A Relentless Itinerary for a Reluctant Prophet
In mid-August, Karen Armstrong—the British author and former nun often described as one of the clearest contemporary commentators on religion—moves from an international forum on fundamentalism in New York to Canada’s Couchiching Conference, and then to the Chautauqua Institution’s symposium on religion. Between keynotes, she files essays for major newspapers, keeps a Guardian column, consults with policymakers, and promotes The Spiral Staircase, her autobiography, while researching a book on the Axial Age, when many great world religions formed.
Arriving at Couchiching feverish and nearly voiceless, Armstrong still grants an interview. She pushes past exhaustion because she’s on a mission.
“It’s Just the Beginning”: Armstrong’s Warning on Fundamentalism
Armstrong cautions that misdirected foreign policy is driving Islamist fundamentalists toward catastrophic violence. Calling the conflict a simple “war on terror,” she says, obscures a religiously inflected struggle inside many societies. History shows that fundamentalist movements become more violent when attacked; polarization is splitting countries—including Egypt, Israel, and the United States—into opposing camps.
When Religion Enters Politics, the Middle Shrinks
Armstrong argues that once religion is weaponized in public debate, compromise erodes. In the U.S., segments of conservative Christians and traditional Catholics have absorbed cultural aggression and apocalyptic imagery, intensifying absolutist rhetoric. She notes the mirror-language of good/evil used by political and militant leaders alike—and the danger of such binaries.
From Convent to Public Scholar: How Armstrong Got Here
Armstrong’s journey began in 1962, when she entered a Catholic convent seeking transformation. Instead she met rigid obedience and a ban on questioning. At Oxford she was urged to challenge ideas; undiagnosed epilepsy, depression, and anorexia complicated her path after she left the order in 1969. Controversial religion documentaries led to a turn toward books—A History of God brought global attention—followed by works on Jerusalem, Islam, fundamentalism, the Buddha, and more.
Human beings, she insists, are meaning-seeking and naturally religious. Western elites predicted secularism would sideline religion; instead, most of the world retains strong religiosity, with the United States standing closer to developing nations in public expressions of faith.
Good Religion vs. Bad Religion: Compassion at the Center
Armstrong distinguishes between religion that liberates and religion that suffocates. “Bad religion” turns dogma and human agendas into idols; “good religion” dethrones the ego and centers compassion—the common thread of the great traditions. As she puts it, compassion is the litmus test of authentic spirituality: by placing the other at the center, we experience transcendence.
Mythos vs. Logos—Why Symbolic Thinking Matters
Modern culture prizes logos (analysis, proof) and often dismisses mythos (symbol, poetry, ritual) as ignorance. Armstrong argues that theology is closer to poetry than prose—an effort to gesture toward the inexpressible. Recovering symbolic imagination is essential to a healthy spiritual life.
How Fundamentalism Radicalizes Under Attack
Armstrong traces a recurring pattern: when secular authorities ridicule, repress, or forcibly modernize religious communities, fundamentalists harden.
The Scopes Trial and a Turning Point in the U.S.
Before the 1925 Scopes “monkey” trial, many American fundamentalists cooperated with social reformers; afterward, public humiliation fueled militant literalism and a rightward political turn, with “creation science” elevated as a flagship cause.
The Middle East, Secularization, and Backlash
Authoritarian secularization—from Egypt’s jailing of Muslim Brothers to Turkey’s suppression of Sufi orders and Iran’s forced Westernization—accelerated radicalization. Western backing for such regimes deepened grievance. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains a galvanizing focus; images of war and abuse become iconic, inflaming identity and drawing religion into cycles of violence.
Religion and U.S. Elections: A New Realignment
Analysts note a durable coalition between conservative Catholics and evangelical Protestants shaping electoral politics, alongside highly religious constituencies among both major parties. As religious discourse rises, positions harden and the middle ground thins.
Two Prescriptions: Foreign Policy and Reclaiming Religion
1) Rethink foreign policy. Pursue a just resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and end support for oppressive regimes; policies perceived as exploitation radicalize the alienated.
2) Reclaim religion from political operatives. Religion should be practiced—embodied compassion—rather than reduced to slogans, culture-war dogma, or rigid catechisms.
Where the Spiritual Quest Might Lead
Armstrong predicts the quest won’t necessarily end in a conventional view of God. More vital is practice that changes us—compassion that widens our circle of concern, symbolic imagination that heals the “breakdown of the sacred,” and a spirituality robust enough for a post-Auschwitz, post-September-11 world.
