There are extremists in every religion, every philosophy, and every political group. Their goals and beliefs may vary widely, but there are some commonalities in how they behave, in their attitudes, and in how they approach issues. It's worth understanding more about what makes one an extremist.

David Koff offers several signs of extremism, including:

#1) Extremists polarize issues, reducing all options to only two possibilities with no middle ground permitted. I freely admit that seeing the world in simple terms makes life a whole lot easier. For example, if every action is either “good” or “evil” but never “both”, it makes navigating life much simpler. Despite our illusions, however, life truly is complex. For example, how do we reconcile that we each have different definitions of “good” and “evil”? Or that some folks believe in God while others don’t? The answer: we can’t. Which is why a true democracy must rely on conflict as much as it does consensus.

#4) Extremists almost always confuse decisiveness, moral outrage and loudness with correctness. Just because someone makes a firm decision based on their opinions and proclaims it loudly, doesn’t mean that they are right. We must always be vigilant when filtering what others tell us, even our leaders. Questioning what we read, hear and watch is a healthy and necessary exercise that allows us to refine our own moral character. Plus, true democracy necessitates working graciously with those who have opposing points of view. [Canyon News]

I think that more signs could probably be added, and those he lists could probably do with some adjustment, but nevertheless he does make some very important points about the nature of extremism. Perhaps more importantly, he also emphasizes the fact that extremism is counter-productive in a democratic society.

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• Religious Right
• Religious Right News
• Christian Extremism