Understanding World Religions

Understanding World Religions
Author: Irving Hexham
Publisher: Zondervan Academic
Total Pages: 513
Release: 2011-03-22
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0310314488

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Globalization and high-speed communication put twenty-first century people in contact with adherents to a wide variety of world religions, but usually, valuable knowledge of these other traditions is limited at best. On the one hand, religious stereotypes abound, hampering a serious exploration of unfamiliar philosophies and practices. On the other hand, the popular idea that all religions lead to the same God or the same moral life fails to account for the distinctive origins and radically different teachings found across the world’s many religions. Understanding World Religions presents religion as a complex and intriguing matrix of history, philosophy, culture, beliefs, and practices. Hexham believes that a certain degree of objectivity and critique is inherent in the study of religion, and he guides readers in responsible ways of carrying this out. Of particular importance is Hexham’s decision to explore African religions, which have frequently been absent from major religion texts. He surveys these in addition to varieties of Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

God, Torah, Israel

God, Torah, Israel
Author: Louis Jacobs
Publisher: Hebrew Union College Press
Total Pages: 115
Release: 1990-12-31
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0878204717

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In these three lectures, the eminent British rabbi and theologian Louis Jacobs defines and defends his position as a liberal supernaturalist and halakhic nonfundamentalist in those areas where the religious Jew is confronted with the conflicting truth claims of modern knowledge and traditional belief. Jacobs begins by contrasting the theistic belief in a personal God with some of its alternatives; he argues that the liberal supernaturalist's position is both the closest in approximation to the traditional Jewish view and still the most coherent way to deal with the fundamental mysteries of the universe, even after Freud, Darwin, Marx, and modern technology have replaced a God-centered universe with a universe the center of which is man. The second lecture explores the impact of modern science and scholarship on the doctrine of Torah min hashamayim, divine revelation of the Written and Oral Torah. Acknowledging the influence of geology, astronomy, anthropology, comparative religion, Wissenschaft des Judentums, and Textual Criticism on the development of the Torah, Jacobs argues that one can be objective without any sacrifice of piety if one accepts the premise that "the totality we call Torah is human imbued with the divine." Finally, in the third lecture, Jacobs discusses traditional interpretations of the doctrine of the Chosen People and examines some of the tensions it generates today in terms of interreligious tolerance, the Jewish people and the Jewish state, and the demands of the group versus the needs of the individual. In addition, he contrasts fundamentalist and nonfundamentalist attitudes toward various eschatological idead, advocating a position of "reverent agnosticism" with regard to belief in the Messiah and resurrection of the dead but affirming acceptance of the immortality of the soul as a basic principle of modern Jewish faith.

Invitation to World Religions

Invitation to World Religions
Author: Jeffrey Brodd
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2021-07
Genre: Religions
ISBN: 9780197543788

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"Featuring a unique, consistent, and modular chapter structure and numerous pedagogical features, Invitation to World Religions, Fourth Edition, invites students to explore the world's great religions with respect and a sense of wonder. The authors also encourage students to develop an appreciation for what religious beliefs and practices actually mean to their adherents"--

Religion Matters

Religion Matters
Author: Prothero, Stephen
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 11
Release: 2020-07-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0393422046

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A religion is a system of stories, and there is no better way to engage with the worldÕs religions than through the stories that animate their beliefs and practices. Through the exploration of these ancient stories and contemporary practices, Stephen Prothero, a New York TimesÐbestselling author and gifted storyteller, helps students better grasp the role of religion in our fractured world and to develop greater religious literacy. Videos and an award-winning adaptive learning tool, InQuizitive, further engage students and help them master core objectives and develop their own religious literacy.

The World's Religions

The World's Religions
Author: Huston Smith
Publisher:
Total Pages: 422
Release: 2017-03-29
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9784871872225

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This book has seven basic chapters: Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. These he calls the "Major Historical Religions." They all have sacred texts. This book was intended to be a brief survey without an in-depth analysis. A new section was added to The World's Religions. It is entitled "The Primal Religions." It describes a broad sweep of religions such as those practiced by the Australian Aborigines, by the Native American Indians of North and South America and the religions of the interior of Africa. Huston Smith's masterpiece explores the essential elements and teachings of the world's predominant faiths, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the native traditions of Australia, Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. Emphasizing the inner--rather than the institutional--dimension of these religions, Smith devotes special attention to Zen and Tibetan Buddhism, Sufism, and the teachings of Jesus. He convincingly conveys the unique appeal and gifts of each of the traditions and reveals their hold on the human heart and imagination.

Genealogies of Religion

Genealogies of Religion
Author: Talal Asad
Publisher: JHU Press
Total Pages: 346
Release: 1993-08-18
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0801895936

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In Geneologies of Religion, Talal Asad explores how religion as a historical category emerged in the West and has come to be applied as a universal concept. The idea that religion has undergone a radical change since the Christian Reformation—from totalitarian and socially repressive to private and relatively benign—is a familiar part of the story of secularization. It is often invokved to explain and justify the liberal politics and world view of modernity. And it leads to the view that "politicized religions" threaten both reason and liberty. Asad's essays explore and question all these assumptions. He argues that "religion" is a construction of European modernity, a construction that authorizes—for Westerners and non-Westerners alike—particular forms of "history making."

The Religion of the Hindus

The Religion of the Hindus
Author: Kenneth W. Morgan
Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass Publ.
Total Pages: 464
Release: 1987
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9788120803879

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cultivate compassion and mindfulness. Each section of the book focuses on a

World Religions (SparkCharts)

World Religions (SparkCharts)
Author:
Publisher: Spark Educational Publishing
Total Pages: 6
Release: 2005
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9781411404564

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World Religions SparkCharts

World Religions SparkCharts
Author: SparkNotes Staff
Publisher: Spark Publishing Group
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2014-02-04
Genre:
ISBN: 9781411470972

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SparkCharts(tm): The information you need-concisely, conveniently, and accurately. Created by Harvard students for students everywhere, these study companions and reference tools cover a wide range of college and graduate school subjects, from Business and Computer Programming to Medicine, Law, and Languages. They'll give you what it takes to find success in school and beyond. Outlines and summaries cover key points, while diagrams and tables make difficult concepts easier to grasp. This six-page chart covers: Introduction to religious studies Glossary of terms Hinduism Buddhism Judaism Christianity Islam Chinese religion (Confucianism and Taoism) Jainism Zoroastrianism Sikhism The Bahá'í faith World religions by region

Exploring the Religions of Our World

Exploring the Religions of Our World
Author: Nancy Clemmons
Publisher:
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2009-03-01
Genre:
ISBN: 9781594711268

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Expands students' understanding of their own religious history and practice by examining other religions of the world. Each religion is introduced with a brief history, and explored through each religion's scripture or major writings, beliefs and practices, and sacred spaces and times.