Do fundamentalisms tend toward political activism, and how successful have they been in remaking political structures? To answer this question, the contributors to this volume—political scientists, historians of religion, anthropologists, and sociologists—discuss the anti-abortion movement, Operation Rescue in the United States, the Islamic war of resistance in Afghanistan, Shi'ite jurisprudence in Iran, and other issues. The volume considers the effect that antisecular religious movements have had over the past twenty-five years on national economies, political parties, constitutional issues, and international relations on five continents and within the traditions of Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism. Marty and Appleby conclude with a synthetic statement on the fundamentalist impact on polities, economies, and state security. The Fundamentalism Project, Volume 3
Martin E. Marty and R. Scott Appleby direct the Fundamentalism Project. Marty, the Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Modern Christianity at the University of Chicago, is the senior editor of the Christian Century and the author of numerous books, including the multivolume Modern American Religion, also published by the University of Chicago Press. Appleby, a research associate at the University of Chicago, is the author of “Church and Age Unite!” The Modernist Impulse in American Catholicism.
Martin E. Marty was an American religious scholar and historian known for his extensive work on religion in the United States. A Lutheran pastor before transitioning into academia, he became a leading voice in religious studies, particularly in the areas of American Protestantism, fundamentalism, and public religion. He was a longtime professor at the University of Chicago Divinity School, where he mentored numerous doctoral students and held the prestigious Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service Professorship. Marty wrote or edited a book for nearly every year of his academic career, producing influential works such as Righteous Empire: The Protestant Experience in America, which won the National Book Award, and the five-volume Fundamentalism Project, co-edited with R. Scott Appleby. He was a prolific columnist for The Christian Century and wrote extensively on religion's role in American public life. A recipient of numerous honors, including the National Humanities Medal and over 80 honorary doctorates, Marty also served as president of several academic societies and participated in U.S. presidential commissions. The Martin Marty Center for the Advanced Study of Religion at the University of Chicago was named in his honor.