby Fundy?

Sarah, for a quick definition that's quite comprehensive. It seems that the idea hasn't moved on much since the 1920s and the Scopes Monkey Trial. A Fundamentalist believes in the inerrancy of their holy book whether it was written by inspired men or directly by their god's own hand and in the literal meaning of the text as opposed to a metaphorical or poetic meaning presented in them. Is it fair to say that this is true whether the Fundamentalist is a Protestant Christian, a Muslim or another faith?

Is it belief or action that defines a Fundamentalist? If it is belief then an atheist Fundamentalist is a contradiction in terms but if it is action then a whole chunk of America who wear the badge of Fundamentalism proudly but do nothing cannot properly hold that title. I believe it is the former and that any call on an atheist that he or she is a Fundamentalist is nonsense derived from ignorance of both Fundamentalism and atheism. Ignorance is, of course, forgivable and easily corrected which is part of the reason for asking this question in the first place.

[Arlen]

I think Sarah has a good working definition. When I use the term to describe a Christian, I use it fairly loosely, and what I have in mind when I use it consists (most often) of the following:

Belief in Biblical literalism
Focus on converting others to their belief (even other Christians)
Particular focus on evil, sin, damnation, Hell, Satan, and impurity
Desire for a more theocratic social system or government
Focus on the "end times" and judgment

When I use the term in reference to an atheist (which isn't often), I generally do so tongue-in-cheek. Characteristics a fundamentalist atheist might share with a fundamentalist Christian could include:

Absolute and unshakable belief to hold the one Truth
The belief that those who disagree are inherently lesser and their opinions inherently suspect
The belief that the social system or government should adopt and enforce similar views

[Huxley]

A fundimaentalist has a literal view of his scriptures and a firm belief it is the word of God. Notice it is not any old scripture thus a fundie Baptist might believe different things to a fundie Catholic (Who generally dont support the scriptures much anyway) but the dogma cannot be challenged and is literal.

They are not to be mistaken for extremists whilst their view of literal dogma might be deemed extreme.

[sexorcista]

the understanding of what a fundie is (or means) has changed over time...and probably will kept on changing.

I think a fundie is anyone who is dead cert..that they are RIGHT about their belief in 'god'....because their bible book (special and true) tells them so.
In other words ...a belief in an AUTHORITY (usually there own) and a right to change and act on their environment ie. censorship / rules. Irrational fear.

Atheist fundie....
that's a term usually used by 'christian' to attack and belittle an atheist in a debate.

so...Nah its crap ...People online seem to use the term 'fundie' as a value judgement rather than as a description.