Description
Book SynopsisAll religions are experiencing rapid changes due to a confluence of social and economic global forces. The modern world threatens the foundations of the world's religions and the cohesive assurances of their societies. Factors such as the pervasive intrusion of globalizing political and economic developments; polarized and morally equivalent presentations seen in the media; the sense of surety demanded in and promised by a culture dominated by science are but some of the factors that have placed extreme pressure on all religious traditions. This has stimulated unprecedented responses by religious groups, ranging from fundamentalism to the syncretistic search for meaning. The totality of pressures and responses is pushing religious people into controversial forms. As religion takes on new forms, balances between individual and community are disrupted and reconfigured. Religions often lose the capacity to recall their ultimate purpose or to lead their adherents towards it. This is why we
Trade ReviewThe Crisis of the Holy makes an important and original contribution to a field that has been well researched and written about—the impact of modernity on religion. By adopting a double perspective—that of an external, observation-based one and an internal, reflective and theologically oriented one, the collection breaks new ground concerning the possibility of new creative and meaningful forms of religion emerging out of the modern 'crisis of the holy.' -- Shlomo Fischer, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Table of ContentsForeword: Think-Tank of the Elijah Interfaith Institute, Barcelona, 2004 Preface, Alon Goshen-Gottstein Chapter 1: “The Holy” in Religions, Alon Goshen-Gottstein Chapter 2: Summary of Essays, Alon Goshen-Gottstein Chapter 3: Buddhism, Michael von Brück and Maria Reis Habito Chapter 4: Christianity: A Roman Catholic’s View, Sidney H. Griffith Chapter 5: Judaism: Challenges and Opportunities in the Contemporary Jewish Crisis of the Holy, B. Barry Levy Chapter 6: Hindusim: The Creation and Transformation of Hinduism, Deepak Sarma Chapter 7: Islam, Vincent J. Cornell Chapter 8: Concluding Reflections, Alon Goshen-Gottstein
