Fundamentalism: When Religion becomes Dangerous

Deutsche Übersetzung von "Fundamentalismus" - diskutiert den Begriff an vielen konkreten Beispieln aus vielen Religionen und Weltanschauungen September 11, bomb attacks in Madrid and London with hundreds of victims, burning automobiles, homes, police stations, and churches all over the world: Truth claims paired with violence or its justification yield fundamentalism. This phenomenon can be found in all religions and worldviews. And yet a critique is justified: The term ‘fundamentalism’ is often used unjustly as a polemical form against those who think differently. This absorbing book enlightens and sensitizes to a serious problem in our terminology which hinders really understanding the problem. As a sociologist the author defines fundamentalism as a militant truth claim and then finds corresponding currents in all religions and worldviews. Prof. Dr. theol. Dr. phil. Thomas Schirrmacher, PhD, ThD, DD, is professor of the sociology of religion at the State University of the West in Timisoara (Romania), Distinguished Professor of Global Ethics and International Development at William Carey University in Shillong (Meghalaya, India), as well as president and professor of ethics at Martin Bucer European Theological Seminary and Research Institutes with branches in Bonn, Berlin, Zurich, Innsbruck, Prague, Istanbul and Sao Paolo. Schirrmacher has held guest professorships and has given special lectures at universities on all continents.Schirrmacher is chair of the Theological Commission of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), director of the International Institute for Religious Freedom (Bonn, Cape Town, Colombo) and Ambassador for Human Rights of WEA; the WEA represents churches with 600 million members altogether. He also is a member of the board of the International Society for Human Rights.Schirrmacher regularly testifies in the German parliament and other parliaments in Europe, as well as in the EU in Brussels, the OSCE in Vienna and other international bodies. His has written 102 books; three of his newest books are Fundamentalism, Racism, and Human Trafficking. He has earned four doctorates, in missiology and ecumenical theology, in cultural anthropology, in ethics, and in sociology of religion, and received two honorary doctorates from the USA and India.