Not sure what precipitated this thought, but it struck me this morning that fundamentalism of any ilk is essentially a narcissistic phenomenon. At the core, fundamentalists seem profoundly uncomfortable with anyone being or believing differently, and are willing to fight for that conformity to their ideal. That such ideals are often attributed to divine revelation or other subjective sources is almost secondary.
Not much time to develop this right now - feel free to share some thoughts/reactions and perhaps I will expand on this later.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
The Narcissism of Fundamentalism
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2 comments:
Chuck... interesting thought. It reminds me of a quote from a friend of mine...
"Vengeful men have created a vengeful god, that they might worship themselves rather than to admit to the darkness within. ~ Annie"
I agree with you that fundamentalism is, at its core, narcissistic. But, the really wild thing about religious fundamentalism is its appeal to the revealed. That way, people can avoid the charge of narcissism by simply saying "It's not me condemning you, it's God." By projecting their pettiness and vengefulness on to the Supreme Being, fundamentalists miss the fact that their fundamentalism is narcissistic.
Peace,
Brian
My father has narcissistic personality disorder and is also a fundamentalist Christian. The two go hand in hand. The narcissist sees a reflection of himself in (or projects himself onto) the fundamentalist interpretation of God. From the fundamentalist perspective, God is grandiose, vain, merciless, envious, and demands obedience and worship- which are all qualities of a person with full blown NPD. Narcissists constantly seek to control others and fundamentalism is an ancient and highly effective means to such control.
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