Dr. Paul Williamson, professor of psychology at Henderson State University, has published a new book entitled Conjectures and Controversy in the Study of Fundamentalism, the university announced this week.
The book takes a critical look at the sociohistorical emergence of fundamentalism. It examines how historians constructed popular, though questionable, conceptions of the movement that has dominated decades of research in psychology.
“Fundamentalism is a concept describing religious groups that are committed to their sacred text, whether it be the Bible, Qur’an, or some other sacred writing, as the absolute truth and supreme authority for all matters of life and conduct,” Williamson explained.
“At the same time, fundamentalists reject all other sources of authority (such as higher criticism, science, and history) with truth claims that conflict with it.”
Williamson said psychology has studied fundamentalism for a century, “amassing a large empirical literature, especially since 9/11, but this research has never been systemized and reviewed as a whole, which is why my colleague and I wrote this book.
“Our aim was that it would be a convenient resource for scholars, students, and anyone else who has interest in what psychology has said about fundamentalism.”
Williamson has authored or co-authored numerous articles and books on the psychology of religion, and co-authored The Psychology of Religious Fundamentalism with Ralph Hood and Peter Hill.
He has been a psychology professor at Henderson since 2003.
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