New item in the Archive for Religion and Cognition:


Click on: http://www.csr-arc.com//view.php?arc=18

Author(s): Adam, R. J.
Title: Fundamentalism: A Synthesis of Cognitive and Cultural Perspectives
Category: published article
Length: 10
Keywords: fundamentalism; cognitive development; culture; Piaget; Fowler;
religious development

Abstract: This article proposes a synthesis of cultural and cognitive
perspectives on religious fundamentalism. Cultural perspectives provide insights
into the contents of fundamentalisms in socio-historical contexts. Cognitive
perspectives provide insights
into the cognitive operations that contribute to a fundamentalist mentality. A
synthesis of the two perspectives reveals significant interactions between
cultural contents and cognitive operations. I apply a neo-Piagetian
interactionist theory of cognitive development to engage the cultural content of
religious fundamentalisms. I provide illustrative examples of cultural contents
from Christian and Muslim fundamentalisms that reflect and perpetuate a
particular type of cognitive structure. The synthesis contributes to the
understanding and engagement of religious fundamentalism.

For further questions concerning ARC, please feel free to contact us.

http://www.csr-arc.com/