Fundamentalism undermining faith...

[Soph0571]

Fundamentalists of all stripes claim that they want to take us back to a time, when things were simpler and purer than they are today. In reality however, fundamentalism is a very modern phenomenon. It is a marketing tool for religious control. A simple message, simply translated. We are right. They are wrong. Our path is the only path. If you do not follow our path then you are damned.

In reality, there are not that many fundamentalists out there. Be they Christian, Muslim or Jew, they are few in number. But they are loud. Very, very loud and they drown out the voices of the moderate and the reasoned. They infiltrate everywhere with their easy to digest factualism. Their belief in the literal, inherent and historical absolutism of religious text does not allow for dissent, discussion, debate. It does not allow layers of understanding, it does not allow for symbolism, allegories, myths and interpretation. It leads to a lack of nuance and quite frankly is rather insulting to the wider community. The idea that we cannot understand the symbolism at the heart of faith says more about the fundamentalists and their wish to keep people under educated than is does about our ability to grasp nuance.

A ‘pure’ masculinity is at the heart of all fundamentalism. The patriarchal structure where women are seen as different and unequal and the lgbt community is treated as sinners, demonstrates that this rise in fundamentalism is not about faith but control. Control of the community, control of action and control of thought. This is present in all fundamentalist communities irrespective of faith.

So, is fundamentalism undermining faith? I think so. I fear what may happen to the religious majority whose voice is taken away by the loud mouth faith hi-jacking fundamentalist minority. It is no wonder that people are walking away from faith.