Fundamentalism in its most basic definition refers to the attempt to return to the fundamental ideals and principles of a specific tradition. Therefore, a fundamentalist is a person who believes that it is crucial and necessary to return and adhere to the foundations of one's tradition because something specific, usually another tradition, is challenging the foundations of that person's tradition. “Overall, fundamentalism was a response to the loss of influence that traditional revivalism experienced in America during the early years of the twentieth century” (Internet Archive Wayback Machine). No one can be credited with founding fundamentalism; it essentially created itself out of the revivalism that Protestant America was experiencing at the time. It is also important to know that there are two forms of fundamentalism: religious and secular. Obviously, religious fundamentalism tends to derive from ideals of an existing religion such as Christianity, while secular fundamentalism is not affiliated with any religion. An example of a secular group is The New Atheist which attempts to prove worldly matters through science. The difference between these two forms will be discussed later in this article in much more detail. Another way to better understand what defines both religious and secular fundamentalism is through these ten traits (secular fundamentalism may only share the first eight traits). The traits are as follows:I. An unwillingness to compromise (i.e. Sunni and Shia fundamentalists; they cannot compromise with whoever should succeed Muhammad and therefore have been in conflict for hundreds of years now)II. The feeling of having been chosen to fulfill a cosmic mission (i.e. Christian fundamentalists like the evangelical Chris... in the center of the paper ones, Steven. "Religious Movements Homepage: Fundamentalism." Internet Archive Wayback Machine. July 16, 2001. Web 06 June 2011. .Leppert, Richard. Ed. Jim Drobnick. Toronto, Ontario: YYZ, 2004. Print.Loflin, Lewis "Christian Fundamentalism and Science." Web. 07 June 2011. "The New Kadampa Tradition - Kadampa Buddhism NKT-IKBU) |. Tibetan Buddhism Goes West." Info.Buddhism Web. 07 June 2011. "Secular Buddhism Web 2011. Smith, Huston, Richard Marranca and Huston Smith World Religions New York: HarperOne, 1991. Print.