A reader writes:
Interesting topic, fundamentalism as addiction. I would disagree slightly. Rather than seeing fundamentalism as an addiction, I would say that fundamentalism and addiction are parallel responses to the same underlying phenomenon: a deep insecurity and emotional woundedness. People who are addicted (whether to tobacco, drugs, alcohol, food, sex, etc.) often report that they are attempting to fill an emotional hole or void in their being. Fundamentalism may be another response to the same thing.