Fundamentalism, 2nd, Revised and Updated EditionISBN: 978-0-7456-4076-1
Paperback
160 pages
March 2008, Polity
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Other Available Formats: Hardcover
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In a direct and punchy style, the new edition of his book
investigates what lies behind the actions of Al-Qaeda, suicide
bombings and the ‘war against terror’, and also gets to
grips with the continuing rise of the Christian Right in the USA.
It offers new insights into the Protestant fundamentalism of the
American political right-wing, looking at the influence issues such
as abortion, gay rights and ‘intelligent design’ have
had on US foreign policy and domestic politics.
Bruce’s broad sociological analysis rejects the
narrowly-conceived notion that fundamentalists are suffering from
some kind of abnormal psychology, persuasively demonstrating
fundamentalism’s importance as a symptom of rapid social
change.
Social science has generally focused on the social circumstances
that produce extremist movements and regarded their religious
ideologies as window-dressing. This study takes the religious
elements of fundamentalism seriously.
Topics tackled in the book include:
- Why are some religions more likely than others to produce
fundamentalism?
- Why do they differ in their willingness to use violence to
pursue their goals?
- Does fundamentalism pose a serious challenge or sustainable alternative to the secular, liberal democracy of Western society?
This thought-provoking and highly topical book will be essential reading for students of any discipline drawing on the sociology of religion. It will also appeal to those beyond the academic community who want to know what fundamentalism really means today.