By George A. Boyd ©2002
Fundamentalism in religion has given rise to extreme
beliefs and behavior, up to a willingness to commit acts of terrorism
against innocent people. It is important to understand some of the factors
that lead to a fundamentalist world view and contrast this via a non-fundamentalist
world view.
Affirmations illustrating typical belief positions of
fundamentalist groups are contrasted by alternative statements from a
non-fundamentalist perspective given in the table below:
Fundamentalist Belief
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Non-Fundamentalist Belief
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My scripture is Literal Truth, the infallible Word of God that
is to be obeyed without question. All other teachings are false.
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Scripture contains moral teaching, historical information, symbols
and an overarching cosmology that describes God and the creation
myths, metaphors and spiritual truths; this scripture can guide
my choices and provide material for my meditation and reflection.
It helps construct my personal philosophy and inform conscience,
but it is one of a number of different scriptures that may have
variant beliefs, moral injunctions and proscribed rituals. These
other scriptures may be valid guides for other people, just not
for me.
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My belief in God is the only true one. All others are deceived
and deluded, are infidels or sinners.
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There are many paths to the Divine. While this path speaks to me
and feels like my true path, not everyone has the same calling.
My path may not be appropriate for others, just as their path may
not be appropriate for me. What I believe may not be appropriate
for others.
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Only my Savior, God-man, Prophet or Master is true. All other leaders
are false or are even emissaries of the Devil.
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Like different teachers teach different courses in school, there
are different types of spiritual teachings, and there are teachers
who can guide an individual within the parameters of these teachings.
Each Master Teacher is a channel of the Light for his/her own path
or tradition.
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Only my religions creeds and rituals lead to salvation, all
others are false. Those that adhere to other beliefs and practices
are deluded and will go to Hell, reincarnation or transmigration.
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Creeds create a framework for religious understanding; rituals
permit a participation and identification with ones faith.
There are many cultures with their own costumes, festivals and ceremonies;
so there are many varieties of religious experiences. I must discern
an effective path of salvation that fits with my inner sense of
truth or Dharma.
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My Savior will judge or destroy those who do not believe as I do.
My Savior is coming again and will only embrace those who belong
to my religion. Everyone else will be damned or left out of Heaven,
salvation, or Nirvana.
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Each individual is judged on the thoughts, words and deeds committed
on the body: their afterlife and subsequent incarnations are conditioned
by the karma they generate. While some traditions have cyclical
appearances of the same Master Soul, most traditions are succeeded
by another teacher (parampara) or a modernized teaching for a new
civilization and mileau by another exponent of spirituality.
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Since others are deluded or ignorant, I am justified to convert
others to my faith by whatever means necessary: religious education,
testimonial, evangelism, even forcible conversion. To accomplish
my aims, I may protest against and attack others' beliefs and values;
destroy others icons, idols, or places of worship; even murder
and war, or the sacrifice of my own life are acceptable means of
removing the obstacles to prevent the non-believers from adopting
my faith, and doing what I believe is right.
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Because of others perspectives and level of spiritual evolution,
they cannot necessarily believe the way I do. I should not expect
others to adopt my beliefs or practices. I will attempt to find
my truths for myself without imposing them upon others. I will show
tolerance and respect for those of other faiths. I will attempt
to understand others who hold beliefs different than my own.
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Since my belief is the only true one, I am obligated to convert
as many people as possible before the end of the world, Last Judgment
or Second Coming.
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Conversion is not necessary or even to be encouraged. If asked,
I am willing to share my ideas and beliefs with others. I do not
advocate that others should believe what I believe without verifying
it for themselves on the touchstone of their intuition and meditation
experience.
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People who become fundamentalists may not have been
exposed to other paths or other religions in a positive way. They have
not explored the Great Continuum of Consciousness (GCC) to recognize the
pattern and substrate of other faiths and other perspectives anchored
in other contexts.
Considering that many fundamentalist faiths label other
faiths and even cursory exploration of those other faiths as evil, it
is not surprising that this deterrence of investigation leads to a close-mindedness
of fundamentalists to new ideas from other than their own doctrines.
Breaking Free of Fundamentalism
Many people spend most of their lives locked into a
fundamentalist mindset. The people in their lives maintain the same views;
often their entire culture is steeped in these beliefs and values. The
opportunities to break free of fundamentalism in these insular environments
are rare. When they do occur, these doorways into a world beyond these
restrictive world-views can provide a transition from the emotionalized
realm of blind faith into the experiential and perceptual world of meditation.
These paths of egress include:
1) Encounter with an untenable belief or value
within the fundamentalist doctrine. When a requirement of the faith
does not resonate with a persons inner core of truth (dharma)
and can no longer be rationalized, this may lead individuals to break
with unquestioning faith and begin to critically examine the doctrine.
Finding other flaws, the individual may leave the faith altogether
and seek an alternate belief system.
2) Personal experience of abuse or terrorism at
the hands of fanatical adherents of the faith or the groups
leader. Typically, these attacks may couple messages of shame, guilt
or labeling the individual as a sinner or wicked person who deserves
the abuse. This personalization of the attack can be overcome with
separation from the attack and supportive counseling, for those individuals
fortunate enough to escape from the perpetrators.
3) An opening experience that gives the individual
access to a world outside or beyond the world-view. This may take
the form of the awakening of the Kundalini, leading to an out-of-the-body
encounter with the Soul or near-death experience that shows the attention
new realms of the GCC or an encounter with a guide who takes the individual
beyond the perceptual horizon of the world-view.
4) Transcension through initiation. By moving beyond
the apparent origin of the faith by the transformation of the potentials
of consciousness, the individual enters into a whole new world.
5) Discovery of moral flaws in the leader. Idealization
and overvaluation of the leader, even deification, is common in highly
devotional fundamentalist groups. When the human flaws of the leader
are revealed, it may lead the individual to question not only the
leaders integrity, but also the leaders doctrine.
6) Development of critical thinking. Through the
rigor of higher education, the individual may be led to examine, critique,
modify and jettison beliefs that do not hold up to inquiry. The individual
may form a sharper criterion for truth and may begin to reject the
irrational propositions of faith. By learning the rules of logic,
the arguments of faith may be found to be untenable.
7) Rejection of an overly restrictive lifestyle.
Not all individuals are content to surrender and subjugate all desires,
aspirations and drives. Recognition that one cannot live by a repressive
code may lead to rebellion, then rejection of an overly confining
lifestyle dictated by fundamentalist doctrine.
The blind, unreasoning faith expressed by fundamentalism
has led to inquisitions, wars, acts of terror and wanton destruction of
other cultures and religions. While many locked in the vice of fundamentalistic
doctrines will never get out, and their whole lives will be conditioned
by these beliefs, a small number can and do move away from these teachings.
To the degree that aspirants can remove these restrictive beliefs from
the mind and heart can they truly begin to develop tolerance and understanding.
The goal of spirituality is not to cultivate blind hatred
and intolerance, but understanding and compassion. Viewed from this more
open perspective, you can grant others the freedom to follow their own
path, without imposing your own views and beliefs upon them.
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