# Inside the mind of a fundamentalist.



## Stormcat (Jan 29, 2016)

Wikipedia can provide a pretty good description of what a religious fundamentalist is:



> The term *fundamentalism (from the Latin noun fundamen, fundaminis, related to the verb fundare, meaning to establish, found, or confirm) usually has a religious connotation that indicates unwavering attachment to a set of irreducible beliefs.[SUP][1][/SUP] However, fundamentalism has come to apply to a tendency among certain groups—mainly, though not exclusively, in religion—that is characterized by a markedly strict literalism as applied to certain specific scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, and a strong sense of the importance of maintaining ingroup and outgroupdistinctions,[SUP][2][/SUP][SUP][3][/SUP][SUP][4][/SUP][SUP][5][/SUP] leading to an emphasis on purity and the desire to return to a previous ideal from which advocates believe members have strayed. Rejection of diversity of opinion as applied to these established "fundamentals" and their accepted interpretation within the group is often the result of this tendency*



That explains what one is, But I'm looking for _WHY_ one is. This extreme thought process is baffling to me. Why would anyone take such an extreme viewpoint as their life philosophy?


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## The Green Shield (Jan 29, 2016)

The environment they grew up in, the experiences they had growing up. The influential people in their lives. I could go into detail, but I'm at work now. Needless to say, those are some of the bare-bone basic reasons.


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## ppsage (Jan 29, 2016)

For me, coming from academic philosophy study, the opposite of fundamentalist is relativist. One believes truth is fixed and everlasting; the other that it's situational. Lots of people prefer to believe that The Eternal Truth exists; it makes things easy and convenient. Just gets real tangled up if you try to make it logical too.


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## Stormcat (Jan 29, 2016)

The Green Shield said:


> The environment they grew up in, the experiences they had growing up. The influential people in their lives. I could go into detail, but I'm at work now. Needless to say, those are some of the bare-bone basic reasons.



alright, Just post again later, please.


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## Winston (Jan 29, 2016)

In my observations, a lack of understanding regarding our own biases make understanding others difficult.  "One man's terrorist", as the saying goes.

As our society has become more mechanized, automated, and impersonal, of course some have resisted.  The centers of power have shifted from from county courthouses to state and federal capitals.  Economic and social pressures become uncomfortable. People in "fly-over" country feel alienated, forgotten and alone.

I know you're thinking United States, but the same concept applies to tribal politics around the world (i.e. Saudi Arabia).

So people gather in their social groupings, distrustful (often for good reason) and try to muster a defence against the perceived threat.  Of course, that threat seems crazy to us, it is very real to them.  And often, there are legitimate (and fixable) concerns.  But it's easy for most people to dismiss traditional-minded folks as "angry" or "backward".  In their mind, they're playing defence.  The harder they feel pressure, the harder they push back.  We only see their "violence".  We don't see the gasoline we threw on their fire,

Well, most of us don't.  It's become political sport to demonize and belittle certain groups as ignorant and intolerant.  As if, that will fix the problem.
Pressure on "The Other" only pushes them farther away, and hardens their views to the point of inflexibility.


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## Riis Marshall (Jan 29, 2016)

Hello Stormy

If I knew the answer to your question I could probably be President of the World.

If you'll forgive a response fairly lengthy for a forum post, here is an excerpt from _The Bureau of Happiness_. It expresses my personal bewilderment about why these people, your fundamentalists, see the world the way they do:



> 'He didn't understand it then and he didn't understand it now.
> 
> 'If you were a little Jewish kid growing up on the wrong side of a street in the Bronx and every day on the way to school a bunch of Irish kids beat you up then it might be understandable if you hated Irish people. And if you were a little Irish kid growing up on the other wrong side of the same street in the Bronx and every day on the way to school a bunch of Jewish kids beat you up then it might be understandable if you hated Jewish people. But why should a man in his mid-twenties from Sleaford in Lincolnshire travel to Belfast every year on the twelfth of July to march up and down banging a big drum proclaiming his hatred for Roman Catholics? Charlie doubted when this man was a child in Sleaford he was beaten up by a bunch of Catholic kids every day on the way to school. Sleaford! Hell's fire there couldn't be more that about eight Catholics in the whole of Sleaford, let alone enough to form a gang to go around beating up little Protestant kids.'
> 
> 'When Charlie thought back over his life and the things he had been told when he was young, he began to understand why those who were most ardent in the pursuit of activities connected with their various secret societies were also those most concerned about conspirators of all kinds attacking them from all sides in efforts to destroy them and their ways of life. He recalled the Hollywood Blacklist: how could anybody with an IQ of more than about seventeen seriously believe people like Jack Guilford, Burl Ives and Artie Shaw were actively trying to destroy the United States of America? Oh, yeah, and don't forget about Orson Bean—Orson Bean for Christ's sake—now there was a true danger to America!'



All the best in your quest for an answer to this question.

Warmest regards
Riis


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## midnightpoet (Jan 29, 2016)

Maybe some personal experience might help. My mother was Baptist - but my father was a Methodist.  Neither parent was all that religious.  Dad hardly ever went to church - I did, with my mother, and I liked a lot of what they had to say about peace and love and forgiveness.  I rarely found, even growing up in the 1950's, many of what you would call hard core fundamentalists.  I got a good education, and no one, including Sunday School teachers or even preachers, tried to beat any belief into my head.

