WHY CAN LEAVING FUNDAMENTALISM BE SO HARD?
Why is leaving so very hard? People join and leave groups all the time. Well, a Christian fundamentalist group is not like a youth group, or cam- era club or amateur dramatics group. Although all groups share certain characteristics in common, they are taken to a higher level in a funda- mentalist group and there are extra considerations too. I was involved in Christian Fundamentalism actively for about fifteen years and after that, on and off for about ten years. Leaving was one of the most difficult things I ever did. What sort of factors created the difficulties?
a) COMMITMENT. We all commit to any group that we belong to varying degrees, but fundamentalist church groups may engender a very deep level of commitment over time. The more your commitment and in- vestment into the group, the more difficult it is to leave. A member of a fundamentalist group may be a lay preacher, or Sunday school teacher, or Youth leader. They may be a deacon, serving in the church. Even an ordinary member may commit and invest a vast amount of time and en- ergy into the group and its activities. They may commit their money via tithes and gifts. When this has been done over a number of years, it is difficult to say ‘Gee, it was all a mistake, a waste of time, money and effort.’
b) ELLOWSHIP. Christian fundamentalist groups often provide a terrific sense of unity, a sense of common purpose engendering intense friendships. There can be a real sense of community and belonging, a closeness and connection sometimes polarizing us (the elect, the people of God) with them (the unbeliever, the world). This unity is based on an orthodox identity and purpose – Christian fundamentalism is highly or- thodox, tracing a line and tradition back to the Apostles and disciples. This sense of fellowship is something that I miss to this day. I have only seen indications of such a level of connectedness in certain sports teams and in the armed services, both of which function at a level of development called mythic – the same as Christian fundamentalism. This ca- maraderie works really well when all its members are singing from the same hymn sheet. But once one questions the wisdom of the orthodoxy, once one questions say the nature of the Bible, or Divinity of Christ, then the cohesion and identity of the group is threatened, and the dissenting person may be seen as divisive, schismatic, deluded, oppressed by evil spirits, backsliding, apostate, heretical e.t.c. If the dissenting opinion is persisted in, the dissenting person faces rejection, Loss of friendships, Distancing from the group, Isolation, Criticism, Judgmental attitudes, be- ing outcast/excommunicated, increasing attempts by group members to manipulate the dissenter to conformity to group norms. The Christian Fundamentalist group is a semi-closed community. It has a certain withdrawal from the world and from unbelievers. Thus standards and norms of behaviour and belief are defined by the group and by authoritative group members such as teachers and elders. Christians may have unbelievers in their social circle as work colleagues or as neighbours and acquaintances, but they are not usually trusted friends. Thus values, meaning, purpose, significance, reward, and identity; all core personal issues, become partly or mainly defined by the group in its teaching and prac- tice and cemented by cohesive activities such as outreach programs, painting the church e.t.c.
c).CONNECTION WITH THE ULTIMATE Christian fundamentalism is about connection with the Ultimate: with the Ultimate Person (God) and with Ultimate Endings (Heaven, Hell, Judgement). Therefore, falling out of favour with this group raises the possibility of putting at stake one’s relationship with God and one’s future eternal state. Christi- an fundamentalism gives a sense of ultimate meaning, purpose and ful- fillment. An ultimate sense of place and reason for existence in the Universe. An ultimate set of moral and philosophical/theological values. An ultimate personal identity as a son and heir of God. To leave or be excluded is to feel cut adrift, aimless, uncertain and empty. Worse, it is to be accused of or to feel a betrayer of God, a Judas. Because conduct, sentiments and beliefs which do not conform to group orthodoxy – to the ‘right way’ – are condemned, such condemnation is also linked to the Ul- timate – thus by expressing doubts about fundamentalism, a dissenter is portrayed as betraying God, letting God down, incurring God’s provid- ential judgement. Thus, though a person may have doubts about aspects of fundamentalism, they may nevertheless still believe in God and find themselves threatened with God’s wrath, a threat which would remain very real to them.
d) BELIEFS, PRACTICE, IDENTITY AND GUILT. If a person ex- presses doubts about some basic aspect of fundamentalist belief then they, as a person, are identified as a sinner, backslider, apostate, and rebel e.t.c. There is not usually any halfway point – it is usually black and white: sheep and goats, saved and damned. This is as opposed to saying something like: ‘He is a sincere seeker after truth who is expressing doubt about an aspect of our shared faith.’ or ‘He is a pilgrim walking along a path with ever-changing scenery as he discovers the infinity of God’. Thus, because of this black and white thinking, it is difficult to leave with honour and respect when moving to a new theological position not embraced by the group’s orthodoxy. Healthy psychology separates what a person thinks, believes and does from who they are in essence. Thus a misbehaving child is not bad, or stupid child, but a loved child who did a bad or stupid thing. Even so, Christian fundamentalism may emphasize the doctrine of Total Depravity – the idea that we are, by nature, by reason of our very existence, sinners, corrupt, rebellious, ignorant, deluded and opposed to God. Though common in a number of religious approaches, it can be used to engender conformity – if you dis- agree with us, you must be sinning and therefore wrong and therefore in danger of God’s Judgement - sort of thing. Thus dissenting opinion is stifled by threat of disapproval, both of the group and its leaders and God, with all that implies.
