For some time, I have been wondering what’s wrong with the term Radical Islam. Actually, the definition of the term salafism – an ultra-conservative orthodox or fundamentalist approach to Islam – made me realise what was missing. In Judaism, this same behaviour is called sephardism. And in Christianity it’s called Christian fundamentalism. Contrary to popular thinking, religious fundamentalism relates to Christianity, Islam and Judaism. In essence, they are the New Radicals.
Wikipedia: The term Fundamentalism usually has a religious connotation indicating unwavering attachment to a set of irreducible beliefs, but fundamentalism has come to be applied to a broad tendency among certain groups, mainly, although not exclusively, in religion. This tendency is most often characterised by a markedly strict literalism as applied to certain specific scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, and a strong sense of the importance of maintaining ingroup and outgroup distinctions, leading to an emphasis on purity and the desire to return to a previous ideal from which it is believed that members have begun to stray. Rejection of diversity of opinion as applied to these established “fundamentals” and their accepted interpretation within the group is often the result of this tendency.
When I entered the Google search term “religious fundamentalism site:psychologytoday.com”, I noticed an intriguing article: Why Are Religious People (Generally) Less Intelligent? I hadn’t even considered that angle for this blog. Perhaps that omission makes me less intelligent as I’m a Believer (see August 26 blog) although within all of the 7 Belief systems – not just in one of the seven corners.
This PT article is about a 2013 meta-analysis on the negative correlation between IQ and religious beliefs. The key question is why religious people are generally less intelligent. And the authors [ ] are offering three compelling explanations: (1) Intelligent people are generally more analytical and data-driven, (2) Intelligent people are less likely to conform, and (3) Intelligence and religiosity are “functionally equivalent”, which means that they fulfil the same psychological role. (PT)
On a superficial level this all makes sense but not when you give it some more thought. I am glad that the article’s writer also realised that something was missing: “However, the authors forget to consider an important possibility, which is that the relationship between IQ and religiosity could be caused by a third variable, namely personality“. (PT)
PsychologyToday: “Indeed, Openness to Experience, a personality dimension that predicts an individual’s propensity to display higher levels of intellectual curiosity, aesthetic sensitivity, and be driven by counter-conformist and rebellious attitudes, is positively correlated with IQ, and, like IQ, stable from an early age. Furthermore, there is also ample evidence suggesting that higher Openness may cause IQ gains in adulthood because open individuals are more likely to invest time and resources acquiring expertise and knowledge”.
The writer fails to nail his arguments although he comes a long way. Narrow mindedness or closed mindedness are the opposite of open mindedness. Narrow mindedness or closed mindedness are the true symptoms of adhering to only 1 of the 7 Belief systems – Religion in this case.
I am a Believer – of Love, Money, Philosophy, Politics, Religion, Science, Truth – not just Religion.
The New Radicals – You Get What You Give (1998) – artists, lyrics, Wiki-1, Wiki-2
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