xx, 555, [24] pages : 24 cm Includes bibliographical references and index Machine generated contents note: -- CHAPTER 1. AN INVITATION TO THE STUDY OF WORLD RELIGIONS -- "Religion" and the Study of World Religions -- Defining "Religion" -- What Religions Do -- Religious Questions and Challenges -- Basic Components of Religions -- Teachings -- Ways of Life -- Historical Development -- Religions in the Modern World -- Modernization -- Urbanization -- Globalization -- Multiculturalism -- Religion and Science -- An Academic Approach to the Study of Religions -- Balance -- Empathy -- Comparative Approaches -- CHAPTER 2. INDIGENOUS RELIGIONS OF NORTH AMERICA -- The Teachings of Native American Indigenous Religions -- Creation and Origins -- Life Lessons in Myths -- The Importance of Balance: Humanity and the Natural World -- Sacred Language and Sacred Time -- VOICES: An Interview with Lin Estes -- Native American Indigenous Religions as a Way of Life -- Healing -- Rites of Passage -- Rites of Renewal and Rites of Purification -- The History of Native American Indigenous Religions -- Conquest, Colonization, and Christianity -- Resistance Movements -- Native Religions and Non-Native Practitioners -- CHAPTER 3. INDIGENOUS RELIGIONS OF AFRICA -- The Teachings of Indigenous African Religions -- Myths -- Supernatural Beings: Gods and Spirits -- VOICES: Interviews with Sammy Letoole and Festus Ogunbitan -- Humanity and the Human Condition -- Indigenous African Religions as a Way of Life -- Communicating with the Spirit World -- Using Supernatural Powers -- Life Cycle Rituals -- The History of Indigenous African Religions -- The Spread of Islam -- Christianity and Colonialism -- Reform and Resistance -- African Religions in the Americas -- CHAPTER 4. HINDUISM -- The Teachings of Hinduism -- Hindu Beliefs About God -- Hindu Philosophical and Social Concepts -- VOICES: An Interview with Saraswati Krishnan -- Texts in Hinduism -- The Sects of Hinduism -- Hinduism as a Way of Life -- Seeing the Divine Image: Temples and Icons -- Forms of Worship -- Yoga Traditions and Asceticism -- Rites of Passage -- Pilgrimage -- Festivals and Holidays -- Performance Traditions -- The History of Hinduism -- Indus Valley -- Who Are the Aryans? -- The Vedic Period -- Zoroastrianism -- The Early Upanishads (900-600 C.E.) -- The Rise of Theistic Hinduism -- Hindu Expansion in the Age of the Guptas -- The Development of Bhakti -- Tantra -- Sanskritization -- Colonial Critique and the Hindu Reformers -- Gandhi, Hinduism, and Indian Nationalism -- Hindu Nationalism and Hindutva -- The Future of Hinduism -- CHAPTER 5. BUDDHISM -- The Teachings of Buddhism -- Meeting the Buddha -- The Life of the Buddha -- The Basics of the Buddha's Teaching -- Buddhist Sects and Texts -- VOICES: An Interview with Katherine Sei -- Women in Buddhism -- Buddhism as a Way of Life -- Meditation and the Cultivation of Mind -- Mantra, Liturgic Ritual, and Chanting -- Ordination and "Being a Buddhist" -- Sacred Places and Objects of Worship -- Festivals -- Funerary Rites -- The Wider Implications of Buddhist Ritual and Practice -- The History of Buddhism -- The Period of the Buddhist Councils -- The Period of Expansion -- The Development of Mahayana in Monasteries -- Buddhism Beyond India -- The Beginnings of the Western Transmission -- Buddhists in the World Today -- CHAPTER 6. JAINISM -- The Teachings of Jainism -- Mahavira, the Twenty-fourth and Last Tirthankara of this World Cycle -- An Eternal Succession of Tirthankaras -- Jainism and Hinduism -- Ahimsa and Asceticism: Jainism's Ideals -- Theory of the Universe -- Liberation and Salvation -- VOICES: An Interview With Girish Shah -- Jainism as a Way of Life -- Digambaras and Shvetambaras -- The Ascetic Life -- The Religious Life of the Jain Laity -- The History of Jainism -- The Indian Historical Context -- The Legacy of the Tirthankaras: Jainism through the Centuries -- Jainism in Today's World -- CHAPTER 7. SIKHISM -- The Teachings of Sikhism -- The Life of Guru Nanak -- Sikh Scripture -- On God, the Human Condition, and Spiritual Liberation -- Teachings of Guru Gobind Singh and the Khalsa -- VOICES: An Interview with Onkar Singh -- Sikhism as a Way of Life -- Daily Devotional Practices -- Sikh Worship in the Gurdwara -- Worship, Work, and Charity -- Women and Sikhism -- The History of Sikhism -- Guru Nanak's Successors -- Guru Gobind Singh and the Khalsa -- Sikhs and Nationalism -- Sikh Identity -- Sikhs in the Diaspora -- CHAPTER 8. CHINESE RELIGIONS: CONFUCIANISM AND DAOISM -- The History of Confucianism and Daoism -- Ancient Chinese Religion -- History of Confucianism -- History of Daoism -- The Teachings of Confucianism and Daoism -- Ancient Chinese Religious Views -- The Teachings of Confucius -- Confucianism and Women -- Teachings and Beliefs of Daoism -- Daoism and Women -- Confucianism and Daoism as a Way of Life -- VOICES: An Interview with Jason Ch'ui-hsiao Tseng -- Confucian Rituals -- Daoist Practices -- CHAPTER 9. SHINTO -- The Teachings of Shinto -- The Meaning of Kami -- Creation Myth in the Kojiki -- VOICES: An Interview with Watanabe Minoru -- Shinto as a Way of Life -- Fertility Rites -- Women in Shinto -- Rites of Purification, Presentation, Petition, and Participation -- Religious Observances throughout the Year -- The History of Shinto -- Medieval Shinto -- The Modern Period -- Shinto in Japan Today -- CHAPTER 10. JUDAISM -- The History of Judaism -- Dispersion, Assimilation, and Collective Identity -- The Biblical Period -- The Second Temple Period -- The Formative Age -- The Conflict Between Judaism and Christianity -- The Age of Philosophy and Mysticism -- The Modern Era -- Reform Movements in Europe and in the U.S. -- The Shoah and the State of Israel -- The Future of Judaism in the Contemporary World -- The Teachings of Judaism -- God -- Torah -- Covenant and Election -- Israel -- The Messiah and the Messianic Age -- The Afterlife -- Jewish Mysticism -- Judaism as a Way of Life -- The Major Festivals -- VOICES: An Interview with Rabbi Brad Bloom -- The Minor Festivals -- The Sabbath -- Life-Cycle Events -- Other Sacred Practices -- Prayer -- CHAPTER 11. CHRISTIANITY -- The Teachings of Christianity -- The Life of Jesus -- The Teachings of Jesus -- Paul and the Mission to the Gentiles -- God, Creation, and Original Humanity -- God as Trinity -- Sin and Human Nature -- Grace and Salvation -- VOICES: An Interview with Mia Sasaki -- The Church -- Scripture -- Tradition -- "Last Things" -- The Afterlife -- Christianity and Other Religions -- Christianity as a Way of Life -- Sacraments -- Church Interiors: Sacred Space -- Prayer -- The Liturgical Year -- Veneration of Saints -- Social and Political Activism -- The History of Christianity -- Christianity in the Roman World -- The Church in the Middle Ages -- The Reformation -- Christianity in the Modern World -- Christianity Today and Tomorrow: Trends and Prospects -- CHAPTER 12. ISLAM -- THE TEACHINGS OF ISLAM -- Muhammad and the Revelations -- The Holy Qur'an -- The Teachings of the Qur'an -- Commentary on the Qur'an -- The Hadith Literature -- VOICES: An Interview with Tunay Durmaz -- ISLAM AS A WAY OF LIFE -- The Five Pillars -- The Qur'an in Daily Life -- Jihad -- The Islamic Year and Holidays -- The Shari'ah: Islamic Law -- Marriage and Family -- Women and Islam -- THE HISTORY OF ISLAM -- The Hijra and the Growth of the Muslim Community -- The Crisis of Succession and the Rightly Guided Caliphs -- The Umayyads and the Abbasids -- Later Islamic Empires: The Ottomans, the Mughals, and the Safavids -- Islam and Nationalism -- Islamic Reform Movements -- Varieties of Islam -- Sufism -- Muslims in North America -- CHAPTER 13. NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS -- What Is "New" about New Religious Movements? -- Modernization, Globalization, and Secularization -- Theoretical Models and Social Typologies -- Alternative Christianities and their Offshoots -- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- Christian Science and New Thought -- Adventism -- Jehovah's Witnesses -- The Family (Children of God) -- The Unification Church -- The Rediscovery of Eastern Religious Thought -- ISKCON: The International Society for Krishna Consciousness -- The Osho Rajneesh Movement -- Transcendental Meditation -- THE REVIVAL OF ESOTERIC AND NEO-PAGAN THOUGHT -- Eckankar -- The Findhorn Foundation -- The Raelian Movement -- The Church of Scientology -- Wicca -- VOICES: An Interview with Mary Carpenter -- The Baha'i Faith -- The New Atheism