The Battle for God

A History of Fundamentalism

By: Karen Armstrong

Narrated by: Lisa Armytage, Karen Armstrong

In the late twentieth century, fundamentalism has emerged as one of the most powerful forces at work in the world, contesting the dominance of modern secular values and threatening peace and harmony around the globe. Yet it remains incomprehensible to a large number of people. In The Battle for God, Karen Armstrong brilliantly and sympathetically shows us how and why fundamentalist groups came into existence and what they yearn to accomplish.

We see the West in the sixteenth century beginning to create an entirely new kind of civilization, which brought in its wake change in every aspect of life -- often painful and violent, even if liberating. Armstrong argues that one of the things that changed most was religion. People could no longer think about or experience the divine in the same way; they had to develop new forms of faith to fit their new circumstances.

Armstrong characterizes fundamentalism as one of these new ways of being religious that have emerged in every major faith tradition. Focusing on Protestant fundamentalism in the United States, Jewish fundamentalism in Israel, and Muslim fundamentalism in Egypt and Iran, she examines the ways in which these movements, while not monolithic, have each sprung from a dread of modernity -- often in response to assault (sometimes unwitting, sometimes intentional) by the mainstream society.

Armstrong sees fundamentalist groups as complex, innovative, and modern -- rather than as throwbacks to the past -- but contends that they have failed in religious terms. Maintaining that fundamentalism often exists in symbiotic relationship with an aggressive modernity, each impelling the other on to greater excess, she suggests compassion as a way to defuse what is now an intensifying conflict.

Critic reviews

"One of the most penetrating, readable, and prescient accounts to date of the rise of the fundamentalist movements in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam."
--The New York Times Book Review

"EXCELLENT . . . HIGHLY INTELLIGENT AND HIGHLY READABLE . . . This is a book that will prove indispensable . . . for anyone who seeks insight into how these powerful movements affect global politics and society today and into the future."
--The Baltimore Sun

"ARMSTRONG SUCCEEDS BRILLIANTLY . . . With her astonishing depth of knowledge and readily accessible writing style, [she] makes an ideal guide in traversing a subject that is by its very nature complex, sensitive and frequently ambiguous."
--The San Francisco Examiner and Chronicle

"A USEFUL AND REWARDING BOOK."
--The Boston Globe

Great historical overview

Great historical review of how the United States has come to be in present day. Religions evolving mythos to logos and politics intermingling have many living life out of fear.

Must have an open mind and heart.

This book gives an overview of how some of our beliefs come about.
At no time did the author say you shouldn’t believe in God.
She basically stated how some views of God came about in the 3 major religions.
You of course can accept or reject it.
I found it to be enlightening.

Very well educated and well written!

It was a great history book, you wouldn’t get that kind of honesty about the history of the worlds major religions and their flaws, you just don’t get this kind of information anymore, not today. 🙏

Great Read

This has given me a much better understanding of the present world

I will listen to it again

fundamentalism

The examples of fundamentalism across all religions narrated in the book were riveting. after listening to this book, I do not know how anyone can blindly follow an organized religion. however, as human beings, we have a spiritual side that needs to be nourished and without religion People's lives somtiems lack meaning