Fundamentalism

As the media and leadership harks on the growing threat of Islamism on the West, those paying attention have become growingly alarmed at the growth of Christian Fundamentalism in the United States. This video clip from ABC News on the Documentary Jesus Camp scares me as much as Islamic Fundamentalists, unfortunately it is much closer to home. What has caused the move towards religion that had waned during the end of the 20th century? It is important to realize that the benefits of a modernizing world have left behind many, causing them to feel greater isolation and detachment from civilized society. Now it seems that most intelligent observers have realized this and are shaping the broader War on Terror and extremism as a battle to counteract that trend. This is reflected in George W. Bush's speech to the General Assembly (the flaw I touched on in an earlier post) and this ironic statement from Prince Hassan of Jordan: "the populism of Ahmadinejad and Hezbollah is an alternative to civil society in the Middle East. By recruiting the poor and disenfranchised, they are closer to people's needs than governments are. Which is why they have this enormous following." So now that we have somewhat of a consensus of what the broader struggle is, who will emerge with a coherent plan to counteract the trend?