Fundamentalism is essentially an unwavering attachment to a system of belief or ideology. Fundamentalism takes on different forms but I will distill it to the overt forms of it that I have noticed predominant in many Nigerian homes. I have decided to put fundamentalism under the light and tie it to the family because I believe that the core ideas of a person are formed in the earliest stages of his life and more often than not, people experience these early stages while living in a home with parents and siblings.

Anyone familiar with the psychology of growing children would agree with me that children are apt at learning and assimilating information when they are young. And when this information becomes reinforced regularly through their interaction with their primary environment, such information gets imprinted in their minds almost indelibly to the point where it becomes almost impossible to erase the effects of that information, especially when that information transforms into an ideology.

If, as I have explained, the process in which an idea is formed in the mind of a growing child, is largely influenced by the primary environment a child grows up in, and these kinds of ideas stick well into adulthood, and if the home forms the primary environment where most people develop, then the kind of ideas that thrive in the home and the degree to which they are subscribed to need to be checked.

Now, ideas are powerful tools that shape our lives in various ways. Ideas modulate our actions and regulate our decision making process. An idea could be a force that initiates positive change. But it could also be an instrument that engenders devastatingly negative effects.

Ideas are just beliefs about the nature of certain elements that constitute the totality of our experience on earth, but despite this seemingly simple and benign definition, an idea, like i have previously stated is immensely powerful.

If an idea is indeed powerful, then we should not only be careful about the kind of ideas we hold, but about how attached we are to this idea. And if like I have emphasized, a child invariably adopts the ideas present in his primary environment (his home), then it matters what kind of ideas thrive in that environment.

Fundamentalism is when an idea is believed to be inarguably true in every ramifications of that idea. It is when a person clings to an idea tenaciously to the point where he not only expresses intolerance to opposing or contradictory ideas, but becomes immune to rational arguments that challenge the validity of that idea. To a fundamentalist, his idea is true and every other idea is false. He doesn't care what anyone has to say.
Fundamentalism also goes hand in hand with literalism, when an idea is derived from a set of written texts. Literalism is a form of fundamentalism where someone adopts a set of ideas from the literal interpretation of certain texts he believes to be valid.

Fundamentalism, I would argue is the biggest barrier to change and growth. This change or growth could be intellectual, social, political or economical. I will explain why.

Now someone might argue that fundamentalism couldn't always be a bad thing. That a person could be fundamentalist towards an idea that is inherently good and doesn't admit of any negative aspects of it.
My response to anyone who is brilliant enough to present such argument is this: Although an idea can be intrinsically good, there is no guarantee that it's the best idea to have on the subject it derives from. Having a good idea doesn't mean someone can't have a better idea, and someone else can't have an even better idea than the two.

To better emphasize my response to such argument, I would like to paint an analogy.
Imagine If fundamentalism is like people living in a village where few years back, there wasn't any means of transportation and out of no where someone creates a bicycle. Now the creation of a bicycle is a good thing. It would facilitate more efficient transportation of humans and goods. But because bicycles are a good means of transportation doesn't mean that there aren't other more efficient and more comfortable means of transportation.

Now imagine if all the people in this village become fundamentalist towards the idea that bicycles are the best means of transportation. And maybe if someone comes from another village to tell them that a car is actually a more efficient means of transportation and that they should at least try it out. Imagine if these people intransigently refuse to change their minds about their idea about bicycles or even at least engage with the claim about cars. To these people, they are making the decision because obviously they are seeing and experiencing the benefits of unwaveringly subscribing to their own ideas, but in doing so they miss out on more rewarding benefits of other better and more productive ideas.

Fundamentalism if not checked can become contractable. And the degree of contractibility depends on the influence the fundamentalists have over the possible contractors.
I will dovetail this to my emphasis on children and development. Just as children are able to adopt ideas prevalent in their environment, they are also able to adopt ways in which these ideas materialize. So basically, if the people existing within the primary environment of a child( the home/family) are fundamentalists, then it is highly likely that the child would also become a fundamentalist. If this be the case, then it's obvious that we should examine the ideas that abound in our families and homes and evaluate how we cling to these ideas.

If the ideas people hold are a product of their primary environments, and ideas drive decisions and actions, which inexorably influence the growth and changes that occur in our environments, whether negatively or positively, then I think it's logical to say that the kind of ideas that thrive in our homes and how they thrive, are pivotal to the our nation's growth and development.

Fundamentalism occurs in different forms. This post isn't about dissecting the various forms, but illuminating our minds to its dangerous effects.

We should never believe in the absoluteness of an idea. Whether it be religious or not. We should never believe an idea to be incontrovertibly valid. We should always be open minded about other possible notions that might exist within the context in which we choose our ideas. Our ideas should be immune to being challenged and we should be ready to change our minds when the loopholes in our ideas are pointed out to us. This is the only way we can grow intellectually. We should also try as much as possible to explore new ways of thinking and new systems of thought, even if they fly in the face of our cherished beliefs. We should also teach these things to our kids because not only does it make them grow into more objective individuals, it also helps them develop critical thinking skills. We should invest our money on books, not just academic books, but books on other subjects like history, philosophy, economics, psychology, books exploring ideas, books exploring cultures different from ours, even books exploring religions different from ours. This helps us form nuanced opinions on various subjects. It enables us to be able to examine issues from different unique angles. All this precludes any chance of us being fundamentalists. We should also teach our kids and young ones the same.

We should never be afraid to engage in conversations with people who hold ideas different from ours. It may not change our minds, but it would help us to see things from their own perspective. This helps develop our cognitive empathy to a higher degree.

Let us put considerable effort into killing the ugly beast of fundamentalism in our homes, whether it's in its mature or incipient stage. This would invariably collectively help build a better society.