Religions of the World – serie

Hinduism is a concise and readable survey of the history of Hinduism, from its origins in the Indus Valley to its increasing popularity in today's Western world. Focusing particularly on the modern period, it provides a valuable introduction to contemporary Hindu beliefs and practices and looks at the ways in which this religion is meeting the challenges of the modern world.

Islam is a concise and readable survey of the history of Islam, from the birth of Muhammad in seventh-century Arabia to the differing situations of Muslim's throughout today's world. Focusing particularly on the modern period, it provides a valuable introduction to contemporary Muslim beliefs and practices and looks at the ways in which this rapidly growing religion is meeting the challenges of the modern world.

Religion in the Twenty-First Century is a unique and informative survey of the global religious situation as we enter the new millennium. Through a thematic and people-oriented approach, this book provides a valuable introduction to a variety of new religious movements - whether founded as offshoots of traditional religions or as a result of millennial expectations or charismatic leaders. It also considers the role of the Interfaith Movement and the ways in which modern technology is spreading religions both new and old.

This succinct and balanced overview of Japanese religions covers Japanese beliefs including Shinto, Buddhism, Christianity, Taoism and Confucianism. Written in an accessible and informative style, and assuming no prior knowledge on the part of the reader, this book gives a basic introduction to each faith's history, beliefs, and practices, emphasising modern developments and impacts of the world today.

This collection provides a rich, multilayered analysis of a long-neglected branch of early Christian apocryphal literature that examines the relationship between tradition and redaction, uses of language, and the fluid border between literary criticism and motif analysis. The introduction takes the reader on the journey of editing, translating, and interpreting apocryphal and hagiographic narratives on the apostles and the first Christians. The volume concludes with the critical edition of two previously unpublished Greek texts: a version of the Martyrdom of Ananias and a memoir on John the Evangelist.

Place and orientation are important aspects of human experience. Place evokes geography and culture and conjures up history and myth. Place is not only a particular physical location but an idea, a mental construction that captures and directs the human relationship to the world.The distinguished contributors to this volume invite us to reflect on the significance of places, real and imagined, in the religious traditions they study and on how places are known, imagined, remembered, and struggled for. Whether looking at the ways myth and ritual reinforce the Yoruba's bond to the land or at Australian Aboriginal engagements with the origins of the created world, exploring Hildegard of Bingen's experience of heaven or myths of the underworld in contemporary American millennialism, listening to oral narratives of divine politics and deserted places of Rajasthan or investigating literal and literary images of the Promised Land, these essays underscore that place is constructed in the intersection of material conditions, political realities, narrative, and ritual performance.

Religion in the Twenty-First Century is a unique and informative survey of the global religious situation as we enter the new millennium. Through a thematic and people-oriented approach, this book provides a valuable introduction to a variety of new religious movements - whether founded as offshoots of traditional religions or as a result of millennial expectations or charismatic leaders. It also considers the role of the Interfaith Movement and the ways in which modern technology is spreading religions both new and old.

Hinduism is a concise and readable survey of the history of Hinduism, from its origins in the Indus Valley to its increasing popularity in today's Western world. Focusing particularly on the modern period, it provides a valuable introduction to contemporary Hindu beliefs and practices and looks at the ways in which this religion is meeting the challenges of the modern world.

Focusing on three diverse indigenous traditions, Native American Religious Traditions highlights the distinct oral traditions and ceremonial practices; the impact of colonialism on religious life; and the ways in which indigenous communities of North America have responded, and continue to respond, to colonialism and Euroamerican cultural hegemony.