Why are there so many fundamentalist Christians in the USA?

Question

in particular.. and note that I dd not say Christians... I said fundamentalist Christians

fundamentalism does not equal freedom of religion.. that is an oxymoron!!

fundamentalism does not equal freedom of religion.. that is an oxymoron!!

P.S I am not based in the US I'm in the UK

Answer 1

Having a president whose war mongering could possibly cause a biological retaliation that would result in many US casualties is a good incentive for people to believe in the afterlife.
Christianity is the most popular religion in the US and therefor most likely to attract those is need of comfort and reassurance.
Fear pushes people to extremes and Fundamentalism reassures its converts that there is no room for doubt. This enables Fundamentalist to sleep in the smug 'knowledge' that when they die, their place in heaven is assured. Very similar to Muslim Fundamentalists but less prone to individual violence.

Answer 2

Fundamentalism has been around for 120 years or so. Fundamentalism, as originally described, was not such a bad thing... returning to the fundamental principles of "Love thy neighbor". What has really become radical in the past 15-20 years is literalism, taking the Bible as literal truth. No major religion has ever been literalist to the extreme that we see today until fairly recently.

There are two basic reasons for this.

First, the illiteracy of the church as a whole. We are turning more to feel-good spirituality where everyone is entitled to a valid opinion of their faith and their doctrine. Since few take the time to learn Hebrew, Greek, Latin... we take our information from English language Bibles (with all their inherent flaws) and manufacture theology. And oldest must be truest, so we make an even worst decision to follow only the King James Bible, which is the most flawed of all.

Second is the parallel path of blindly following the loudest voices and the most spectacular spectacles. Large mega churches have grown because of these flawed theologies being matched with exorbitant amounts of money. We no longer seek sound theology, just that which will supposedly guarentee our salvation. But what is interesting is that despite the enormous growth of such churches, Christianity isn't growing, it is in decline. Which means that people find this kind of religion unsatisfying over the long haul.

Answer 3

I detect a not of sarcasm in this question, as if being a fundamentalist is somehow bad. Fundamentalist, is used in a very derogitory manner by the main-stream drive-by media. If you asked a media person to define fundamentalist, you would get a definition that would include things like racist, bigotted, homophobic, close-minded etc.

Historically, Europe was dominated by the Catholic Church (or Church of England in Britain). Groups such as the English Puritans (and similar groups such as the French Huguenots) were persecuted and prosecuted for rejecting the non-Bible based teaching of the Catholic Church, and consequently emigrated to what was to become the USA for purposes of religious freedom. Consequently, a huge number of initial American immigrants were Protestants, but also held wildly diverse beliefs. Therefore the USA has become the most religiously tolerant nation in the world. Our ancestors were Protestants, so many of us are today.

Answer 4

What do you mean by fundamentalist?
Nearly everyone believes in some fundamental precepts, surely?

I guess you mean people who believe that the Bible is the word of God?

Well their nation was founded on Christian principles, and fortunately for them, they've held on to them better than we have in the UK.

Many of these principles are common to other religions too - love your neighbour, respect for others, acceptance that marriage is of foundational importance to society, etc.

Unfortunately in the UK we have rejected God's word over the last 100 years or so, and the results are clear to see.

The present day secular humanist claims that they are more tolerant than fundamentalist Christians, yet they are strangely intolerant of said fundamentalist Christians.

Answer 5

yes, that is why there are so many mosques, temples and synagoues there, unlike some countries.

that is why every person is equal in the eyes of the law regardless of religion, unlike some countries.

that is why more non-christians are trying to enter America everyday, unlike other countries.

that is why you allowed to bring other religious material into America unlike other countries.

that is why you will not be jailed for organsing other religious gatherings (at home or anyway).

Of course, there are fundamentalists everywhere, but having a strong opinion it not the same as fundamentalism.

Answer 6

I think it is because the USA was founded upon Anglican principles of freedom, happiness, and most importantly, they don't have BBC to give a more global perspective.
Charles "That Cheeky Lad"

Answer 7

Because the laws of the US were based mainly off of Christian beliefs and since we have free speech and freedom of religion the fundamentalists feel that they need to share their opinions with everyone and make themselves heard for the betterment of our society...even though just as many people oppose their beliefs as believe in them.

Answer 8

Because that is the way the American right wing mind works, the sooner this country is obliterated the better

Answer 9

freedom of religion and a general level of tolerance ( this covers Christians )

a lack of education and an overdeveloped sense of - as long as it doesn't hurt me ( this covers fundamentalist ) - I'm not all that tolerant of idiocy

Answer 10

We had the "Red Scare" here back in the 50s and the nutters saw it as an excellent opportunity to convert people to Christianity as they were so afraid of that godless Communism.

We were NOT founded by Christans. Please stop that bit of misinformation.