ABSTRACT
During the sixties secularization, in the sense of a process that removes religion and religious organizations from their previous central role in the civic order, was believed to be virtually unstoppable—its signs were all around, there for all to see. Almost everywhere, fundamentalism has grown considerably in strength, and the similarities between those different fundamentalisms are striking—in their effects on believers, nonbelievers, patterns of religious organization, and the wider sociopolitical scene. Fundamentalists retain a heavy influence in most Islamic countries, and there their weight is not likely to diminish greatly. The Saudi monarchy has indeed moved some steps away from the more extreme manifestations of Wahhabist Islam; it is a welcome development, even if many Saudi religious leaders are fighting such moderation all the way. Christian fundamentalist movements are especially active in the United States, where in some parts of the country they exert considerable power at the local level.
