Fundamentalism 2nd Edition, Revised and Updated Steve Bruce In a direct and punchy style, Steve Bruce grapples with the social strains and religious ideas that produced an explosion of fundamentalist activity in the wake of 9/11. The book investigates what lies behind the actions of Al-Qaeda, suicide bombings, the 'war against terror' and the continuing rise of the Christian right in the USA. It offers new insights into the Protestant fundamentalism of the American political right-wing, looking at the influence that abortion, gay-rights and 'intelligent design' have had on foreign and domestic policies. The author's broad sociological analysis rejects the narrowly-conceived notion that fundamentalists are suffering from some kind of abnormal psychology, persuasive demonstrating fundamentalism's importance as a symptom of rapid social change. Social science has generally focused on the social circumstances that produced extremist movements and regarded their religious ideologies as window-dressing. This study takes the religious elements of fundamentalism seriously and will be essential reading for students of any discipline drawing on the sociology of religion. It will also appeal to those beyond the academic community who want to know what fundamentalism really means today. Steve Bruce is Professor of Sociology at the University of Aberdeen.