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This chapter reviews the discussions in the preceding chapters. The argument of this book simultaneously narrows and broadens some common terms. Fundamentalism is not simply the orthodox or traditional form of a religion, as it is often portrayed in popular discourse. Rather it represents a mindset that can be found in both religious and secular movements. Paranoia is not here a psychiatric diagnosis or a synonym for insanity but a sensibility or way of experiencing the self and the world that can coexist with technical and literary skill. The apocalyptic is not primarily a theological category but a state of mind that dichotomizes the world in black-and-white terms and seeks a total, almost always violent, purification of the world. None of the editors or authors of this volume claims that this psychologically oriented approach is the only approach to take to understanding fundamentalism. However, it is an important approach and one that has been neglected. That neglect has been detrimental to our understanding of these movements, and this psychologically oriented approach brings with it significant insights into fundamentalism.

The fundamentalist mindset, wherever it occurs, is composed of distinct characteristics, including dualistic thinking; paranoia and rage in a group context; an apocalyptic orientation that incorporates distinct perspectives on time, death, and violence; a relationship to charismatic leadership; and a totalized conversion experience. This chapter discusses how writers have conceptualized these characteristics in an effort to generate a comprehensive theoretical framework regarding the psychological understanding of the fundamentalist mindset.

This chapter explores shifts within contemporary apocalypticism to gauge a sense of their effects on American fundamentalism and evangelicalism in the 21st century. The first part of the chapter describes the old apocalyptic way of thinking, particularly in light of its gender and sexual premises, and the psychological strife it creates. The second part looks at gradual shifts in the patriarchal legacy that reflect the impact of social justice movements and social change generally. The third part considers the ramifications of current, rapid-fire modifications in American apocalypticism due to the propulsions of media- and commodity-influenced portrayals.

This chapter describes a cognitive—affective pattern of individual and group psychological organization, called the paranoid gestalt, which is the essential structure of the fundamentalist mindset. The paranoid gestalt is often embodied in the ideology of the group, and perceived threats to the validity or practice of the ideology are important sources of the humiliation of the group. These are the essential dynamics of the fundamentalist mindset.

Social humiliation is associated with retaliatory behavior, even at additional cost to the retaliator. When humiliated, individuals and groups seem to have a particular appetite for revenge. The self, it is feared, will never be the same unless such injustice is appropriately addressed. What renders humiliation such a dangerous source for generating violence is the fact that such experiences are often fueled by long-lasting and extremely negative emotions. To exemplify the complexity of the humiliation phenomenon, this chapter presents a brief review of the concept of humiliation using a number of theories from social, existential, and psychoanalytic psychology. It then demonstrates how cultural, social, and psychological forces may combine to trigger the fundamentalist mindset.

This chapter introduces the emerging regulation theory as a framework for understanding the psychology of rank-and-file religious fundamentalists. It demonstrates that regulation theory explains both the fearful state that we observe in fundamentalists as well as problematic psychological characteristics that we have come to associate with them: Manichaean thinking, undue submission to and idealization of authority, a lack of curiosity and doubt, dissociation, and reliance on projection and splitting.

The Book of Revelation poses unique challenges for anyone interested in fundamentalism. It is the paradigmatic text for endist Christians and indirectly stirs apocalyptic passions in countless millions of others, even those in faiths far removed from Christianity. This chapter discusses how the Book of Revelation has had such profound influence for nearly two millennia, and allows access to the inner workings of the fundamentalist mindset.

This chapter begins with a discussion of the relationship between the charismatic leader and the members of the group, which emboldens both parties' conviction and reaffirms each individual's sense of group self. It suggests that there may be a nearly universal experience of a certain form of totalized conversion that is a precondition for the easy adoption of paranoid and apocalyptic ideologies. There does appear to be a suggestive link between the way some who later turn to violence in the name of religion first turn to God with a passion and enthusiasm that hides darker and more malevolent inclinations.

This chapter situates the fundamentalist mindset in a group psychological context. A review of the psychoanalytic theory of groups shows some conflation between the psychology of the individual and that of the group. Several trends in research are evident. The group's history, values, and goals are central to the group's concerns, and threats to these elements — experienced by the group as assaults on its self-esteem — are increasingly cited as the source of violence. The history of the theory of paranoia shows the same direction: there is more recognition of the problems of fragile self-esteem, shame, and humiliation in the genesis of the paranoid structure. Intrinsic to the structure is dualistic thinking and the Manichaean view of the world. Work on violence in groups shows analogous psychological organization: great investment in the ideology of the group that contains its goals, values, and sense of group self-esteem. An injury to those goals and values produces a paranoid organization and an analogy to rage in the individual, and subsequent violence.

