Slaves to Faith

A Therapist Looks Inside the Fundamentalist Mind

Inbunden, Engelska, 2009

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As Dr. Mercer posits, the fundamentalist is fundamentally driven by anxiety layered over a fragile sense of self-identity constructed upon a system of beliefs that is both logically inconsistent and highly suspect in light of modern science. As a result, the fundamentalist completely rejects modernity while battling mightily in the arena of national politics and culture to bring about a world that aligns more closely with the fundamentalist worldview.Focusing on Christian fundamentalists, the author puts Christian fundamentalism in its historical and theological contexts. At the same time, Mercer calls upon cognitive theory to explain that the fundamentalist's life story is not particular to Christianity or any other religious belief system but that fundamentalist Catholics, Muslims, Jews, and those of all other faiths share a common psychological profile. Indeed, Mercer insists that if the Christian terminology were eliminated from contemporary fundamentalist Christian rhetoric, what would remain would be a framework that fundamentalists from other religions would find quite familiar and even comforting. In other words, the structure of the fundamentalist worldview, and the psychology beneath it, is pretty much the same across religions. It is a controversial thing to say about Christian fundamentalism, a thesis that has already proved contentious in the author's public appearances, and one that is sure to generate considerable attention and passionate debate as the U.S. populace continues to divide into opposing camps.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2009-04-30
Mått156 x 235 x 27 mm
Vikt907 g
FormatInbunden
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor264
FörlagBloomsbury Publishing Plc
ISBN9780313364969

Tillhör följande kategorier

Religion: allmänt inom Filosofi och religion
Psykologi inom Psykologi och pedagogik
Kristendom inom Filosofi och religion

Calvin Mercer is professor and codirector of the Religious Studies Program at East Carolina University. For twenty years, Dr. Mercer has worked with fundamentalist Christians in the classroom as a professor of biblical studies and in the consulting room as the go-to therapist for fundamentalist Christians in his city. He is coauthor of The Writings of Swami Sivananda (Edwin Mellen, 2007) and co-editor of Religion and the Implications of Radical Life Extension (Palgrave-Macmillan, forthcoming). He has published numerous articles in both religion and psychology journals and has presented a number of papers at the American Academy of Religion and other scholarly societies.

AcknowledgmentsForewordPreface: My Longest EmailIntroductionOne: Who Are the Christians?Two: The Fighting FundamentalistsThree: Fundamentalists Retreat and AdvancePart Two: Core Fundamentalist BeliefsFour: Fundamentalists and the BibleFive: Problems with Fundamentalisms View of the BibleSix: The Jesus QuestionSeven: The RaptureEight: Left Behind TheologyNine: Two Unofficial Fundamentalist DoctrinesPart Three: A Psychological ProfileTen: The Psychological ModelEleven: Profile of the Typical FundamentalistTwelve: The Threat from Rapid Cultural ChangePart Four: Strategies for DialogueThirteen: Talking TheologyFourteen: Talking About the BibleConcluding ReflectionsAppendix 1: Letters from Former Fundamentalist StudentsAppendix 2: An Elementary Guide to Exegeting the BibleBibliographyAbout the AuthorNotes

Mercer (religion and biblical studies, East Carolina U.) is also a clinical psychologist, and draws on both fields to offer advice to colleagues on how to understand and deal with the particular ways of thinking that fundamentalist Christians exhibit. He covers the birth of fundamentalism, core fundamentalist beliefs, a psychological profile, and strategiesfor dialogue. Particular topics include the fundamentalist view of the Bible and problems with it, the Rapture, left-behind theology, the threat from rapid cultural change, and talking theology.