Fundamentalism and Epistemic Authority

I will discuss three questions in my paper: 1. What are the essential elements of fundamentalism? 2. What is the role of authority as a source of fundamentalism? 3. What is the role of trust in the spreading of fundamentalism? For each question I will outline a possible answer from a special theoretical point of view. What is " fundamentalism " ? There is an ongoing discussion about this question and many authors insist that fundamentalism is a distinctly present-day phenomenon and thus has to be understood as a reaction to modernity and its impositions (Almond/Appleby/Sivan 2003; Riese-brodt 2000). But the beliefs of contemporary fundamentalists reveal aspects which can be found throughout human history. I think that these general features are especially interesting and that they are connected with each other in a non-contingent way. Therefore I propose a wider characterization which not only encompasses modern phenomena but captures numerous varieties of fundamentalism. Accordingly three attributes are essential: 1. Fundamentalists propagate the supreme value of salvation-goods over worldly goods: for the ultimate fulfi lment of human existence it is important to overcome the obsession with mundane happiness and material utility and to strive instead for eternal redemption and ends which are more valuable than profane satisfaction in the life here and now. The supreme value of salvation-goods justifi es almost all sacrifi ces which are measured only by worldly criteria (Bernholz 2006). Salvation-goods must not necessarily be religious: to realize the mission of world history, the welfare of mankind or cosmic destiny can also gain supreme value in the sense of gaining lexicographic superiority over all inner-worldly aims. 2. Fundamentalists claim that their views are certain and that there is no room and necessity for doubt: an essential part of their thinking is their