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Is fundamentalism a threat to science? Evidence from scientometrics

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Abstract

This article aims to provide scientometric evidence in order to confirm or refute the statement that the “rise in literalist religious thinking in the 1990s devastated science in the Islamic world by promoting the idea that all knowledge could be found in the Koran” published in a Special Report in the New Scientist and to map the literature related to fundamentalism over time and space during the last ten years. We find that despite the rise of fundamentalism, science was thriving in eight Islamic countries (Iran, Jordan, Indonesia, Egypt, Turkey, Malaysia, Morocco, and Pakistan) during the period and hence the statement is refuted.

The mapping of the “fundamentalist” literature indicates that there are a constant number of articles per year (60 to 70) covering disciplines ranging from religion and sociology to political sciences and international relations. The center of research is revealed to be the Anglo-Saxon world with epicenter the USA. Finally, we identify that the debate of fundamentalism versus science is in an embryonic stage.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Technological Innovation, Engineering Building I, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0002, South Africa

    Anastassios Pouris

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  1. Anastassios Pouris
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Correspondence to Anastassios Pouris.

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Pouris, A. Is fundamentalism a threat to science? Evidence from scientometrics. Scientometrics 71, 329–338 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-007-1673-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-007-1673-4

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