Every fundamentalist movement I’ve studied in Judaism, Christianity and Islam is convinced at some gut, visceral level that secular liberal society wants to wipe out religion.

Karen Armstrong makes this observation in the context of her comparative study of modern religious fundamentalism across the Abrahamic traditions. In her work and public commentary, she argues that many fundamentalist movements are not simply “more religious,” but are modern, reactive projects shaped by the pressures of secularization, state-building, and cultural change. The remark reflects her recurring emphasis that fundamentalists often experience secular liberal modernity as an existential threat—socially, morally, and politically—and that this perceived siege mentality helps explain their militancy, boundary-drawing, and suspicion of pluralism.

Armstrong is summarizing a recurring psychological and political dynamic she sees across modern religious fundamentalisms: they are not merely doctrinally conservative but feel existentially threatened by secular liberal modernity. The “gut, visceral” phrasing emphasizes that this conviction operates as an identity-level fear rather than a calmly reasoned conclusion. In her broader work, Armstrong often argues that such movements arise in periods of rapid social change and perceived humiliation, and that they respond by drawing sharper boundaries, policing belief and behavior, and framing pluralistic society as an enemy. The quote highlights how perceived persecution can become a unifying narrative that fuels militancy and resistance to compromise.