4 Dangers of Fundamentalism

November 25, 2021

It’s been a decent amount of time since I went through my faith deconstruction. Afterward I went through a period of time where I was a hardcore, materialist atheist—as do many recently Deconverted Men.

However, in recent years, I’ve tentatively brought into my life some spiritual beliefs and practices that I quite enjoy engaging in and contemplating. Not all of these spiritual beliefs and practices have evidence from mainstream science to be true (some do, however) and I’m okay with that. My former self and other similar hardcore materialist atheists would tell me these beliefs and practices are bullshit because most scientists say so. And maybe they’re right, but I don’t care. They make me happy, they improve my life, and I feel like they slowly inch me toward being a better person.

So this got me thinking—what’s the problem with religious beliefs?

Well… not much. People who hold religious beliefs often have them for the same reason I brought on board some spiritual beliefs and practices—to improve themselves, to grow, and to increase the quality of their lives.

If an evangelical Christian believes in the Christian God and believes Jesus died for his sins and that if he lives a good life he’ll go to heaven one day, so he therefore lives a mostly good life, that in itself isn’t a bad thing. A materialist atheist may delight in telling him that his beliefs are bullshit, but if his beliefs make him and keep him a good person throughout his life, then what’s the problem?

The problem comes when fundamentalism is introduced. Here are four dangers of fundamentalism:

1. Fundamentalism Is Very Rigid

Fundamentalist ideologies and beliefs are usually very literal and not fluid at all. They are written in stone and covered in blood and not to be altered, changed, or even questioned. This very nature of the unshakable ideas is what gives the believers so much faith—in a crazy world where so much changes quickly every day, they need something that is unchanging, so they desperately need these ideas to never change so that their faith in them is never rocked.

This refusal to see shades of grey, consider exceptions to the rules, or to test these rock-solid positions with other ideas keeps the adherents to fundamentalist ideologies in boxes that separate themselves from anyone or anything else that might make them uncomfortable by having reasoned opinions that go against their own ideas. Because of this, it is very difficult—if not impossible—for growth to happen.

2. Fundamentalism Leads to Intolerance

Fundamentalism often involves trying to get other people to believe as you do, so you engage in evangelism of your ideology, worldview, belief, or religion.

People who do this often start out with a very small amount of tolerance and patience for people who aren’t in the group “yet” because they simply haven’t heard about this ideology. They think that once someone hears all about it, then they’ll “convert” and join the group.

But if the other person disagrees or otherwise doesn’t buy in, then that’s a problem. That person is instantly labeled something negative and is kept outside the fundamentalist group forever. From that point on, the person who declined is considered a lost cause and possibly evil.

While this is a very dark way of thinking, perhaps the amusing aspect of this situation is that the fundamentalist group doesn’t recognize that this person they’ve shunned doesn’t care at all that they’ll never be invited into the group. They simply shrug and move on with their lives.

3. Fundamentalism Produces False Authorities

Often there is one or a handful of “leaders” who teach the fundamentalist ideas and who appear to uphold all the tenants of the belief system. As a result, they are often regarded as unquestioned authorities. Their followers are often vulnerable to manipulation and abuse because they are so determined to keep their authority figures on the pedestals that those very same authority figures said they deserve to be on.

4. Fundamentalism Results in Self Policing

When you have a group of people who have decided to live in accordance to a list of fundamentalist behaviors and thoughts, then any behaviors and thoughts outside of their list are not to be tolerated and the people who engage in them need to be removed from the group.

This results in self-policing, where everyone in the group is hyper vigilant to make sure that everyone else is following all the rules. As soon as someone steps out of line, they’re tossed aside, no questions asked. After all, if they truly believed, then they wouldn’t have done what they’d done, right?

Conclusion

It’s very easy to read this article with religion in mind. Usually when talking about religion, it’s a religion’s fundamentalist rules that get it in hot water with reasonable and questioning people. However, I always say that everything can be deconstructed, not just religion, so I challenge you to reread this article again with some other things in mind besides religion. Government, politics, culture, and society are a few good examples to start with.