Serbian Orthodox Fundamentalism

As I noted earlier this year, the Greek theologian Christos Yannaras, in a hard-hitting address, spoke of the rise of anti-Western Orthodox fanatics and fundamentalists whose untamed zeal, combined with their often staggering ignorance not only of what they criticize but also of their own tradition that they purport to defend, ends up being very un-Orthodox in its nature and consequences. Now a new book has come along to look at the wider phenomenon of fundamentalism beyond, but including, Orthodoxy: Fundamentalism in the Modern World Vol 1: Fundamentalism, Politics and History: The State, Globalisation and Political Ideologies (Tauris Academic, 2011), 320pp.

About this book, the publisher tells us:

How does religious fundamentalism operate in modern global society? This book is the first in a two-volume set that analyzes the dynamics of fundamentalism and its relationship to the modern state, the public sphere and globalization. In this first volume, fundamentalism is approached from the perspective of state and community building, ideology and practices within the context of global society, and the ways in which fundamentalism is intertwined with issues of politics, state power, democracy, globalization, political activism and political ideology. Expert scholars in the field address specific contemporary and past fundamentalist movements that have emerged from within mainstream Islam, Christianity, Baha’ism, Hinduism, Judaism and Buddhism. This is an important study of an increasingly significant and controversial aspect of modern society, and will be essential reading in the fields of Religion, Politics and International Relations.

In particular, chapter six, by Milan Vukomanovic treats "The Serbian Orthodox Church: Between Traditionalism and Fundamentalism."