Synopses & Reviews
This is a reference for understanding world religious societies in their contemporary global diversity. Comprising 60 essays, the volume focuses on communities rather than beliefs, symbols, or rites. It is organized into six sections corresponding to the major living religious traditions: the Indic cultural region, the Buddhist/Confucian, the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim regions, and the African cultural region. In each section an introductory essay discusses the social development of that religious tradition historically. The other essays cover the basic social factsthe communitys size, location, organizational and pilgrimage centers, authority figures, patterns of governance, major subgroups and schismsas well as issues regarding boundary maintenance, political involvement, role in providing cultural identity, and encounters with modernity. Communities in the diaspora and at the periphery are covered, as well as the central geographic regions of the religious traditions. Thus, for example, Islamic communities in Asia and the United States are included along with Islamic societies in the Middle East. The contributors are leading scholars of world religions, many of whom are also members of the communities they study. The essays are written to be informative and accessible to the educated public, and to be respectful of the viewpoints of the communities analyzed.
Review
"Juergensmeyer and his fellow essayists have produced a volume who purpose is to examine religious communities within a framework of global diversity. Contributors treat these areas with essays that concisely analyze the religions historically and socially: provide information about the organization, size, leaders, and political concerns of the various communities; show how religions provide cultural identity for adherents; and discuss attitudes towards modernity. This sourcebook will quickly become a standard reference work for students and general readers alike." --Choice
About the Author
Mark Juergensmeyer is professor of sociology and director of the Orfalea Center for Global and International Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is author or editor of twenty books, including Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence and Religion in Global Civil Society.
Table of Contents
Contributors
1. Thinking Globally about Religion
Part I: Indic Cultural Region
2. Thinking Globally about Hinduism
3. Traditional Brahmanical Society
4. Popular Hindu Movements
5. The Sikh Community
6. The Jain Community
7. Hindu Communities Abroad
Part II: Buddhist/Confucian Cultural Region
8. Thinking Globally about Buddhism
9. Theravada Buddhist Societies
10. Tibetan Buddhist Society
11. Vietnamese Religious Society
12. Traditional Chinese Religious Society
13. Popular Religion in Mainland China
14. Traditional Japanese Religious Society
15. Japanese New Religious Movements
16. Korean Religious Society
17. Buddhist Communities Abroad
Part III: Jewish Cultural Region
18. Thinking Globally about Judaism
19. Jewish Communities in Israel
20. Jewish Communities in North Africa and the Middle East
21. Jewish Communities in Europe
22. Jewish Communities in the Americas
23. Jewish Communities in Asia
Part IV: Christian Cultural Region
24. Thinking Globally about Christianity
25. Western European Catholic Societies
26. Eastern European Catholic Societies
27. European Protestant Societies
28. Orthodox Christian Societies
29. Religious Communities in Russia
30. The Coptic Community
31. Latin American Catholic Societies
32. North American Religious Communities
33. Evangelical Christian Community in North and South America
Part V: Islamic Cultural Region
39. Thinking Globally about Islam
40. Arab Islamic Societies
41. North African Islamic Societies
42. Sub-Saharan African Islam
43. European Islam
44. Shi'a Islamic Societies
45. Islamic Communities in Central Asia
46. Islamic Communities in South Asia
47. Islamic Societies in Southeast Asia
48. Chinese Islamic Communities
49. American Islamic Communities
50. Religious Movements with Islamic Origins
Part VI: African Cultural Region
51. Thinking Globally about African Religion
52. Traditional African Religious Societies
53. Afro-Caribbean Religious Societies
Part VII: Local Religious Societies
54. Thinking Globally about Local Religious Societies
55. Native American Religious Societies
56. Australian Aboriginal Societies
57. Pacific Islands Religious Communities
Part VIII: Understanding Global Religion
58. Religion in Global Perspective
59. Anti-Global Religion?
60. The Global Future of Religion
Index