Adam, Raoul (2011) An epistemic theory of religious fundamentalism. International Journal of Religion and Spirituality in Society, 1 (1). pp. 81-95.

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Abstract

This paper introduces an epistemic theory of religious fundamentalism. Binary Epistemic Theory (BET) locates fundamentalism as a relationally dualistic, literalistic, and absolutistic "way of knowing" within a cycle charaterised by the creation, emergence, opposition, convergence, and collapse of binaries (e.g. good and evil, subject and object, faith and reason). The theory foregrounds the complexity of epistemic encounters with relativity. Such encounters remain understated in traditional teleological or linear theories of development that privilege growth beyond relativism (e.g. Perry, 1999/1970; Fowler, 1981). Accordingly, BET engages linear and cyclic interpretations of epistemic trajectories in order to argue for a "relational and contextual understanding" (Reich, 2002) of fundamentalist ways of knowing.

Item ID:	17399
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	2154-8641
Keywords:	fundamentalism, epistemics, epistemology, religious development, Binary Epistemic Theory (BET)
Date Deposited:	06 Jul 2011 03:57
FoR Codes:	17 PSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITIVE SCIENCES > 1701 Psychology > 170111 Psychology of Religion @ 50% 22 PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES > 2204 Religion and Religious Studies > 220499 Religion and Religious Studies not elsewhere classified @ 50%
SEO Codes:	95 CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING > 9504 Religion and Ethics > 950404 Religion and Society @ 50% 95 CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING > 9504 Religion and Ethics > 950406 Religious Traditions (excl. Structures and Rituals) @ 50%
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