e) SECURE WORLDVIEW. Christian Fundamentalism offers a bounded, ordered and therefore secure worldview. A Bible based world- view offers a set of boundaries – do this and you will live, do that and you will be blessed e.t.c. More than this it is an ordered Universe, with god overseeing everything with a special eye on his favoured children such that all things are working together for good. More than this, some Christian Fundamentalist schemes, such as Calvinism, are seductively coherent. Once certain assumptions are accepted, the scheme makes a lot of sense, systematically interrelating the various Bible passages. All this offers a comfortable, secure world perspective, reinforced by the mutual acceptance of this view by fellow believers and by authority figures and experts within the group such as teachers and Elders.
f) INTENSE SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE. One of the greatest barriers preventing me from leaving fundamentalism was the experience on a number of occasions, within fundamentalism, of intense spiritual tran- scendence and closeness with God; what is known as the Baptism/Fullness/Extraordinary Witness of the Spirit, sometimes experienced by whole communities in awakenings or revivals. These were experiences of being ‘caught up’ to God; of an immediate and powerful assurance; of being fully persuaded; of one’s mind being opened to the Reality of Div- ine Things. (Blessed Assurance! Jesus is mine! Oh! What a foretaste of glory divine!’….‘Visions of rapture burst on my sight’.) With these ex- periences, Calvinist Christian Fundamentalist ideas and notions were in- delibly impressed on my mind and heart by transcendent experience. They were difficult or impossible to shake off. During those experiences I never felt so clear headed. So how can this be reconciled to leaving fun- damentalism and fundamentalist theology? This question has to do with the nature of Ultimate Reality, the Infinite One Formless God expressed in an infinity of multiple forms. It is an aspect of theology called Theomorphism.
g) RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LEADER/ELDER. For me this was more of a personal issue than one necessarily linked to Christian funda- mentalism per se. In other words, I would have had problems with this guy in whatever circumstance we met. But this can be a wider problem engendered by a distortion of the shepherd/sheep syndrome where the shepherd, the leader, is too authoritarian: manipulating and controlling those they oversee, and the sheep, the church member, too sheepish: too inclined to follow rather than thinking for themselves. Such blind following of authority can lead to a dependency relationship where the member is always trying to please the father-figure of the leader/elder – trying to be a good child. Indeed, those familiar with Transactional Ana- lysis may recognise a pattern. In my case, the pastor was operating from Critical Parent ego state – dispensing disapproval in the name of God and high standards and had a patronizing attitude using words like ‘should, must, ought, sinful, bad’ e.t.c., with disapproving looks and frowns. This mode of operating tries to put the other person into (obedient) Child ego state. Thus instead of two adults reasoning togeth- er, we have a patronizing Critical Parent making the other person feel like a disobedient child. There are two Child ego states however: Sub- missive Child – the sheep – always trying to please and be good, over keen to show their ‘superiors’ respect; or the Rebellious Child – the per- son refusing to be pigeonholed, kicking against the rules, being a non conformist, probably trying to restore their Adult ego state. (That was me). This is a dysfunctional transaction pattern. As I say, this would have happened in the workplace, or anywhere with me and this guy, but it is an element to be aware of. The teacher pupil relationship is not necessarily a bad one, and generally does involve a certain inequality – ex- pert versus learner, professor versus student, but it does not have to dysfunctional.
Positively, for me, Christian fundamentalism also engendered:
I) An awakening to and an awareness of spirituality and the Divine.
II) A sense of personal integrity – being honest and true to myself and God – being authentic.
III) A desire for Truth – wherever that takes me.
IV) A courage to stand by my principles and by truth as I see it – without feeling the need to impose my Ideas and values on others.
These are the very qualities that led me out of Christian Fundamental- ism. Why is it difficult to leave? Take all the points I have raised in this article and a few more, in complex interplay, and you have some idea.
To leave is to
a) Say one’s past full commitment of time, energy and money was a mistake
b) Be rejected and isolated from a close community of friends – so- cial severance and loss with no real friends amongst unbelievers to re- place and make up for that loss.
c) Lose one’s sense of identity, meaning and purpose.
d) Feel that one may incurring the wrath of an angry God and be in danger of everlasting punishment.
e) Be adrift and alone in an unbelieving world - which may be perceived as chaotic, hostile and immoral.
f) Lose one’s sense of order and certainty
g) Feel guilty and in conflict
h) Feel vulnerable and fearful
i) Feel frustrated and angry
j) Lose one’s sense of orientation.
k) Be possibly isolated and alone
Leaving Fundamentalism may be the most difficult, courageous and honest thing you ever do.It requires careful thought and a gradual estab- lishing of another, alternative social support network which may initially be seen as fellowship with the world. It may be risky to your health and psychological well-being.