Religious Fundamentalism is strict adherence to specific theological doctrines typically in reaction against the theology of Modernism....The term "fundamentalism" was originally coined by its supporters to describe a specific package of theological beliefs that developed into a movement within the Protestant community of the United States in the early part of the 20th century, and that had its roots in the Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy of that time. The term has since been generalized to mean strong adherence to any set of beliefs in the face of criticism or unpopularity (see Establishment), but has by and large retained religious connotations. Historically, for some constituencies fundamentalism connotes an attachment to a set of irreducible beliefs. "Fundamentalism" is commonly used as a pejorative term, particularly when combined with other epithets (as in the phrase "right-wing fundamentalists")....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamentalism
