Why do fundamentalists typically have so much difficulty with modern society? Arguably, their most basic conflict lies in their inability to accept the presence, much less the value, of pluralism - the principle that multiple and conflicting opinions and philosophies should exist and should be accorded equal status in the law.

As Theodore Roszak wrote in the San Francisco Chronicle:

At the extreme - and bear in mind we are talking about an increasingly popular form of religious extremism - worshiping the Great God One easily carries over into an all-out war on pluralism. By “pluralism,” I mean that spontaneous joy we take in the human variety, the delightful surprise we experience when we meet someone who has taken another road in life, perhaps a road we might wish to follow.

Fundamentalism seems to require an absolute confidence in the certain truth of one’s position. That, however, does not mesh well with the idea that others have a right to disagree — or that society is better off with the presence of people who disagree.

 

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