I have a feeling the fundamentalists today, at least in this country, have a hive mind like the Borg.  I don't really understand them myself, a lot of what they believe isn't even biblical.  A couple of others have said it's how they were brought up, and I can see that; but it seems in today's polarized environment it's us vs them and many are blinded by their own perceptions.

Hope  that helps.


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## Riis Marshall (Jan 29, 2016)

Hello Midnight

Nop - nothing has changed. In the forties I had it hammered into me by Sunday School teachers, neighbours and grandparents that I was supposed to hate everybody who didn't look and think exactly as they did.

Thankfully my parents didn't think or behave like this, so I had a safe refuge from all this hate in my own home.

But it left wounds that to this day have not all healed. Much of my writing acts as a catharsis for me: many of my bad guys represent these monsters and often they meet seriously sticky ends. It helps.

About the only thing that has changed is today the hate preachers have television and the Internet to promulgate their views; way back then all they had was print and radio. Nothing is different except the technology.

All the best with your writing.

Warmest regards
Riis


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## midnightpoet (Jan 29, 2016)

Sorry, Riis, you had to put up with that. As I said, no one hammered anything into me.  I really led a sheltered life until college, when I realized how much hate there was in the world.  I rejected that hate.  I made friends with all shapes and colors, and I pushed myself away from how many in my family felt.  I do understand, and wish you the best also.  

Tony


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## Riis Marshall (Jan 30, 2016)

Hello Tony et al.

When serious questions are asked about why people behave the way they do - not just the fundamentalists but everybody - my response is they do what they do because it meets some need within them. Sometimes these needs are obvious but most of the time they are hidden deeply within the psyche.

My hypothesis is derived from my reading of Maslow and his hierarchy of needs. I don't necessarily agree his pyramid is something into which we can slot all human behaviour all the time but what he has to say makes sense to me.

You may want to check out his book _Motivation and Personality_. I think it helps make sense of some bits of this world we live in.

What we're discussing here is sometimes the stuff of great writing.

All the best with yours.

Warmest regards
Riis


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## midnightpoet (Jan 30, 2016)

Yeah, the intricacies of human behavior are what make our stories interesting.  Why people do the things they do or think the way they think?  Is there something wired in our mutual DNA that has allowed us to survive from hunter-gatherers to modern society?  I've studied anthropology, probably just enough to not know what the heck I'm doing.  I'm not sure the old saw of nature vs nurture has been solved either.


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## Stormcat (Feb 1, 2016)

So I've come up with a scenario which may help me understand this mindset better.

The fundamentalist character in my story "Found Jesus" after a secular upbringing. He had no particular tragedy befall him which caused him to question his place in the universe, nor was he a wild party animal that needed to be reigned in. Why would he just decide one day to adopt such a strident worldview?


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## Riis Marshall (Feb 1, 2016)

Hello Stormy

Here's another quotation from _The Bureau of Happiness_ that may be relevant here:



> Or maybe, he thought, it's a matter of faith. Suppose you truly believe in a Supreme Being, you truly believe you are committed to behaving in a certain way within a relationship with this Supreme Being and you truly believe your commitment to this relationship determines how you order your life and whether following your death your soul ascends to a place of absolute eternal happiness or descends into a place of absolute endless damnation.  If your belief in this is total, if your faith is complete and unqualified, then it necessarily follows that all those who do not have your faith are somehow fundamentally different from you and depending on the precise nature of this belief you are bound by it to treat them in ways different from the way you treat other believers. If your faith is absolute then it must necessarily follow that those whose faith is not absolute cannot be one with you.



@et al. Please note this is in no way a criticism of anybody's beliefs or belief system.

Does this reflect accurately the world view of your character? Perhaps your character came to his beliefs, not by any sort of 'tragedy', but simply, as have I, by sitting down and thinking about it - in my case over a very long time and with thoughtful consideration of those who don't believe as I do.

All the best with your writing.

Warmest regards
Riis


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## Stormcat (Feb 1, 2016)

Riis Marshall said:


> Hello Stormy
> 
> Here's another quotation from _The Bureau of Happiness_ that may be relevant here:
> 
> ...



No, this "faith" of his has a far more obsessive quality to it. He truly believes that he alone is one of God's chosen, and as a result, he must inject his new faith into every facet of his life. He cannot even eat breakfast without going through a strict ritual of prayer or else God will become angered.

It's one thing to come to a set of beliefs based on logical discourse and soul-searching, But fundamentalism in itself is so illogical it defies that mindset. What drives a person to this point of obsession? How does one become so preoccupied with sin and godly behavior that one cannot live like normal people do?


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## Winston (Feb 1, 2016)

Stormcat said:


> So I've come up with a scenario which may help me understand this mindset better.
> 
> The fundamentalist character in my story "Found Jesus" after a secular upbringing. He had no particular tragedy befall him which caused him to question his place in the universe, nor was he a wild party animal that needed to be reigned in. Why would he just decide one day to adopt such a strident worldview?



Just saw a history special detailing the People's Temple and Reverend Jim Jones.  Might be a template worth considering.  

Fascinating, and scary as hec.  If you don't know about it, look it up.


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## Stormcat (Feb 1, 2016)

Winston said:


> Just saw a history special detailing the People's Temple and Reverend Jim Jones.  Might be a template worth considering.
> 
> Fascinating, and scary as hec.  If you don't know about it, look it up.



I think Jimmy Boy would be interesting to consider, as this character I'm writing ends up founding his own church/cult because the one he was in just wasn't strict enough.


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