Encyclopedia of Fundamentalism (Religion and Society) [Hardcover]

Brenda E. Brasher (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0415922445 | ISBN-13: 978-0415922449 | Publication Date: October 19, 2001 | Edition: 1

This new encyclopedia follows a broad definition of fundamentalism and covers fundamentalism across time and place, although the emphasis remains on its primary manifestation: Protestant fundamentalism in the United States. Entries include: * angels * Armenianism * Aryan Nation * William Jennings Bryan * Campus Crusade for Christ * dispensationalism * Druze * evangelicalism * evil * Jerry Falwell * final judgment * Great Awakening * Hasidic Jews * intifada * Keswick movement * Ayatollah Khomeini * Dwight Moody * Scofield Reference Bible * televangelism * and many more.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Last year, as the first two volumes in its "Religion & Society" series, Routledge published Encyclopedia of Millennialism and Millennial Movements and Encyclopedia of African and African-American Religions. This new volume on fundamentalism is of the same outstanding quality. Brasher (religion, Mount Union Coll.) comes particularly well prepared to edit this work, having authored Godly Women: Fundamentalism and Female Power and, more recently, Give Me That Online Religion. Here she defines fundamentalism as "orthodoxy in confrontation with modernity," making it broadly applicable not just to Christianity but to other religions as well. Nearly 200 entries by 100 anthropologists, historians, sociologists, and religious scholars cover the full range of fundamentalism, from definition, history, and beliefs to movements and churches, significant individuals, and expressions in various world religions. Creationism, fascism, rock music, and the Taliban are a sample of the topics covered. The contributors provide clear, readable explanations, and bibliographic resources are given at the end of each article. Whether your readers need a means of rapid entree into research on fundamentalism or simply a general reference, this beautifully laid-out work is the one to have. Strongly recommended for all libraries. William P. Collins, Library of Congress

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Part of Routledge's Religion and Society series of reference sources that cover various aspects of religious experience from a cross-cultural perspective, this encyclopedia discusses and analyzes the concept of fundamentalism in American Protestant Christianity and other religious traditions and cultures.

In her introduction, editor Brasher treats fundamentalism primarily as "a widespread, populist, socio-economic movement that emerged in twentieth-century Christian Protestantism." But she defines the scope of this encyclopedia broadly, noting that the term fundamentalism can be applied to movements within different religious traditions. "These movements," Brasher states, "attempted to blockade religious authority from most, if not all, outside critique, and fence off adherents from the influence of contemporary culture beyond their religion."

The clearly written, alphabetically arranged entries range in length from one to seven pages, and each ends with an author byline and a short bibliography. Some of the longer articles also include sidebars with textual excerpts from documents related to the topic of the entry. There are a few marginally relevant black-and-white photos interspersed throughout the book. Entry topics include major fundamentalist movements and sects (there are long entries on Catholic, Hindu, Islamic, and Jewish fundamentalism but none on Buddhist or Confucian Fundamentalism); significant creeds (Creationism, Cult of Mary, Westminster Confession); historical events (Azusa Street Revival, Great Awakening) ; and social and political issues that are important to fundamentalists (Abortion, Antifeminism, Militia). Biographical information on key figures in the history of fundamentalism is interwoven into the text of many of the entries.

Entries such as Bible study, Evil, Free will, Miracles, Prophecy, and Sin and sinners are exclusively or mostly discussed in a Protestant fundamentalist context. Information in entries dealing with topics related to Judaism is sometimes set in a Christian context, for example, the Hebrew Bible is called the "Old Testament," the Western Wall is called the "Wailing Wall," and an entry on Elohim (one of the words for God used in the Hebrew Bible) discusses its interpretation by Christian fundamentalists but not their Jewish counterparts.

Although most elements of this encyclopedia are covered adequately in a combination of other broader reference works (e.g., Encyclopedia of Religion [Macmillan, 1995] and Encyclopedia of American Social History [Macmillan, 1993]) the Encyclopedia of Fundamentalism provides the most comprehensive and accurate coverage of Protestant Fundamentalism; its entries of non-Protestant Fundamentalism are less complete. Recommended for academic libraries, large public libraries, and seminary libraries. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 576 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (October 19, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415922445
• ISBN-13: 978-0415922449
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.9 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #371,577 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Misleading, July 6, 2006

By 

J. Bailey (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Encyclopedia of Fundamentalism (Religion and Society) (Hardcover)

Fundamentalist Christians use the Bible as their "Encyclopedia". They have open minds to new ways of looking at things, as long as the proposal is accompanied by a contextual look at relevant scripture.

I can't speak for anyone else's religion, and neither should the author. It's significant this was published in September 2001...