The revered images and sacred narratives of the world's religions render existence meaningful. However, when interpreted literally rather than symbolically, the spiritual essence of religion loses its creative potential and can become a destructive force. Fundamentalists of any faith, says author Stephen Larsen, are in a rapture of certainty, secure in their righteous belief and an exclusive covenant with God. Our world today is embroiled in a "clash of the fundamentalisms" as predicted by the great mythologist Joseph Campbell, and, in the words of Dr. Huston Smith, "all isms end up in schisms." Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Stephen Larsen is Professor Emeritus of psychology, SUNY, Ulster. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

List of Illustrations	VIII
Foreword	IX
Acknowledgments	XVII
Introduction	XIX
1 The Phantom Rulers of Humanity	1
2 The Neurobiology of Belief	21
3 Authority, Ritual, and Dissociation	49
4 Fragments of the Gods	77
5 Dualism and Millennialism in Christianity	97
6 The Roots of Islamic Fundamentalism	127
7 Secular Fundamentalism	141
8 The Five-Minute Fundamentalist	163
9 Natural Religion	189
Notes	213
Bibliography	225
Index	235

Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.