From my friend Mark:

A fundamentalist is someone who believes that all issues can be definitively decided by reference to certain fundamental principles and truths. Strict constructionists in constitutional law, biblical fundamentalists, and foundationalists in philosophy all (loosely speaking) share this basic intellectual stance. Such a position is inherently traditionalist, as it defines texts of the past as definitive guides to the changing present. Progressive thinkers believe that texts of the past need to be used as guides but also reinterpreted in light of changing conditions (e.g., the changing role of women in society); a social changes as deviant when they are not accounted for in the texts of the past. Moreover, since each religion has its own foundational (sacred) texts, fundamentalism tends toward separatism which can easily shade into intolerance.

Posted by S Kuhn