This chapter shows that the apocalyptic provides a specific narrative with historical continuity. That narrative may also include a group ideology, particularly one that is paranoid. The apocalyptic indulges in dualistic thinking, violent images and a desire for the end of the world, a discourse wherein one's paranoia and rage are explained, justified and given direction. The apocalyptic provides fertile soil for the violent potentials in the fundamentalist mindset.

The apocalyptic is the death-drenched dimension of the fundamentalist mindset. Among religious fundamentalist believers there is nothing more basic to their belief system than hope for the coming (or return) of the Messiah. For secular millennial movements, such as the Nazis, the redemptive goals are rather more vague but equally central to their aspirations. There can be ultimate salvation only with the absolute destruction of the world and its evils. The end of death overcomes death itself, however, in a remaking of the world that brings with it powerful hope. This transcendent process totalizes the other, requiring radical dualisms and evoking evil in paranoid ways. This chapter focuses on the link between paranoia and the apocalyptic, which gives us insight into the violent potentials in the fundamentalist mindset.

This chapter focuses on global jihadism. Global jihadism is an ideology and a pattern of action that is in an ambivalent relationship to Islamic fundamentalism. In many cases the same attitudes are prevalent in it, notably in regard to humiliation and rejection of perverse Western values. But in regard to violence there is a large gap between the two major tendencies within the Islamic world. Fundamentalists consider a peaceful road to Islamic society one in which the political realm will be gradually Islamicized. Jihadists reject the peaceful, democracy-friendly fashion of attaining this goal and propose the recourse to jihad in the most violent manner so as to restore Islam to its former glory. Humiliation is not mastered in a way that might induce gradualism to achieve Islamic goals. On the contrary, it is put at the service of a violence that achieves worldwide focus through its hyperaggressive posturing. Total violence against globalized Western culture and domination is the major characteristic of global jihadism.

This chapter argues that there is a fundamentalist mindset — and in the politics of the French Revolution it is an ideologically driven mindset — although that mindset is secular rather than religious. There was paranoia in the thinking of the revolutionaries, both individually and collectively. Paranoia in the French Revolution was an extreme form of fear during a time of exceptional crisis and genuine danger.

Following an inexplicably lost war and witnessing a Germany in a state of perpetual collapse, some Germans were left confused and feeling hopeless. The chaos of modernity was interpreted as a sign of approaching apocalypse. This chapter shows how conversion to Nazism gave Germans a sense of hope and meaning. The fear of apocalyptic collapse was replaced with hope of a dawning millennial Reich of peace and prosperity, with all Volksgenossen (racial comrades) united for the betterment of all. National Socialism helped these individuals reconstruct a collapsed world into an ordered and consequently meaningful worldview.

This chapter attempts to answer these questions: Why have many Indians become much more receptive to the Hindutva (Hinduness) movement's anti-Muslim teachings in recent decades? What is the connection between the spread of anti-Muslim sentiment, the rise in Hindu—Muslim violence, and the emergence of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as one of the two largest political parties in India? Why have so many people responded to the alternating messages of Hindu victimhood and impotence on the one hand, and Hindu grandeur and virility on the other? Why do Hindu extremists act as if the Indian nation is dirty and incomplete as long as Muslims are not removed? Are acts of revenge against innocent Muslims giving rise to violent Islamist movements inside India? In short, what has the Hindutva movement gained by scapegoating Muslims as a grave danger to India? The first part of the chapter focuses on the half-century or so leading up to World War I. The second section examines the period from World War I to the 1980s, the period before militant Hinduism transformed itself into a mass movement. The final section examines the campaign to build a Hindu temple on Ram's birthplace, and the spread of Hindu militancy and violence to new groups of the population. It concludes with a brief summary of Muslim responses to Hindu militancy, responses that suggest a violent future.

This chapter begins with a brief review of research on the psychology of violence and the connection between violent media, particularly video games, and violent behavior. It also briefly reviews some of the psychological themes found in violent religious groups across religious traditions. This will be followed by a description of some of the violent imagery found in the Left Behind novels and the video game “Left Behind: Eternal Forces”, based on the series. This will underscore the thematic similarities between these examples of Christian media and the texts of violence found in violent and terroristic religious groups.