Why do fundamentalist of any religion become the perceived face of the mainstream religion?

Question

I understand the they will get more press, but does that really account for the public perception? Is the Great British public (or American for that matter) really that naive?

Answer 1

because extremists are the media's darlings. It's not newsworthy to portray your everyday Christians, or Muslims, or anyone from any other religion.

Today's media is all about sound bytes and shock value. if it's not shocking it won't make it to the media.

Answer 2

Yeah the fundamentalists get all the attention because of their crazy actions. Actually less than 1% of Muslims are fundamentalists and the majority do not act out as many of the extremists have (Note: There's a difference between fundamentalist and extremist).

Answer 3

Because those who yell the loudest are the easiest to hear.
And the press always picks up what is unusual or extreme, not mainsteam and average.
Plus, fundamentalists tend to claim that all others in their religion aren't *real* Christians/Muslims/etc, that they are just a hypocritical watered-down version of the "real" religion.

Might doesn't make right, though....

Answer 4

Because they tend to be very LOUD.

It isn't just the christians who have fundies, by the way. Muslims, Atheists (and yes, I consider that a 'religion') Wiccans and even we Asatruar have them. And they annoy me sooooo bad.

May I rant for a moment? Why, thank you!

I once bumped into a 'fundie' type of my very own faith. HE accused ME of being the fundie! Why? Because I was dressed in street clothes? Our ancestors certainly did NOT run around the woods 'playing caveman', so why should I run around 'playing viking'?

Well, once the cops pried me off him and I got bailed out, my friend Vasily nearly fell out laughing. He KNEW the guy! He says, right to my face, I might add, "I was wondering when you two fundies were going to bump into each other...."

Excuse me? What the mother plucking?????

That was my second arrest in one day.

Some day I'll go for the Arrest Trifecta. I swear I will.

~Morg~

Answer 5

The squeaky wheel.....
They are the most passionate and speak their minds. And if what they say is the only thing you ever learn about the religion, it is a common error in logic to assume all believe in the same principles.

If we don't educate ourselves (and most of us don't) we don't know the mainstream tenets of any given religion. Most religions have schism's amongst their own believers.

Answer 6

It's the old "squeaky wheel gets the grease" phenomenon.

In this case, "the press".

Fundies of any stripe tend to spread a lot of hate and discontent because - for a fundy ICXCian or a Muslim - they tend to say that any way but theirs is going to send you to hell. And they say it loudly. And the press pays attention.

"Middle-of-the-roaders" like me - well - we just don't seem to make enough noise to get the publicity.

We're too busy feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, finding shelter for the homeless....

Answer 7

Good question.

They're the ones threatening everyone's freedoms, so they are in the news more often? Or perhaps because they're more vocal. This shouldn't be. I wish more Christians who believe in freedom of religion and separation of church and state would speak out.

Answer 8

Because they are the ones who get in your face! It stands to reason then that they are"representing" that religion. (What distinction exactly are you making between "fundamentalist" and "mainstream" anyway?)

Answer 9

They are the loudest and cause the most damage... to others and themselves. And people tend to remember hurts a bit more quickly than they remember the good in any given group.

Answer 10

“Religion is back on the agenda, not because of a resurgence in spirituality in our consumerist society, but because of the excesses it inspires in extremists of all faiths.”
(Ruth Gledhill, The Times

Above quote seems to answer your question pretty well don't you think!