What is Fundamentalism – and What Threats does it Pose to Today’s World?
Conference, 9.30am - 4.45pm
Wednesday, 27 February 2013
Venue: The British Academy, 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AH
This conference was in three parts. The first session explored the definitions and origins of Fundamentalism, including a look at its roots in American Protestantism and an examination of what constitutes the Fundamentalist mindset.
The second session looked in more detail at different kinds of Fundamentalism – through the eyes of experts on Islamic, Jewish and Hindu religious and cultural traditions.
The final session asked what the conditions are which are producing or reproducing Fundamentalism in today’s world, and whether dialogue is possible with Fundamentalists. It included present and historical perspectives on non-religious ideologies and on Scientific Fundamentalism as well as the rising political influence of Fundamentalism in countries including the USA, Israel and Pakistan.
Speakers included:
Session One:
Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch Kt FBA, Oxford University (chair)
Professor James Dunn FBA, Durham University
Professor Peter Herriot, City University
Malise Ruthven, author of Fundamentalism: The Search for Meaning
Session Two:
Professor Linda Woodhead, Lancaster University (chair)
Ed Husain, Council on Foreign Relations
Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner, Movement for Reform
Professor Julius Lipner FBA, Cambridge University
Session Three:
Sir Adam Roberts, President of the British Academy (chair)
Professor Peter Neumann, King’s College London
Karen Armstrong, author of Battle for God
Professor John Lennox, Oxford University
Please click here for a copy of the programme.
The conference is preceded on the evening of Tuesday 26 February 2013 by a keynote lecture on The Appeal of Islamic Fundamentalism, by Professor Michael Cook FBA.