The spirit of the Pharisee

[Universalist Catholic]

Many people associate Fundamentalists and Pharisees as the same thing from two different time periods.  I think the name Fundamentalists comes from a set of ultra-conservative pamphlets made to decide what was bible Dogma.  It later became associated with Islam and Christianity, and small minorities of Jews, and Hindus.  Today, people automatically refer to Fundamentalism as literal interpretations of sacred texts, Evangelical Christians, religious terrorists, or someone who believes that their religion alone is the only true one. 
Jesus strongly condemned the Pharisees, for their heavy emphasis on the rules, that they had a puffed up sense of pride for their obedience.  I think they also believed that God only favored them, and would show cruelty to the rest, and completely missed Jesus main message.
This reminds me quite a bit of Ancient Near Eastern Paganism, where one could only seek favor with the divine through specific rituals, prayers, sacrifices and unusual practices.  Those outside of favor were punished mercilessly.  And throughout the Bible, those nations who fell into that ancient Paganism did not fare too well.  Modern day paganism is nothing like ancient Paganism.  All they did was borrow from some of the cool Pagan beliefs and practices, and mixed in some new ageism. 
So I believe the spirit of the Pharisee can exist in any religion, or sect, but no one sect I think could be called Pharisaic.  As we know, there seems to be a high number of Pharisaic Christians and Muslims who believe that you can only find Favor with God if you meet some specific set of Standards, and those who dont find favor are shown cruelty.  It seems like they have gained quite some notoriety in history and the Modern day for many acts of hate and cruelty.