Religious fundamentalism
Topic: Secularism: Western and Indian Models · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 8 "Secularism"
Meaning
Religious fundamentalism is a rigid, closed form of religion. It usually takes hold when the most conservative group inside a religion gains control and allows no dissent (no disagreement). NCERT (Class 11, Secularism) warns that it breeds violence between sects. It threatens peace inside a country and also between countries. Secularism seeks a society free of this kind of domination, both between religions and within them.
Example
Sects that persecute dissenters are a form of oppression inside a religion. For example, Pakistan declared Ahmadis non-Muslims in 1974, which shut out a group that the dominant view would not accept.
Don't confuse with
- Communalism: treats religion as the basis of the nation and sets one religious community against others. Fundamentalism is about rigid belief and intolerance of dissent, often inside a religion.
- Theocracy: a form of government in which priests rule the state. Fundamentalism is a way of practising religion and need not involve controlling the state.
Related concepts
- Secularism
- Inter-religious domination
- Intra-religious domination
- Religion as the opium of the masses