fundamentalist

reserve this for people and groups who self-identify as "fundamentalist." Otherwise identify the characteristic you want to convey; evangelical, militant, conservative, radical, fanatical. If you mean people who are very serious about their religion, use devout, practicing, orthodox. United Church of Christ minister Alexander Harper (in The New York Times) protested the increasing use of "fundamentalist" to describe those of strong religious convictions: "Within Christian fundamentalism, if the word can be used objectively anymore, there are biblical, doctrinal, and pietistic conservatives. The first typically stresses literal interpretation of the Scripture; the second, exclusive theories of salvation; the third, inner experiences of the spirit. They may or may not be political activists. One suspects that conservative Shiite Islam ... admits to at least as many distinctions as those existing among Christian fundamentalists. I call for a moratorium on the use of 'fundamentalist' ... the word only smears, casting no light but only heat, like ugly racial slurs."