Fundamentalism originated as a specific early 20th-century American Protestant movement

Evidence

I generally avoid the terms “fundamentalist” and “fundamentalism” in this book—not because they aren’t useful, but because they are so frequently misused. The term “fundamentalism” derives from a series of pamphlets published between 1910 and 1915 by theologically conservative Protestants in an effort to stanch the drift toward liberalism in Protestant denominations. Those who subscribed to the doctrines set forth in these pamphlets (including the virgin birth of Jesus, the authenticity of miracles, and the inerrancy of the Scriptures) came to be known as fundamentalists. The word has since been applied to other religious traditions—Hindu fundamentalists, Jewish fundamentalists, Mormon fundamentalists, Muslim fundamentalists, et al.—but the term belongs properly to American religious history. — Randall Balmer, Bad Faith, 185

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies the precise origin of ‘fundamentalism’ as 1910-15 Protestant pamphlets, contrasted with its loose popular application.
• XREF: Connects to the mislabeling-of-terms theme found across the silence/noise and Islamophobia reading where imported labels get stretched. — connects to: A prominent American fundamentalist preached that God authored racial segregation — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers: Inside the…, 247