Overview

The second edition of Understanding Fundamentalism provides a compelling and up to date picture of religious reactions against the modern secular world. Comparing Christian, Islamic, and Jewish fundamentalist movements, anthropologist Richard Antoun shows how all three share common characteristics. In each tradition, fundamentalists seek purity in an impure world, attempt to make the ancient past relevant to their contemporary situation, look to move religion out of the worship center and into every aspect of life, and actively struggle against the aspects of the modern world they regard as evil. The new edition addresses fundamentalism in the post-9/11 world, transnational religion, and the impact of religious migration on Afghanistan and Western Europe. A glossary and Antoun's readable style make the concepts readily accessible for beginning students. For classes in religious studies, anthropology, or sociology of religion, Understanding Fundamentalism brings a balanced introduction to these often-misunderstood religious activists.

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9780742562097

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Reviews

Praise for the first edition: A reflective, critical approach to the charged, often abused, but seldom understood concept of fundamentalism, Understanding Fundamentalism lives up to its title. Its broad scope encompasses Jewish, Christian and Muslim fundamentalist movements, while its fine-grained analysis clarifies scripture and myth, colonial and postcolonial history, the roles of women as well as men, illuminating the much-neglected adaptive capacity of fundamentalists. Indeed, the twin concepts of controlled acculturation and selective modernization etch the major theoretical advance of this compact study at once original and eloquent of those zealous Abrahamic ideologues popularly known as religious fundamentalists.--Bruce Lawrence

Richard Antoun outlines in accessible language central conceptual features of religious fundamentalism. His informed perspective, free from unnecessary polemicism, provides needed pathways in understanding the complexity of this new global religious phenomenon. His book is a must-read for anyone who wants to participate in the public debate about fundamentalists around the globe. I have assigned it repeatedly to my students in religious studies to set the tone and direction for the entire semester.--Bjorn Krondorfer

Author Information

Richard T. Antoun is professor of anthropology at the State University of New York at Binghamton and the author of several books, including Arab Village, Low-Key Politics, and Muslim Preacher in the Modern World.

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