The twenty-first century is witnessing a resurgence and globalization of religion. Around the world, religion has become an increasingly more important and pervasive force in personal and public life. Revealing the significance of religion in contemporary life, World Religions Today, Second Edition, explores eight major religious traditions as dynamic, ongoing forces in the lives of individuals and in the collective experience of modern societies. Covering historical details more succinctly than the previous edition, this volume features revised chapters on Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and East Asian Religions and adds two new chapters, "Primal Religions," and "Globalization: From New to New Age Religions." It also integrates material on Osama bin Laden, global terrorism, and the Iraq War. Moving beyond many books in the field--which focus on the historical origins and ancient development of the classical traditions of each religion--World Religions Today, Second Edition, takes a fresh approach. The book uses historical coverage of the religious traditions as a framework to help students understand how faiths have evolved to the present day and continue to have an impact on belief, politics, and society. It connects today's religions to their classical beliefs and practices but also shows how these religions have responded to and been transformed by the modern world. To help students grasp what might be "new" about the emerging era of religious life in the twenty-first century, the authors open each discussion with a contemporary scenario of religious experience that illustrates the tension between premodern views and modernity.

World Religions Today, Second Edition, incorporates many pedagogical aids--timelines, maps, illustrations, discussion questions, and a glossary of key terms--and also features approximately 200 photographs and two new eight-page full-color inserts. A Companion Website contains student resources including chapter summaries, self-quizzes, and links to additional sources. An Instructor's Manual offers chapter summaries, pedagogical suggestions, and exam questions and answers. Ideal for undergraduate courses in world religions and comparative religion, World Religions Today, Second Edition, emphasizes the interconnectedness of faith, culture, politics, and society, providing a peerless examination of the diverse ways in which contemporary human beings are religious.

The twenty-first century is witnessing a resurgence and globalization of religion. Around the world, religion has become an increasingly more important and pervasive force in personal and public life. Revealing the significance of religion in contemporary life, World Religions Today, Second<BR>Edition, explores eight major religious traditions as dynamic, ongoing forces in the lives of individuals and in the collective experience of modern societies. Covering historical details more succinctly than the previous edition, this volume features revised chapters on Judaism, Christianity, <BR>Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and East Asian Religions and adds two new chapters, "Primal Religions," and "Globalization: From New to New Age Religions." It also integrates material on Osama bin Laden, global terrorism, and the Iraq War. Moving beyond many books in the field--which focus on the<BR>historical origins and ancient development of the classical traditions of each religion--World Religions Today, Second Edition, takes a fresh approach. The book uses historical coverage of the religious traditions as a framework to help students understand how faiths have evolved to the present day<BR>and continue to have an impact on belief, politics, and society. It connects today's religions to their classical beliefs and practices but also shows how these religions have responded to and been transformed by the modern world. To help students grasp what might be "new" about the emerging era of<BR>religious life in the twenty-first century, the authors open each discussion with a contemporary scenario of religious experience that illustrates the tension between premodern views and modernity.<BR> World ReligionsToday, Second Edition, incorporates many pedagogical aids--timelines, maps, illustrations, discussion questions, and a glossary of key terms--and also features approximately 200 photographs and two new eight-page full-color inserts. A Companion Website contains student resou

Preface

1. Introduction

Globalization: World Religions in Everyone's Hometown

Understanding Religious Experience and Its Expressions

The Great Transition

The Great Religious Stories of the World

Modernization in Global Perspective

Modern Colonialism, the Socialist Challenge, and the End of Modernity

Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World

Discussion Questions

Key Terms

Notes

2. Primal Religions

The Modern Human as Homo Religiosus

Hunter-Gatherers and the Prehistoric Origins of Religion

Animism and Afterlife

The Shaman

Primal Religions and the Cataclysms of Colonialism

Primal Religions Today

3. The Many Stories of Judaism: Sacred and Secular

Encounter with Modernity: Modern Judaisms and the Challenge of Ultra-Orthodoxy

Premodern Judaism: The Formative Era

Premodern Judaism: The Classical Era

Judaism and Modernity

Judaism and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World

4. Christian Diversity and the Road to Modernity

Encounter with Modernity: The Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy

Premodern Christianity: The Formative Era

Premodern Christianity: The Classical Era

Christianity and Modernity

Christianity and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World

5. Islam: The Many Faces of the Muslim Experience

Encounter with Modernity: The Challenge of Western Colonialism

Premodern Islam: The Formative Era

Premodern Islam: The Classical Era

Islam and Modernity

Islam and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World

Islam: Postmodern Challenges

6. Hinduism: Myriad Paths to Salvation

A Far-Ranging Spiritual Tradition

Encountering Modernity: Hindu Challenges to India as a Secular State

Premodern Hinduism: The Formative Era

Premodern Hinduism: The Classical Era (180 BCE-900 CE)

Premodern Hinduism: The Postclassical Era (1500 BCE-900 CE)

Hinduism and Modernity

Hinduism and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World

Hinduism in Practice

7. Buddhism: Ways to Nirvana

Encounter with Modernity: Socially Engaged Buddhism

Premodern Buddhism: The Formative Era

Premodern Buddhism: The Classical Era

Premodern Buddhism: Buddhist Expansion

Buddhism and Modernity

Buddhism and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World

8. East Asian Religions: Traditions of Human Cultivation and Natural Harmony

Encounter With Modernity: Postcolonial Confucian Economics

East Asian Religions in the Premodern Era

East Asian Religions in the Early Modern Era

East Asian Religions and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World

9. Globalization: From New to New Age Religions

New Religions

New Age Religions

Religious Postmodernism and Global Ethics

Glossary

Art Credits

Index

Chapters 2-8 open with an Overview and end with a Conclusion, Discussion Questions, Key Terms, and Suggested Readings. Chapter 9 opens with an Overview and includes Discussion Questions and Suggested Readings. All chapters with the exception of Chapter 4 also include Notes.