The foundational and survival principles of all religions are shrouded in rituals, narratives, origin-stories, cultic practices, casuistries, taboos, mythical figures and institutions of authority. However, through ou...The foundational and survival principles of all religions are shrouded in rituals, narratives, origin-stories, cultic practices, casuistries, taboos, mythical figures and institutions of authority. However, through out history, religions have been threatened by politico-military and religious aggressions from other peoples, by heterodoxies, alternative origin-stories, practices and beliefs. These threats became unprecedented with the advent of Modernity. Faced with these destabilizing agents, they resorted to citing textual authorities, strengthening their institutions, giving leaders more powers, precisely defining belief commitments, punishing heretics and using violence against heterodoxies. Consequently, in their obsessive quest for preserving the sanctity of their faiths against modern threats, religions or section of a religion adopted both revival and resistant measures. Fundamentalism thus developed within these contexts. This paper intends to reveal that religious militancy and militarism are ramifications of Fundamentalism. It argues that Modernity＇s destabilizing agents to religions and religions＇ passionate desire for self-protective steps, militant or militaristic, yield to the phenomenon of Fundamentalism. Secondary sources were used to assemble the data while analytical and comparative approaches with empirical emphases on Christianity and Islam were used to weave the findings with the finality that militant or militaristic, Fundamentalism is religions＇ obsessive response to Modernity,展开更多
文摘The foundational and survival principles of all religions are shrouded in rituals, narratives, origin-stories, cultic practices, casuistries, taboos, mythical figures and institutions of authority. However, through out history, religions have been threatened by politico-military and religious aggressions from other peoples, by heterodoxies, alternative origin-stories, practices and beliefs. These threats became unprecedented with the advent of Modernity. Faced with these destabilizing agents, they resorted to citing textual authorities, strengthening their institutions, giving leaders more powers, precisely defining belief commitments, punishing heretics and using violence against heterodoxies. Consequently, in their obsessive quest for preserving the sanctity of their faiths against modern threats, religions or section of a religion adopted both revival and resistant measures. Fundamentalism thus developed within these contexts. This paper intends to reveal that religious militancy and militarism are ramifications of Fundamentalism. It argues that Modernity＇s destabilizing agents to religions and religions＇ passionate desire for self-protective steps, militant or militaristic, yield to the phenomenon of Fundamentalism. Secondary sources were used to assemble the data while analytical and comparative approaches with empirical emphases on Christianity and Islam were used to weave the findings with the finality that militant or militaristic, Fundamentalism is religions＇ obsessive response to Modernity,
