The resurgence of religious fundamentalism of all types apears to reflect a longing for the coherence of time-proven culture.

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Re-establishment of traditional forms of culture is the sine qua non of Islamic fundamentalism.  But what about fundamentalism in other religions, like Christianity?

Fundamentalists are by and large the least concerned of  Christians with abstact, fancy theology and cosmology.  (As the bumper sticker has it,   "God said it. I believe it.  That settles it.")  Fundamentalist Christians place their emphasis more on direct, personal experience and the business of day-to-day living.  

But an effort to live according to fundamentalist religious precepts almost cannot help but spill over into applying one's beliefs to questions of the proper structuring of the social order.  It is therefore unsurprising that fundamentalists are among the most politically active of Christians, involving themselves in everything from abortion laws to to school curricula.   Fundamentalists also tend to favor more traditional family roles for men and women.

And if we include in our examination of this phenomenon the Southern Baptists, who tend to be the closest to fundamentalism of the more mainstream branches of Christianity, it is also entirely in character for them to be the ones boycotting Disney over issues of family values.

(c) COPYRIGHT 1998 ROBERT WINTER.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.