Gerald A. ARBUCKLE. Fundamentalism at Home and Abroad: Analysis and Pastoral Responses. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2017. Pp. xviii + 190. Reviewed by John T. FORD, The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC 20064.

          What is fundamentalism? To answer this question, Arbuckle reviews a variety of definitions before proposing his own summary: “a form of organized institutional or civic religious anger in reaction to secularization, political changes, and globalization” (p. 28).  He then considers in turn “the power of mythology” and “the role of religion” in relation to the “cultural trauma” that is found at the heart of fundamentalism. Next he examines two cases: first, Catholic Fundamentalism and then, its Islamic counterpart. The conclusion recommends sixteen “pastoral responses” to fundamentalism.

On the plus side, this book is well-written and reader-friendly; there is an ample amount of information that is appropriately documented in footnotes, which provide references about specific topics; nonetheless, a separate bibliography would have been helpful and could also have lessened the repetition in the notes. Chapters start with thought-provoking quotations and conclude with summary points and discussion questions—many of which are derived from the publications of Pope Francis. Somewhat distracting, however, are the frequent boxed sections within the text which provide collateral information and comments about relevant points, but tend to interrupt the flow of the main narrative.

Treating a topic as broad as fundamentalism in a relatively short book obviously necessitates painting in broad strokes. In some instances, the strokes seem too broad; for example, does fundamentalism always have “anger” at its core? In movements like Al-Qaeda, Taliban, and ISIS, anger expressed in violence certainly seems to be a major component (pp. 148-158); however, in Catholic movements like the Neocatechumenal Way, Communion and Liberation, and Opus Dei (pp. 100-107), “cultural trauma” stemming from the loss of religious values and traditional devotions rather than anger seems to be operative. Similarly, in regard to “separatist” types of fundamentalism, it seems questionable whether Mennonites, Amish and Hutterites should be lumped together—in spite of their common historical ancestry—let alone partnered with Hasidic Jews (p. 21).

For this reader, the chapters treating the “power of mythology” (2) and “cultural trauma” (3) were quite helpful in explaining the popular appeal of fundamentalism.  Also beneficial was the chapter (5) on Islamic Fundamentalism, which succinctly provides sufficient historical material for a basic understanding of on-going Muslim hostility to the Western world. In contrast, the chapter (4) on “Catholic Fundamentalism” seems to lose focus by attempting to detect fundamentalism behind all of Roman Catholicism’s multiple problems—both past and present, as well as “at home and abroad.” Likewise, the final chapter providing sixteen possible “pastoral responses” to fundamentalism was disappointing: although the advice suggested in each response is pastorally useful as such, the individual responses stand alone and need to be linked as parts of an organic program of ecumenical/interreligious dialogue. Finally—in spite of even the best recommendations—one is left wondering whether genuine dialogue—in contrast to polite conversation—with fundamentalists is really possible: how can one really dialogue with persons who are deeply angry about the state of the world and adamantly convinced that their political-religious view is the only one and so must be imposed on everyone else?