Description
Book SynopsisA stunning spread-by-spread treatment of the world's major religions
Table of ContentsContents
Introduction 7
Theory and Background 8
Defining World Religions
Mapping the World’s
Religions 10
Primal Religion 12
Primitive beliefs
Ancient Civilizations 14
Mesopotamia and Babylon
Egypt 16
Getting ready for death
and the afterlife
Greece and Rome 18
Greco-Roman religion
Northern Europe 20
The Celts and the Germanic tribes
Indus Valley
Civilization 22
Harappans and Aryans
African Religion 24
Diversity and community
Shamanism 26
Religion of ecstacy
Pacifica and Australian
Aboriginal 28
Melanesian, Micronesian,
and polynesian
Native American
Religion 30
Natural and spiritual worlds
The Peoples of
the Andes 32
The Incas
Hinduism 34
A way of life 34
Literature of the Hindus 36
The key ideas 38
Society and village life 40
Influence in the West 42
Buddhism 44
The life of the Buddha 44
A global religion 46
The Four Truths and Buddhist
texts 48
Sects and movements 50
A Western phenomenon 52
Chinese Religions 54
The three teachings
Daoism 56
Teachers and historical
development 56
Main ideas and influence 58
Confucianism 60
Confucius the man 60
Key ideas, teachings, the Analects 62
the legacy in China 64
Judaism 66
Historical foundations and
overview 66
The patriarch, Moses 68
Belief 70
Ritual and action 72
Modern Judaism and the state 74
Christianity 76
The centrality of Jesus 76
Its establishment and shape 78
The Bible 80
Belief and practice 82
Going global 84
Islam 86
Introduction and definitions 86
Muhammad 88
The Holy Scriptures 90
BeliefS and practices 92
Sunni, Shi’a, and Sufi 94
Yoruba Religion
and Voodoo 96
From Africa to the World
Jainism 98
A peaceful religion
Zoroastrianism 100
and the Parsees of Mumbai
Sikhism 102
guru nanak, belief,
and the gurudwara
Japanese Religion
and Shinto 104
Old Religion in A MODERN STATE
Bahai 106
unity of all
Mormonism 108
Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter Day Saints
Paganism 110
ancient religion in a new age
Postmodernity 112
Challenge to religion
Atheism, Secularism,
and Unbelief 114
No need for god
Revivals and Renewal
Movements 116
New religious movements
New Age Movement
and Esoterica 118
making life sacred again
Fundamentalism 120
extreme religion
Bibliography 123
Index 124
Picture Acknowledgments 127
