Antifundamentalism in Modern America

Harrington Watt David

Description

David Harrington Watt's Antifundamentalism in Modern America gives us a pathbreaking account of the role that the fear of fundamentalism has played-and continues to play-in American culture. Fundamentalism has never been a neutral category of analysis, and Watt scrutinizes the various political purposes that the concept has been made to serve. In 1920, the conservative Baptist writer Curtis Lee Laws coined the word "fundamentalists." Watt examines the antifundamentalist polemics of Harry Emerson Fosdick, Talcott Parsons, Stanley Kramer, and Richard Hofstadter, which convinced many Americans that religious fundamentalists were almost by definition backward, intolerant, and anti-intellectual and that fundamentalism was a dangerous form of religion that had no legitimate place in the modern world. For almost fifty years, the concept of fundamentalism was linked almost exclusively to Protestant Christians. The overthrow of the Shah of Iran and the establishment of an Islamic republic led to a more elastic understanding of the nature of fundamentalism. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Americans became accustomed to using fundamentalism as a way of talking about Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs, and Buddhists, as well as Christians. Many Americans came to see Protestant fundamentalism as an expression of a larger phenomenon that was wreaking havoc all over the world. Antifundamentalism in Modern America is the first book to provide an overview of the way that the fear of fundamentalism has shaped U.S. culture, and it will lead readers to rethink their understanding of what fundamentalism is and what it does.

Sujets

• Histoire
• USA
• Political science of religion
• History of the Americas
• États-Unis

Informations

• Publié par: Cornell University Press
• Date de parution: 09 mai 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781501708541
• Langue: English

Extrait

Antifundamentalismin Modern America

Antifundamentalismin Modern America

DavidHarringtonWatt

CornellUniversityPress IthacaandLondon

Copyright © 2017 by Cornell University

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850.

First published 2017 by Cornell University Press

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

Names: Watt, David Harrington, author. Title: Antifundamentalism in modern America / David Harrington Watt. Description: Ithaca ; London : Cornell University Press, 2017. | Includes  bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2016048570 (print) | LCCN 2016049371 (ebook) |  ISBN 9780801448270 (cloth : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781501708534 (pdf) |  ISBN 9781501708541 (epub/mobi) Subjects: LCSH: Religious fundamentalism—History. | Religious  fundamentalism—United States—History. | Religion and politics—  United States. Classification: LCC BL238 .W38 2017 (print) | LCC BL238 (ebook) |  DDC 200.973/09051—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016048570

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Cover design by David Baldeosingh Rotstein.

ForD.M.S.,D.V.S.,andW.R.H.

Prefaceix

Acknowledgmentsxix

Contents

Introduction:PuttingFundamentalismtoWork

1.Skeptics16

2.Defenders32

3.TheFirstFundamentalists49

4.Invention68

5.Ratification86

6.TheDustbinofHistory104

7.Reinvention123

8.Zenith142

Conclusion:TheFutureofFundamentalism163

1

vi i i

Contents

ChronologyofEvents177

ChronologyofInterpretations179

Notes181

Select Bibliography199

Index213

Preface

Whatisfundamentalism?Whatdofundamentalistsbelieve?Whatdothey do? What can we do to keep fundamentalists from obstructing human progress? Americanshavebeendiscussingthesequestionssince1920—theyear in which the word “fundamentalist” first entered the English language. Their attempts to answer them are the focus of this book.Antifunda mentalismtraces how the meaning of fundamentalism has changed over time and explores how the label “fundamentalists” came to be assigned to a great many people who were sure that they were not, in fact, funda- mentalists. It explores Americans’ fears about the destructive power of religion and their efforts to distinguish “good” religious practices from “dangerous” ones. InJuly2006,SalimChowdhuryandIhiredacyclerickshawtotake us from the University of Dhaka to the headquarters of Jamaat-e-Islami, 1 at that time part of the coalition that governed Bangladesh.Members of Jamaat-e-Islami played an important role in the deliberations of Parlia- 2 ment, and the party held two posts in the cabinet.

x

Preface

Thebuildingthatservedastheparty’sheadquarterswasnotinanex- clusive neighborhood and it was not especially large; it seemed to consist of only eight or nine rooms. The file cabinets, desks, chairs, and couches with which the office was furnished were not at all flashy: they looked like the sort of furniture one might find in a middle-class home or in a history department of a university that did not have a great deal of money. The posters that served as decorations for the walls carried slogans that were meant to be inspirational. Some of the posters were slightly tattered. To me, the headquarters of Jamaat-e-Islami seemed quite modest. It was an attractive enough place, but it certainly was not majestic or awe-inspir- ing. Given that Jamaat-e-Islami was, in the summer of 2006, one of the more powerful political parties in one of the most populous nations in the world, its offices were remarkably unpretentious. Chowdhury,whotaughtintheUniversityofDhaka’sDepartmentof World Religions, introduced himself to the dozen or so men who were working in the front offices of the building. Then he introduced me and told them that I was in Bangladesh to deliver some lectures. The men all seemed genuinely happy to see Chowdhury and me, and they all seemed eager to make sure that we felt like welcome guests. We exchanged pleasantries and then made the ritualistic exchange of business cards that seems to be a part of all meetings in Bangladesh. After the exchange of cards, Chowdhury and I were ushered into the study of one of the most powerful and learned of 3 Jamaat-e-Islami’s leaders, a man named Bashir Khan. After a few minutes, Khan entered the room, greeted Chowdhury and me warmly, and arranged to have us brought water to drink and slices of mango to eat. Khanwasahandsomemanwithapleasingvoice.Hismannerswere impeccable. And he was also remarkably intelligent—a good deal more intelligent than most of the American politicians I have met. Khan knew a great deal about many topics and he was a wonderful conversationalist. He talked to Chowdhury for a while in Bangla about matters that did not concern me and then politely asked why I had wanted to meet with him. I told him that between giving my lectures, I was trying to learn as much as I could about Bangladeshi religion and politics and that I had been repeat- edly struck by the fact that many people I had met during my travels had very strong views concerning Jamaat-e-Islami. Thatwasactuallysomethingofanunderstatement.Jamaat-e-Islamiis strongly committed to refashioning Bangladeshi culture and society so that