Fundamentalism is a religious movement that interprets scripture literally and applies it to daily life. Fundamentalism flourished during the twentieth century, particularly in the South. The doctrines of the movement were published around 1910 in pamphlets entitled The Fundamentals. Modern Fundamentalism stresses Bible study, is anti-intellectual, and is revivalist (involving highly emotional gatherings that serve to promote religion).
In literature or art, a leitmotif is an intentional repetition of an idea, word, phrase, or situation. Fundamentalism used as a leitmotif in the bean trees includes the oral roberts telephone number, 1-800-the lord. Taylor first sees the telephone number on an Oral Roberts television show (Roberts is a television evangelist) when she is in a restaurant in Oklahoma. The telephone number becomes a lifeline for Taylor, her "ace in the hole." She knows that if things get really bad, she can call 1-800-the lord to get help.
After Taylor "hit bottom and survived," she realizes that she no longer needs the security that having the telephone number gave her. She calls 1-800-THE LORD to thank them for the emotional and psychological support that they have given her — although, of course, they have no idea who Taylor is — and finds out that she's been deceived. The number is not a number to call for help, but a number to call to pledge money to Oral Roberts' ministry. Instead of being upset, Taylor asks them to give her a donation and is thankful that she is no longer in a position to need the number.
