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What are fundamentalist beliefs?
1Philosophy Department (Faculty of Humanities) & Faculty of Religion and Theology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Journal of Political Ideologies
|January 6, 2025
Summary
This study critically reviews common characteristics of fundamentalist beliefs, proposing a new Content-Reaction-Affect model. This framework offers a clearer, more fruitful understanding of fundamentalist ideology and its associated psychological factors.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Social Epistemology
- Philosophy of Mind
Background:
- Fundamentalist beliefs are frequently linked to extremism, radicalization, and terrorism.
- Existing definitions and operationalizations in psychology lack consensus.
- Commonly cited elements include intellectual vices, group dynamics, certainty, and specific content.
Purpose of the Study:
- To critically evaluate the commonly attributed elements of fundamentalist beliefs.
- To propose a novel theoretical account of fundamentalist belief.
- To offer a definition that is accurate, precise, fair, clear, and fruitful.
Main Methods:
- Critical review of existing literature on fundamentalist beliefs.
- Drawing on recent developments in social epistemology.
- Development of the Content-Reaction-Affect (CRA) account.
Main Results:
- Challenged traditional notions of intellectual vices in fundamentalism.
- Introduced the Content-Reaction-Affect (CRA) account as a new model.
- Demonstrated the theoretical and practical utility of the CRA account.
Conclusions:
- The Content-Reaction-Affect account provides a robust framework for understanding fundamentalist beliefs.
- This new model offers improved clarity and precision over existing definitions.
- The CRA account has significant implications for both theoretical research and practical applications in psychology and related fields.
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