Customer Reviews

Strong Religion: The Rise of Fundamentalisms around the World (The Fundamentalism Project)

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Frankly, I couldn't put the book down. Although it is somewhat academic in its organization and writing style, I found it totally engaging. The authors outline the incredible rise and spread of fundamentalism in the 20th century and the similarities and differences among the movement as it is found in the various religions: Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and even Buddhism. Having encountered fundamentalism at different times in my own life, I could relate to the whys and hows of people being pulled into such a movement. The authors do not leave us without hope. By understanding how fundamentalism rises, what the leaders are like, and the stages of such a movement, there are ways that we can work with this to bring these people back into the mainstream. Not easy, but also not impossible.
Read more at http://www.gettingtomaybe.com. Essays on Tolerance, Compassion, Wisdom, and Courage.

Well written and carefully researched book, timely thinking on the rise of global religious fundamentalism. I haven't finished it yet, but I'm finding it fascinating. I got it out of the library, now I'm here to buy it.

Some highly respected scholars, like Karen Armstrong and Bernard Lewis, are able to write serious books that are also readable enough to attract a broad audience. But "Strong Religion" is unlikely to have much appeal outside of academic circles.

I'm an atheist with a strong interest in religious fundamentalism. So I had high expectations for this book. It does cover a wide cross section of fundamentalist sects, including not only Christian evangelicals, Islamic extremists and radical Jews but also Hindu nationalists, Sikh separatists and even militant Buddhists. I appreciated how this book demonstrated the underlying similarities between these fundamentalist groups and how they all represent a potential threat to modern, secular society as well as religious pluralism and tolerance.

But, unfortunately, the book is so full of academic jargon and repetitious examples that I found it a struggle to get through. I was expecting a serious and challenging read. But the consistently dull analysis of structure, organization and methodology caused a very compelling subject to become quite boring. This book accomplishes it's academic goals. But the dry writing style will turn off many readers.