Fundamentalism

Fundamentalism is the persistent refusal to apply the three central concepts of ethics. It is extreme fanaticism, which turns against ethics.

Central concept: Knowledge is a prerequisite for ethics

Fundamentalism restricts itself to a single source of knowledge. Fundamentalism refuses to examine this single source of knowledge from the prespective of changed circumstances and new insights.

Central concept 2: Knowledge changes what ethical decisions are

Fundamentalists are not open to changing their mind about ethical decisions. As only a single, static source of knowledge is recognised as the universal solution, as the universal salvation, all other knowledge is excluded.

Central concept 3: Ethics forces us to verify knowledge

Fundamentalism refuses to verify knowledge. It is a refusal to think.

relegere vs. religare

These three central concepts of ethics precisely describe the original meaning of religion:

Latin relegere: "to consider carefully, to contemplate, to think about repeatedly, to be thoughtful in view of an important issue“.

Centuries later, the derivation of the word religion was held to be:

Latin religare: "to tie to something, to bind fast", which tends in the direction of the definition of fundamentalism.