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fanaticism

Obsessive devotion combined with thoroughly invasive attempts to convert people to whatever is being devoted to.

Devotion alone is not harmful. Teaching people about one's devotions or beliefs isn't harmful.

But people are completely out-of-line when they force people into unwilling bondage with the threat of death.

Usually, fanaticism is driven by power-hunger, corruption given by power, the strong desire to be considered right, misinterpretation of religious texts or other manifestos and documents, and/or insanity.

It's not often monetarily driven. That problem is usually called greed, an obsession with money. (Which I suppose might be a type of fanaticism.)
It is not belief, but fanaticism, that is the cause of many of the world's problems.

Some Christians either have a rather blasé attitude towards their faith, or they practise raving fanaticism which would be dangerous to the public at large if carried out in office. (Many Protestant churches are possesed by fanaticism.) These two stereotypes give Christianity a bad, bad, bad image that it's rather undeserving of, as most Christians are moderates, or are the blasé kind aforementioned.

Similarly, the Crusades and the Inquisitions were rather embarrassing fanatical events in history that have nothing to do with the message of Christ, but with the craze of power and being right.

Communism during the Cold War was sometimes fanaticism rooted in a state cult (like Stalinism), or in atheism. This fanaticism led to the deaths of many religious people, guilty of little to nothing else.

The fanaticism of the Ku Klux Klan led to the unwarranted deaths of many African Americans.

Nazi fanaticism killed Jews, communists, homosexuals, Catholics, and soldiers who could all have been doing something more useful than dying.

So, therefore, I believe strongly that it's not Christianity, Islam, Republicanism, Democratism, liberality, conservatism, Zionism, Judaism, capitalism, communism, socialism, dictatorship, or any other belief or circumstance which causes trouble. It is when these things hold too much influence over our lives and cause us to do horrible things. Or, fanaticism.
by TarkanAttila22 July 24, 2010
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movie fanatic

someone that has somewhat of an addiction to/obsession with movies. this person is usually spending their paychecks on movie theatres and building his/her collection of DVDs, and usually have something such as a bookshelf to store/display their movies. They will sometimes attempt to get bootleg copies of movies before they come out in theatres for the public.
Paul: Hey Frank, do you want to go see Dead or Alive with me when it comes out?
Mike: I totally have a bootleg of that sh*t on my computer at home, you can come over and watch it anytime.
Paul: Mike, you're such a movie fanatic.
by River702 November 25, 2006
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Fanatic

Someone who is obsessed or in love with something . Most likely money or religion
Did you see how many jobs she has ? She’s definitely a fanatic.
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Sensual fanatic

The term comes from a song by the duo Plan B. The word describes a person who imagines a sensual moment with a person they know or wanna hook up with.
She's a fanatic of sensuality
She has a photo of me
And I already can imagine
What she does when she's alone
From the song sensual fanatic.
(Translated)
by And I POOP_ January 8, 2020
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mbti fanatic

Someone who figured out their mbti personality type and now posts hourly, daily or weekly in on-line discussion forums with their type-related issues.
Those mbti fanatics don't stop going on and on about how their type causes all their problems in life whilst forgetting that Science has proved that everyone has a unique existence.
by WhiteKnight82 June 14, 2009
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religious fanatic

Someone who takes a perfectly good creed and assumes that because they pretend to follow it, they are allowed to do anything they want even if they don't really follow the creed at all. Usually insisting that if others do not follow their ways, they will be damned.
During the middle ages, Christian religious fanatics entered the Middle East to aide the Bysantine Empire, and were often slaughtered.

Today, religious fanatics in Iraq bombed the US embassy. Four were killed, five-hundred twelve were wounded.
by Introbulus January 21, 2005
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LOST fanatic

someone who is completely obbsessed with LOST. she spends all her time trying to explain it to friends who just wont ever understand it. she is completely addicted. she also makes t.v guides for it and spends most of her time talking about it. she is also a spazzy chipmunk
"that girl is so insane!"
"yeah what a spazzy chipmunk!"
"yeah! she is such a lost fanatic
by hates lost August 10, 2010
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