Religious Fundamentalism in Eight Muslim‐Majority Countries: Reconceptualization and Assessment

Abstract

To capture the common features of diverse fundamentalist movements, overcome etymological variability, and assess predictors, religious fundamentalism is conceptualized as a set of beliefs about and attitudes toward religion, expressed in a disciplinarian deity, literalism, exclusivity, and intolerance. Evidence from representative samples of over 23,000 adults in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Turkey supports the conclusion that fundamentalism is stronger in countries where religious liberty is lower, religion less fractionalized, state structure less fragmented, regulation of religion greater, and the national context less globalized. Among individuals within countries, fundamentalism is linked to religiosity, confidence in religious institutions, belief in religious modernity, belief in conspiracies, xenophobia, fatalism, weaker liberal values, trust in family and friends, reliance on less diverse information sources, lower socioeconomic status, and membership in an ethnic majority or dominant religion/sect. We discuss implications of these findings for understanding fundamentalism and the need for further research.

Linking ethical leadership and ethical climate to employees' ethical behavior: the moderating role of person–organization fit

“…Another limitation was that the findings of this study were based on a sample in a Middle Eastern cultural context such as in Iraq. Perhaps, the particular cultural features of this context, which encompassed, among other things, a strong adherence to religious values (Moaddel, 2010), could have influenced the findings of this study. It is true that the effects of differences (P-O fit) are highly likely to replicate across cultural contexts (Triandis et al, 1988).…”

Studying Religiosity and Spirituality: A Review of Macro, Micro, and Meso-Level Approaches

“…The micro-level approaches within Africa included three books (Oxford University Press, Routledge, and Lexington Books: Ackah et al 2017;Bragg et al 2015;, 2 conference papers (Adogame and Amwe 2019; Swidler 2019), one report (Chilimampunga and Thindwa 2012), and 15 journal articles. The journals were: Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion (4), the Australasian Review of African Studies (3), Religions (2), and one each from: African Studies Review, the George Washington International Law Review, HTS Teologiese Studies, Medical Anthropology Quarterly, OKH Journal, and PloS One (Ashforth 2015;Dicks 2013;McNamara 2015;Van Der Meer 2013;Mgbako and Glenn 2011;Schoeman 2017;Agadjanian and Yabiku 2015;Beck and Gundersen 2016;Hayford and Trinitapoli 2011;Moaddel and Karabenick 2018;Launiala and Honkasalo 2010;Nyasulu 2020;Pell et al 2013;Huber and Huber 2012;Tarusarira 2020). The studied countries include: Malawi (9), Ghana (3), South Africa (2), Burkina Faso (1), Egypt (1), Kenya (1), Zimbabwe (1), Morocco (1), Mozambique (1), Nigeria (1), and Sudan (1).…”

“…The other 16 are journal articles published in: the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion (10), Religions (3), International Journal of Behavioral Development (1), Personality and Individual Differences (1), and Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (1). Combined, the Asian countries studied in all the sampled micro-level publications included: Turkey (7), China (4), Taiwan ( 3), South Korea (3), India (2), Indonesia (2), Israel (2), Thailand (2), Bangladesh (1), Burkina Faso (1), Cyprus (1), Japan (1), Jordan (1), Kuwait (1), Kyrgyzstan (1), and Russia (1): (Bender 2013;Roberts 2016;Salvatore et al 2020;Güngör et al 2012;Bennett and Einolf 2017;González 2011;Gries et al 2012;Hu et al 2017;Liu 2010;Moaddel and Karabenick 2018;Sarkissian 2012;Voas 2014;Wei and Liu 2013;Zhai and Woodberry 2011;Yilmaz et al 2016;Cohen et al 2017;Huber and Huber 2012;Koenig and Büssing 2010;Lee and Baumann 2019).…”

On the rewards of being open to opportunities and their challenges

“…Finally, like my collaboration with Moosa, interdisciplinary collaboration with Mansoor Moaddel, a sociologist colleague with expertise in Middle Eastern religions, provided the opportunity for me to examine relations between religious fundamentalist beliefs and peoples' reliance on information and attitudes from religious and secular authorities. We devised a scale to assess religious fundamentalism defined as a set of beliefs about religion rather than specific religious beliefs and tested it on representative adult populations in eight Middle Eastern countries (Moaddel & Karabenick, 2018).…”