We Shall Not Be Moved

Abstract

This thesis explores how a fundamentalist Christian community in Texas, United States gives meaning to its surroundings in a globalized world. The globalized world, hallmarked by swiftness and fluidity, stimulates processes that instigate a relative uprootedness of social contexts. This uprootedness can be experienced by individuals or groups as a disorienting phenomenon: a ‘culture of confusion’. To overcome this sense of confusion, communities might offer an alternative, a ‘culture of protection’ to its members. It is argued that the Bible Baptist church, the center of the conducted qualitative research, engages in creating this ‘culture of protection’ to its members. This thesis wishes to contribute in providing a nuanced image of fundamentalist Christians. It might also be a contribution to debates about the construction of a community in the globalized world. Finally, it might shed light on current discourses on religion in American society and current debates on secularism.