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From Fear To Liberation: Challenging Fundamentalism

From Fear To Liberation: Challenging Fundamentalism

Last updated on: January 22, 2026 at 3:49 am by Henry Karlson

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From Fear To Liberation: Challenging Fundamentalism 2026-01-22T03:49:44-05:00 Henry Karlson

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Fundamentalism is a problem, not just for Christianity, not just for religion, but for humanity. While the term was originally developed by Christians, it eventually has been used to represent a certain kind of mindset, one which is found not only in Christianity, but in Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and even with those following various non-Christian secular ideologies. It is rigid. Those who follow it usually desire a simple, and rigid, solution to the problems which they find in the modern world. Some have been led to believe it by family members and do not know better. Fundamentalists usually believe it is people coming from outside their own belief system who are destroying the world, making such outsiders turned into scapegoats who often are attacked, and if the attacks are not stopped, killed. Fundamentalism is often followed and supported by (if not actually developed by) those with limited education. They feel confused and angry without understanding what is happening in the world. They have been led to believe that they have become marginalized and it is because of this, everything is going wrong. They think that their simple approach to the world, which they often label as “common sense,” needs to be followed by everyone. They never want their world view challenged; when it happens, they see it as an example of outsiders trying to marginalize them. However, they are quick to challenge everyone else. Often, this turns into violence, as can be seen, for example, in the actions of Christian nationalists. While fundamentalists claim to be ideologically pure, their ideology often has them stand against the norms of their faith tradition. For Christians, we see this in the way they ignore Christ’s teachings of tolerance, mercy, love. Other religious traditions, like Islam, likewise, hold to similar principles, and likewise, find their fundamentalists ignore them:

Studies of Christian fundamentalism in the United States have shown that it arises among sectors of the Christian population that have been marginalized and feel threated by modern conditions of life. They react by articulating an ideological version of the Christian faith that is not open to question, but must simply be affirmed in the ideological terms of the group. This reaction and development can be found across many religious communities, and it needs to be addressed from within our respective religious communities. Such an ideology does not lead to a vital faith in Allah or God, but rather legitimizes the fears of the group. When, in the name of Islam or Christianity, one proclaims “death” to those who oppose one, this is neither authentic Islam nor authentic Christianity. [1]

Fundamentalists take on a simple reading of their respective Scriptures (or the writings which serve as the same function as Scripture for various secular forms of fundamentalism). They ignore the context of the texts they use (often as cherry-picked proof texts), universalizing small portions of the texts which best serve their desire for power and control. Most are not educated enough to understand the context which lay behind the words they quote, and how and why the principles involved in them are meant to be adapted to suit new contexts instead of forcing their application in one context upon them all. That is why, when dealing with such citations, we must discern what the principle is and what is the application and then seek to understand how that principle could apply in our situation, showing how it differs from the take the fundamentalists would have us follow:

But when concrete values and precepts are concerned, it is not only that the value itself can be misjudged; as well as this, in formulating operative norms of action or in giving direction for individual concrete acts, the concrete state of affairs and the historical situation can be misconceived. This means that, where particular values and precepts are concerned, the demands put forward by the biblical writers can be influenced by time-bound values and an inadequate estimate of the world and of life (that is, of concrete matters of fact and situation), with the result that, in changed historical circumstances, there must be different evaluations and judgments. [2]

Heinz Schürmann gives us two examples of this from the New Testament:

However, when the New Testament writers see the wife as subject to the husband (Cf. 1 Cor 11:2-16; 14:33-36 passim), a view which we can understand as being of its time, we feel the Holy Spirit has led Christians today, along with the contemporary environment, into a deeper understanding of the moral obligations of personal relationships than enjoyed by the primitive Christian generation. The injunction to submit to state authority (Rom. 13:1-7) must be taken together with 1 Corinthians 6:1-7, where Paul himself shows his own reserve toward state authority, and 1 Cor 2:8, where he acknowledges that there can be unjust state authority. [3]

We need to realize Christianity, like every other faith tradition or belief, can and does change over time. Fundamentalism is afraid of change and threatens anyone who promotes or accepts its need. They believe in the past there was a perfection that never existed, a perfection they think they can and will try to recreate in the present. They want us to create a utopia which can never be, and because it can’t ever happen, no matter how much they are able to enforce their will upon the public, they will always be frustrated. This will lead them to find more people and things to blame, more people and things to attack. while they do so claiming to represent the basic principles of their faith, it is clear they do not understand those principles. Christian fundamentalists, for example, have lost sight of the way of love. They would do better if they realized all readings of Scripture should be read in and with that principle, as Jesus himself said it is what lay behind the law and the prophets. James Cone, speaking from his own theological school of thought, “Black Theology,” which had to deal with the way African Americans (and others) experienced constant injustices coming from white Christians in the United States, pointed out that Christ came to save and liberate us from oppression, including the oppression of sin, and suggested that we should engage Scripture with that as our hermeneutic (a position which works with what Christ said about love):

Black Theology’s answer to the question of hermeneutics can be stated briefly: The hermeneutic principle for an exegesis of the Scripture is the revelation of God in Christ as the Liberator of the oppressed from social oppression and to political struggle, wherein the poor recognize that their fight against poverty and injustice is not only consistent with the gospel but is the gospel of Jesus Christ.[4]

Let us realize this hermeneutic in our engagement of our faith tradition. Let us also realize all major religious traditions, in their own way, seek to liberate us from oppression, from the various kinds of oppression they discern in the world (physical, emotional, political, and or spiritual). Let us do so always remembers that we do so with the principle of love and the tolerance which comes out of it (for that will keep us from becoming the monster we fight). We might not agree with the theological or philosophical reasonings given by other faith traditions, but we can work with them based upon our common goal. When we do so, we should give them the leeway we give ourselves as we make mistakes. For it is important to realize, contra the fundamentalists, that when we reach out and work with others, especially those of good will, we can work to make the world a better place. It will never be perfect, and so the work will be never-ending, but so long as we focus on it, as long as we work with others in a spirit of tolerance and love, we will be better off than when we look to the world with fear and hatred, for such fear and hatred can only destroy that which gets in its way.

[1] M. Darrol Bryant, “Overcoming History: On the Possibilities of Muslim-Christian Dialogue” in Muslim-Christian Dialogue: Promise And Problems. Ed. M Darrol Bryant and S.A. Ali (St Paul, MN: Paragon House, 1998), 37.

[2] Heinz Schürmann, “How Normative Are The Values and Precepts of the New Testament” in Principles of Christian Morality. Trans. Graham Harrison (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1986; repr. 2006), 35-6.

[3] Heinz Schürmann, “How Normative Are The Values and Precepts of the New Testament,” 40.

[4] James H. Cone, God Of The Oppressed (New York: Seabury Press 1975), 81-2.

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N.B.: While I read comments to moderate them, I rarely respond to them. If I don’t respond to your comment directly, don’t assume I am unthankful for it. I appreciate it. But I want readers to feel free to ask questions, and hopefully, dialogue with each other. I have shared what I wanted to say, though some responses will get a brief reply by me, or, if I find it interesting and something I can engage fully, as the foundation for another post. I have had many posts inspired or improved upon thanks to my readers.

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