Features
- Cover Type: Paperback with 160 pages
- Published by: Polity January 17, 2001
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 0745623662
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-0745623665
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Book Dimensions:
8.4 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
- Weighs: 6.4 ounces
Product Review
'Steve Bruce writes with a forthright clarity outlining the essential issues and background of Fundamentalism and Modernity in accessible form. He is indifferent to fashionable views and writes as he finds by reference to evidence. He is an international authority and his book is a major addition to the literature.' David Martin, London School of Economics 'Fundamentalism is informative, vigorously argued and thought-provoking, and it presents a powerful sociological perspective on a controversial phenomenon. Focusing on a comparison between Christianity and Islam, it offers a wealth of detail underpinned by subtle but clear theorizing. It is intellectually challenging and yet easy to follow.' Alan Aldridge, University of Nottingham '[A] fascinating and clear global survey [this] book represents, among other things, an eloquent rationale for trying to understand the fundamentalist, rather than simply declaring he is insane and evil and then bombing him.' The Guardian, 6th October 2001 'This is the first book in Polity's new series, Key Concepts. A participating scholar in the massive The Fundamentalism Project, Bruce has long observed and written about religious conservatism as a sociologist This slender volume brings together his primary insights into fundamentalism as a phenomenon emergent out of the throes of modernity A useful supplementary text in introductory courses either in sociology of religion or in conservative and fundamentalist religion in the modern world.' Religious Studies Review "There isalways the danger of over-estimating the fundamentalist threat and therefore, a more balanced appraisal is to be welcomed. This is the greatest virtue of Steve Bruce's short volume Fundamentalism that is written in a typically bold, engaging, and enthusiastic style." Journal of Contemporary Religion 'Steve Bruce has already established his authority as a leading sociologist and his reputation as a clear guide through fundamentalism and modernity deserves to be promoted through this book.' Religion and Theology Vol 9, Feb 2002 'A most useful book Steve Bruce is a sociologist of clarity.' Theology, March / April 2002 "Fundamentalism is one of the first titles in a new series from Polity Press called 'Key Concepts'. Polity is an great press with a fine reputation, and to that we add a hot topic, a fine scholar and clear prose." Robert A. Denemark, Humboldt Journal of Social Relations
Product Description
This insightful and provocative new study explores the combination of social strains and religious ideas that have produced such fundamentalist movements as the Islamic revolution in Iran and the new Christian Right in the USA.
Social science has generally focused on the social circumstances that produce extremist movements and regarded their religious ideologies as window-dressing. This study takes the religious elements of fundamentalism seriously. It explains why some religions are more likely than others to produce fundamentalism and why those movements differ in their willingness to use violence to pursue their goals. Rejecting the idea that fundamentalists are suffering from some kind of abnormal psychology, Bruce claims that fundamentalism is a rational response of traditionally religious people to social, political and economic changes that downgrade the role of religion in public life. Despite its importance as a symptom of rapid social change, he concludes that fundamentalism does not pose a serious challenge or sustainable alternative to the secular and liberal democracy of most Western societies. Its force is weakened by its own internal contradictions and blunted by the power of the nation state.
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