Synopses & Reviews
Revealing the significance of religion in contemporary life, World Religions Today, Fourth Edition, explores major religious traditions--Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, East Asian Religions, indigenous religions, and new religions--as dynamic, ongoing forces in the lives of individuals and in the collective experience of modern societies. This unique volume accomplishes two goals: it connects today's religions to their classical beliefs and practices and focuses on how these religions have responded to and been transformed by the modern world. The authors combine thorough coverage of the historical background of each religion with up-to-the-minute discussions of its current practices. The volume is enhanced by numerous pedagogical aids--text boxes, timelines, maps, illustrations, discussion questions, a comprehensive glossary of key terms, and suggestions for further reading--and more than 200 photographs.
NEW TO THIS EDITION:
* Updates throughout that cover more aspects of the current international situation and developments in religious life around the world
* Rituals and Rites boxes examining rituals that have changed in practice or meaning over time
* Gender Focus boxes that highlight gender-specific customs within each faith
* A revised and updated Instructor's Manual and Test Bank on CD containing overviews, learning goals, and summaries for each chapter; lecture outlines; PowerPoint-based lecture slides; fill-in-the-blank, multiple-choice, and true/false test questions; sample essay/discussion questions; flash cards of key terms; and suggested reading, viewing, and links
* An updated Companion Website at www.oup.com/us/esposito featuring all of the material from the Instructor's Manual and additional resources for students
World Religions Today, Fourth Edition, is also available as two separate volumes:
Religions of Asia Today, Second Edition (978-0-19-975949-1)
Religions of the West Today, Second Edition (978-0-19-975950-7)
Review
"Pedagogically, the text is superb. It is not only informative and accessible, but also extremely interesting. The emphasis on modernity, post-modernity, and inter- and intra-religious diversity is both crucial and appealing." --Mohammad Hassan Khalil, Michigan State University
Synopsis
Revealing the significance of religion in contemporary life,
World Religions Today, Fourth Edition, explores major religious traditions--Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, East Asian Religions, indigenous religions, and new religions--as dynamic, ongoing forces in the lives of individuals and in the collective experience of modern societies.
This unique volume accomplishes two goals: it connects today's religions to their classical beliefs and practices and focuses on how these religions have responded to and been transformed by the modern world. The authors combine thorough coverage of the historical background of each religion with up-to-the-minute discussions of its current practices. The volume is enhanced by numerous pedagogical aids--text boxes, timelines, maps, illustrations, discussion questions, a comprehensive glossary of key terms, and suggestions for further reading--and more than 200 photographs.
World Religions Today, Fourth Edition, is also available as two separate volumes:
Religions of Asia Today, Second Edition (978-0-19-975949-1)
Religions of the West Today, Second Edition (978-0-19-975950-7)
Table of Contents
Chapters 2-9 open with an Overview. Preface
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION
Globalization: World Religions in Everyone's Hometown
Why Study World Religions?
Our Task
Understanding Religious Experience and Its Formative Elements
The Great Religious Stories of the World
Historical Overview: From Premodern to Postmodern
The Modern/Postmodern Transition: Colonialism, the Socialist Challenge, and the End of Modernity
Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World
Conclusion: We Are All Heretics in the Postmodern Situation
Discussion Questions
Key Terms
Notes
CHAPTER 2. INDIGENOUS RELIGIONS
Origins of Homo religiosus: Prehistory
Religion's Origins Among Hunter-Gatherers
Indigenous Religious Traditions: Soul Belief and Afterlife
Shamans: "Technicians of the Sacred"
Indigenous Religions Today
Conclusion
Discussion Questions
Key Terms
Suggested Readings
Additional Resources
Notes
CHAPTER 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 (2000 BCE-500 CE)
Premodern Judaism: The Classical Era (500 CE-1729 CE)
Judaism and Modernity
Judaism and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World (1967- )
Conclusion
Discussion Questions
Key Terms
Suggested Readings
Additional Resources
Notes
CHAPTER 4. CHRISTIAN DIVERSITY AND THE ROAD TO MODERNITY
Encounter with Modernity: The Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy (1859-)
Premodern Christianity: The Formative Era (31-451 CE)
Premodern Christianity: The Classical Era (451-1517 CE)
Christianity and Modernity (1517-1962)
Christianity and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World (1962-)
Conclusion
Discussion Questions
Key Terms
Suggested Readings
Additional Resources
CHAPTER 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
Conclusion
Discussion Questions
Key Terms
Suggested Readings
Notes
CHAPTER 6. HINDUISM AND OTHER SOUTH ASIAN RELIGIONS: MYRIAD PATHS TO LIBERATION
Defining Hinduism: Unity, Diversity, Localities
Encounter with 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 (900 CE-1500 CE)
Hinduism and Modernity
Hinduism and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World
Hindu Festival Practice
The Religious Institutions of Contemporary Hinduism
Conclusion
Discussion Questions
Key Terms
Suggested Readings
Additional Resources
Notes
CHAPTER 7. BUDDHISM: PATHS TOWARD NIRVANA
Encounter with Modernity: Socially "Engaged Buddhism"
Premodern Buddhism: The Formative Era (600 BCE-100 CE)
Premodern Buddhism: The Classical Era (100-800 CE)
Premodern Buddhism: Buddhist Expansion (400-1500 CE)
Buddhism and Modernity
Buddhism and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World
Conclusion
Discussion Questions
Key Terms
Suggested Readings
Additional Resources
Notes
CHAPTER 8. EAST ASIAN RELIGIONS: TRADITIONS OF HUMAN CULTIVATION AND NATURAL HARMONY
Geographical Orientation
Encounter with Modernity: The Fall and Return of Confucianism
East Asian Religions in the Formative Era (1500 BCE-200 CE)
East Asian Religions in the Early Modern Era
East Asian Religions and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World
Conclusion: Have We Entered a Third Confucian Age?
Discussion Questions
Key Terms
Suggested Readings
Additional Resources
Notes
CHAPTER 9. GLOBALIZATION: FROM NEW TO NEW AGE RELIGIONS
Encounter with Modernity: The Challenge of Global Diversity to the "Purity" of Tradition
New Religions
New Age Religions
Conclusion: The Postmodern Challenge
Discussion Questions
Suggested Readings
Additional Resources
Notes
Glossary
Art Credits
Index