The roots of Christian fundamentalism in American Protestantism JAMES D.G. DUNN
On 27 February 2013, the British Academy held a conference on ‘What is Fundamentalism – and What Threats does it Pose to Today’s World?’ The event was convened at the suggestion of James Dunn, Lightfoot Professor of Divinity Emeritus at the University of Durham, and a Fellow of the British Academy. As well as examining the origins of ‘fundamentalism’ in early 20th-century American Protestantism (the subject of this article), the conference asked what are the conditions that cause fundamentalism to develop in different religions and cultures in modern times. Audio recordings of the presentations can be found via www.britac.ac.uk/events/2013/
universal phenomenon, or should we only speak of a diverse set of fundamentalisms?2 Should we even speak of ‘Protestant fundamentalism’ as though it was a single, coherent phenomenon?3 Again, it is arguable that what we now refer to as a ‘fundamentalist’ attitude or mind-set can be found in earlier centuries.4 But if fundamentalism is defined as a reaction against Modernism, then it is itself a modern phenomenon.5 A third problem is that ‘fundamentalist’ has become a pejorative term in most public discourse, ‘a synonym for bigotry, intellectual immaturity, fanaticism, and sometimes violence’, ‘an intolerant epithet for those we regard as intolerant ... a label that immediately delegitimates’.6 So is the discussion loaded against ‘fundamentalism’ from the start? Should we try using another term, like ‘foundationalism’,7 to describe the view that any system, religious or otherwise, needs some firm or fixed foundational truths on which to build?
IN THIS ARTICLE I describe the beginnings of Protestant fundamentalism, and go on to analyse its central characteristics, also drawing attention to its continuing influence on Christianity today and on the national politics of the United States of America.1
The Fundamentals We should begin, however, by at least noting some problems in any conceptualisation of ‘fundamentalism’. An initial problem is that the term ‘fundamentalism’ may be too much of an abstraction from what are actually a wide range of traditionalist views in diverse ideological and religious systems. Is ‘fundamentalism’ a 1
The best account of American Protestantism is G.M. Marsden, Fundamentalism and American Culture: the shaping of twentieth century evangelicalism, 1870-1925 (New York, Oxford University Press, 1980, 2 2006); see also E.R. Sandeen, The Roots of Fundamentalism: British and American Millenarianism, 1800-1930 (University of Chicago, 1970, 2008). 2 See particularly M.E. Marty and R.S. Appleby, eds., Fundamentalisms Observed and Fundamentalisms Comprehended (The Fundamentalism Project, vols. 1 and 5; University of Chicago, 1991, 1995); also H.A. Harris, ‘How Helpful is the Term “Fundamentalist”?’, in C.H. Partridge, ed., Fundamentalisms (Carlisle, Paternoster, 2001), pp. 3-18. 3 See also H.A. Harris, ‘Protestant Fundamentalism’, in Partridge, ed.,
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Figure 1. The origin of ‘Fundamentalism’: the series of pamphlets entitled ‘The Fundamentals: A Testimony to the Truth’, published in Los Angeles between 1910 and 1915. Fundamentalisms, pp. 33-51. 4 M. Ruthven, Fundamentalism: The Search for Meaning (Oxford University, 2009): ‘In a sense Martin Luther, John Calvin, and other Reformation leaders could be described as “fundamentalists” many centuries before the term was coined, while the Council of Trent can also be seen as a “fundamentalist” or “integralist” response’ (15). 5 J. Barr, Fundamentalism (London, SCM, 1977) 175. 6 Rightly noted by C. H. Partridge in his Introduction to Fundamentalisms xiv. 7 Harris, ‘How Helpful’ 14-16.
British Academy Review, issue 22 (Summer 2013). © The British Academy