Hi, Steve.
Congrats on the book and thanks for the nice discussion of
fundamentalism. I wasn't aware it had been looked at that intently by
such groups - nice to see.
Re: impact of recent upsurg in fundamentalism, here is what I have
observed. Over the last 10 years, there has been more and more openness
to spirituality as a legitimate area for health care providers to attend
to with patients. The Wall between the medical domain and the spiritual
domain had been steadilly lowering. However, the Intelligent Design
movement, which I see very much as a fundamentalist initiative,
singlehandedly replaced many bricks that had been slowly removed from
the wall. A lot of scientifically oriented people who used to be
indifferent but tolerant are now more antagonistic towards
religion/spirituality.
Other recent effects of fundamentalism (Christian as well as Islamic)
did not seem to have much impact on the wall, but perhaps they helped
set the stage for Intelligent Design to hit such a nerve.
Rob Hatch, MD, MPH
University of Florida

>>> kliewers@... 12/27/05 02:06PM >>>
Steven
Let me respond to your questions

Question One: What is GWISH

GWISH is the George Washington Institute on Spirituality and Health.
It has been heavily funded by the Templeton Foundation, and is the group
that offers the curricular awards. It is can be found at GWISH.ORG

Question Two: What is religious fundamentalism exactly? Isn't this
term sort of derogatory regarding some people's chosen spirituality?

You are correct in noting that the term fundamentalism has negative
connotations for many. It is a word that carriers with it some baggage.
One can hardly read a weekly news magazine without encountering the
term `fundamentalist' with reference to some group active on the world
stage. In fact, the popularity of the term is part of the problem.

I wish I had a better term to use.

Bruce Lawrence in his book, Defenders of God: The Fundamentalist Revolt
Against the Modern Age defines fundamentalism as " the affirmation of
religious authority as holistic and absolute, admitting of neither
criticism nor reduction; it is expressed through the collective demand
that specific creedal and ethical dictates derived from scripture be
publicly recognized and legally enforced ."

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences funded a multiyear project
that brought scholars from around the world together to study
Fundamentalism. Ultimately they produced 5 volumes containing almost
8,000 pages of material. Admitting some difficulty with the term, the
project opts to use it anyway for a variety of reasons. Essentially,
they argue that it is commonly accepted, here to stay, and the best term
anyone can come up with for this phenomena. At one point in the study
the researchers list 5 ideological characteristics and 4 organizational
characteristics of fundamentalism. The Five ideological characteristics
are:
*fundamentalists are concerned "first" with the erosion of religion and
its proper role in society;
*fundamentalism is selective of their tradition and what part of
modernity they accept or choose to react against;
*they embrace some form of Manicheanism (dualism);
*fundamentalists stress absolutism and inerrancy in their sources of
revelation; and
*they opt for some form of Millennialism or Messianism.

The organizational characteristics include:
*an elect or chosen membership;
*sharp group boundaries;
*charismatic authoritarian leaders; and
*mandated behavioral requirements.

Jeffrey K. Hadden and Anson Shupe, in their work "Secularization and
Fundamentalism Reconsidered" offer this definition, " a proclamation of
reclaimed authority over a sacred tradition which is to be reinstated as
an antidote for a society that has strayed from its cultural moorings."

Obviously people respond to the dynamics illustrated in all of the
above descriptions differently. Some like it, some find it frightening,
and others are very judgemental of such a stance. People will accept
such a stance with respect to their own faith system and find it
appalling in another faith system.

I am not trying to make a judgement about it. It simply is, and it is
having a powerful impact on our world. In my part of the world, it has
made many of those who were ambivelant about religions very negative.
It has led to increased polarization, even among those who are from the
same system. There may be some benefits as well. It has certainly
brought some important issues into public awareness and created much
dialouge.

Thinking back over your response, I am trying to think of a term that
carries less baggage, but I find it difficult. If I talk about
religious radicalism, I think there is still some degree of judgement.
The advantage of that kind of term is that it may lead to a broader
understanding of the issue. Since fundamentalism can be seen as a
specific branch, normally conservative, of a religion. If we think
about people who have "radical" views, there may be an ability to think
of people on both ends of the theological spectrum. Some of those on
the liberal end of the spectrum can be ideologically radically, rigid,
and judgemental.

So you raise a very good issue.
Perhaps I'll rephrase the question this way...
We are seeing an increase in religious intensity, and spiritual and/or
religious perspectives are being applied culturally, even politically -
there are attempts to resacralize public life. How does this impact
efforts to develop curriculum? Does it help, or hinder? Does the
impact vary in different regions of the country (it has made it harder
in Oregon), and how does it impact efforts to integrated healthcare and
spirituality?

Steve K.

In reply to ...
Steven E. Roskos, MD

Department of Family Medicine

University of Tennessee - Knoxville

sroskos@...

865-544-9352, ext. 5059

Fax: 865-544-6532



_____

From: Stephen Kliewer [mailto:kliewers@...]
Sent: Monday, December 26, 2005 11:45 PM
To: STFM-Spirituality@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [STFM-Spirituality] (unknown)



Greetings

Just to let you know, John Saulz, MD, Chair of Family Medicine at
Oregon =
Health Science University and I have finally finished out book on =
Healthcare and Spirituality. I invite you all to take a look at it on
=
Amazon.com.

It was published in England by Radcliffe Medical Press, and is on its
way =
to US warehouses now. Hope you find it useful.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1857756223/qid=3D1135653337/sr=3D8-1/ref=

<http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1857756223/qid=3D1135653337/sr=3D8-1/ref=>

=3Dsr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-9389205-0697405?n=3D507846&s=3Dbooks&v=3Dglance

Also, GWISH will soon be sending information about its latest round of
=
curricular awards. As a past award winner for both predoc and graduate
I =
encourage you to look into this program. It is amazing how open
administra=
tions can be when there is a little money attached.

There are some changes to the program you may find intriguing.

I would encourage any of you, if you run across resources you find
useful, =
to post them on the listserve. Also let us know of events you think =
people might find of interest.

Finally, I'd like to end with a question that I would appreciate
thoughts =
around. We are finding, Ithink a resurgence of religious
fundamentalism. =
Has this impacted efforts to develop curricular elements? Does this =
affect the intergration of healthcare and spirituality?

Would love to hear your thoughts!

STEVE



Stephen Kliewer. D.Min.
Assistant Professor
Department of Family Medicine
Oregon Health and Science University

Phone: 541-426-4524
Cell: 541-398-0547
FAX 541-426-3035


Email: kliewers@...



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Stephen Kliewer. D.Min.
Assistant Professor
Department of Family Medicine
Oregon Health and Science University

Phone: 541-426-4524
Cell: 541-398-0547
FAX 541-426-3035


Email: kliewers@...





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