fundamentalism

[ fuhn-duh-men-tl-iz-uhm ]

noun

1. (sometimes initial capital letter) a religious movement characterized by a strict belief in the literal interpretation of religious texts, especially within American Protestantism and Islam.
2. the beliefs held by those in this movement.
3. strict adherence to any set of basic ideas or principles:

   the fundamentalism of the extreme conservatives.

fundamentalism

/ ˌfʌndəˈmɛntəˌlɪzəm /

noun

1. Christianity (esp among certain Protestant sects) the belief that every word of the Bible is divinely inspired and therefore true
2. Islam a movement favouring strict observance of the teachings of the Koran and Islamic law
3. strict adherence to the fundamental principles of any set of beliefs

fundamentalism

1. A conservative movement in theology among nineteenth- and twentieth-century Christians (see also Christian ). Fundamentalists believe that the statements in the Bible (see also Bible ) are literally true.

Notes

Fundamentalists often argue against the theory of evolution . ( See Scopes trial .)

Derived Forms

• ˌfundaˈmentalist, nounadjective
• ˌfundaˌmentalˈistic, adjective

Other Words From

• funda·mental·ist noun adjective
• anti·funda·mental·ism noun
• anti·funda·mental·ist noun adjective
• nonfun·da·mental·ist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of fundamentalism¹

1920–25, Americanism; fundamental + -ism; originally in reference to the American Protestant fundamentalism movement, which arose in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in reaction to modernism

Example Sentences

The shifting sands beneath our feet have a much longer history, as Lepore summarized in that article, that includes postmodernism, relativism, and fundamentalism.

From Time

It talks about radicalization as well as fundamentalism—and the dangers of that.

From The Daily Beast

The lines of fundamentalism are blurrier today than what they once were.

From The Daily Beast

The two-state solution being the driving force behind Islamic fundamentalism, of course.

From The Daily Beast

And, where those cannot be achieved, at least a base-level opposition to tyranny, reaction, religious fundamentalism, and so on.

From The Daily Beast

“Fundamentalism will not win, even if they say, ‘Allahu akbar’ all day long,” her mother told Bennoune.

From The Daily Beast

By some such stubborn tendency toward error Fundamentalism in our day is moving back toward spiritual slavery.

From Project Gutenberg