Fundamentalism as a challenge for religious education

Empirical research on fundamentalist biographies - presented are three case studies and a summary of research results - demonstrate the complex biogra phical-motivational factors for fundamentalist turns, but also a transforma tional potential. Explaining fundamentalist conversion and deconversion wit hin a theoretical framework of fundamentalism as "modern anti-modernism" an d as "dislocation of religious styles" opens up a new perspective on the go als of religious education: to transcend the teaching of pure factual knowl edge, to open up an atmosphere of "care of souls", to aim at overcoming lit eral understanding, and to engage in a creative laboratory for thought expe riments in order to accompany fundamentalist young people into processes of transformation.