Modernity has many children, one of them is 'fundamentalism'. Critically examine the relevance of the statement.

Modernity in third world societies is 'prismatic' (Fred Riggs) and is uneven in nature. The rewards and benefits of modernity is unevenly spread e.g. Muslims were backward in taking up western education - Syed Ahmed Khan.

To secure the benefits of modern society, fundamentalists use religion as a forefront. Stark and Bainbridge says religion in its primordial form is suggested to be brought back as an original solution to modern problems.

Fundamentalists believe that scriptures are inerrant, present society is morally and culturally decayed, uses narrow interpretation of scripture, intolerant of dissent, advocation of religion as the solution for the same.

Fundamentalism is a feature of plural societies undergoing modernization (Peter Berger). It is an example of how religion is used as a vehicle of protest (Merton) rather than value consensus.