“GOD, SAVE ME!” : North American Fundamentalism

Fundamentalism is generally understood as a social phenomenon that persists on a stream of religious ideas sustained and dictated by a religious group or community that believes that only its vision or doctrine holds the title of divine truth. This definition encompasses any type of religion or belief, not only confined to Eastern or monotheistic religions, as is commonly believed by the general public.

The term "fundamentalism" originated in the United States in the early 20th century with the texts The Fundamentals, published between 1910 and 1915 by two evangelical brothers and merchants, who aimed to compile writings from conservative theologians at the turn of the century.

American fundamentalism is proportional to the rise of the American state itself. It is a constant in the history of the United States, as Castells affirms. This idea begins with the post-revolutionary federalists, among them Timothy Dwight and Jedidiah Morse. In reality, these post-revolutionaries inherited a line of thought from English and Irish Puritans who fled Roman Apostolic Christian rule in the old continent. At its core, it condemned the "evils of globalization," that is, all the burdens brought by the modernization of global society. It viewed the frantic search for social transformation as the great evil of the era, responsible for the disintegration of Christian institutions, moral rules, and the entire social structure preached by the sacred writings of the Bible.

However, fundamentalism is not limited to the American social order, transcending also into the political-institutional sectors of the country itself, where it gained significant representation. American Christianity selects elements it considers to be "enemies of the nation and Christianity," a perception understood by society as a real threat that must be fought.

In the 1950s, during the height of the Cold War, the enemy of conservative Christianity was the "communist satan," which gave rise to McCarthyism, a bill passed by Senator Joseph McCarthy that pursued and captured those with ideals or practices deemed communist, in a movement known as the "witch hunts." After this, Christian fundamentalism faced an identity crisis, as there was no longer a concrete enemy. In the 1990s, with the election of Bill Clinton, fundamentalism took a leap into the political scene through a Christian coalition with the conservative party, led by Pat Robertson and Ralph Reed, with about 1.5 million members and considerable political influence over the Republican electorate.

Other factors demonstrate the strength of American Christianity: surveys conducted in the 1970s indicate that one in three adults has had religious conversion experiences, and more than 80% of the population believes that Jesus Christ is a divine being. Evangelical sentiment is, in fact, the main combustion of the fundamentalist network, as it is believed that all social, political, and economic sectors (such as libertarianism, for example) should follow the same evangelical segment.

There are four sets of beliefs that support this network: the first is absolute faith based on the Bible, the sole holder of truth; the second is individual salvation through faith in Christ, according to which all those who accept Jesus will be saved and go to the kingdom of heaven; the third is hope in the return of Christ; and the fourth is support for other Christian doctrines, in order to spread the gospel in different layers of faith. The central act shaping Christianity is conversion, which involves accepting Christ as Savior and Guardian.

The Christian fundamentalist network believes that the main institutional axis and coordinator of the entire religious apparatus is the family. The family is seen as the space where individuals learn Christian teachings and as the "refuge" in a chaotic and hostile world. This social axis is based on the principle of patriarchy, the authority of men over women, and the strict obedience of children, often reinforced by coercive methods, such as physical aggression if necessary. Some argue that humans are born in sin, and it is up to the family to detect this tendency toward evil and educate for obedience to parents and the fear of God.

In the 1970s and 1980s, after considering enemies of Christianity to be bankers, communists, heretics, and Jews, Christian fundamentalism began targeting homosexuals and feminists. These groups, emerging at the time with the global flow of transnationalist movements, were seen as threats due to their break with the traditional family structure, considered the foundation of social stability and personal fulfillment. The fight against abortion symbolized one of the greatest efforts to defend the nuclear family and the values of life and Christianity, becoming one of the central causes of Christian fundamentalist militancy in the United States.

Who are the contemporary American Christian fundamentalists? This question is addressed in Castells' work, which is based on the ideas of Clyde Wilcox. He presents statistical data comparing evangelicals to the rest of the population and concludes that contemporary fundamentalists are, in general, poorer, with lower education levels, more influential among housewives, and primarily live in the northern part of the country. They are more religious than in the past and consider the Bible to be an infallible book. Other sources indicate that they are concentrated in the southern and southeastern regions, especially California, in newly established service sectors and expanding population areas.

This shows that, regardless of how many generations pass, the goal of fundamentalism is to preserve ideas and behavioral standards of a rural character in increasingly urbanized areas. The process of globalization, according to Misztal and Shupe, has promoted Christian fundamentalism in a dialectical way.

In conclusion, it can be stated that Christian fundamentalism fears the end of patriarchy, visible in the increase of late marriages, the growing number of divorces, and failed unions, consequences of movements arising with globalization and the subsequent social crisis.

In the political field, through coalitions within governmental institutions, even after the collapse of the USSR and the end of the Cold War, fundamentalism continued to oppose the so-called "world government." It criticized international organizations, such as the UN and the IMF, for imposing sanctions on the United States due to alleged bad practices in the international arena. The movement viewed these institutions as threats to the sovereignty and authority of the US federal government and opposed the new world order marked by multipolarity and the growing influence of international organizations.

Bibliography

CASTELLS, Manuel. Paraísos comunais: identidade e significado na sociedade em rede: Deus me salve! O fundamentalismo cristão norte-americano. In: CASTELLS, Manuel et al. O poder da Identidade. 2. ed. São Paulo: Paz e Terra, 2008. v. 2, cap. 1, p. 38-43. ISBN 85-219-0336-7.