Embracing Epistemic Humility: Confronting Triumphalism in Three Abrahamic Religions builds a case that encourages advocates of world views, especially the children of Abraham Jews, Christians and Muslims to embrace an attitude of epistemic humility toward their world views and thereby defeat the triumphalism which, on the contemporary scene, has infected the world views of all too many in the Abrahamic tradition. Triumphalists see their world view as the ultimate repository of spiritual truth: all other world views are inferior and their adherents need to be converted forcefully, or silenced, or destroyed to prevent their cancerous views from metastasizing.Embracing such epistemic humility is not only the antidote to triumphalism but it is also a powerful motivator to transform world view competitors into comrades engaged in a struggle to combat evil and to promote human flourishing."

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

In a world where religious pluralism is a necessity of modern life, diverse religions exist for the diverse people populating the earth. Theologically, how do people of different faiths find liberation in their separate gods simultaneously? Stephen Kaplan answers this question with his new book, Different Paths, Different Summits. He presents a model for religious pluralism that does not fall victim to the criticisms of pluralist models. Religious positions do not need to be transcended in order for varying faiths to be both honored and liberating simultaneously. Kaplan skillfully depicts three different realties, a theistic ultimate reality, a monistic ultimate reality, and a process non-dualism, along with their beliefs. His model allows for each to exit simultaneously, mutually interpenetrating and distinct.

This book provides a critical investigation into Sikh and Muslim conflict in the postcolonial setting. Being Sikh in a diasporic context creates challenges that require complex negotiations between other ethnic minorities as well as the national majority. Unsettling Sikh and Muslim Conflict: Mistaken Identities, Forced Conversions, and Postcolonial Formations maps in theoretically informed and empirically rich detail the trope of Sikh-Muslim antagonism as it circulates throughout the diaspora. While focusing on contemporary manifestations of Sikh-Muslim hostility, the book also draws upon historical examples of such conflict to explore the way in which the past has been mobilized to tell a story about the future of Sikhs. This book uses critical race theory to understand the performance of postcolonial subjectivity in the heart of the metropolis.

This volume examines the intellectual trajectories of remarkable individuals who interacted with religious discourses, doctrines or practices in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Inspired by S. Subrahmanyam and S. Gruzinski's historiographical model of "connected histories", this book introduces the approach of "connected religion" and invites the study of cross-cultural and "translocal" encounters by bringing together documents that represent diverse aspects of the story and reconstructing a narrative from diverse standpoints, with analytical potential. Testing this approach through specific cases of interactions between Asia and Europe, the volume explores the little-known stories of actors such as migrants or expatriates interacting with religious discourses, and of religious leaders producing and propagating beliefs and practices. The cases pose questions that can be applied to further contexts, such as: the significance of improved travels and communications for the diffusion of religious content across national, cultural and institutional boundaries; the impact of specific individuals, charismatic or not, well-established or subaltern in the reconfiguration of institutional forms of religion; and the role of the South Asian referent in legitimating the propagation of specific religious views. Offering both an innovative methodological framework and original cases based on new research, the book will be of interest to scholars of religion, to specialists of South Asia in late modernity and to the broader public.

On San Marcos Avenue in St. Augustine, Florida, stands the replicated Mission Nombre de Dios. Towering over the mission is a 208-foot stainless steel cross marking the site of the first known Catholic mass celebrated in Florida in 1620. A few hundred miles to the north in Montgomery, Alabama, sits the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, known to many as the birthplace of the civil rights movement. Newport, Rhode Island's Touro Synagogue, dedicated in 1763, urged new leaders Washington and Jefferson to form a government ""which to bigotry gives no sanction, to persecution no assistance."" From the pre-Columbian Anasazi kivas of Colorado built in the 1300s to the Peace Chapel constructed in 1970 on the Canadian border, this work examines the roots of 51 historic sites throughout the United States. Each entry provides detailed background material on the place of worship and those who established it, along with its location and religious affiliation. Sites include those devoted to Indian or Native American, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Catholic, Protestant, Mormon, Baha'i, and other beliefs. The essays also place the church or site into an historical perspective, tracing how their foundings impacted the development of the United States.

Sustainability is now key to international and national policy, manufacture and consumption. It is also central to many individuals who try to lead environmentally ethical lives. Historically, religion has been a significant part of many visions of sustainability. Pragmatically, the inclusion of religious values in conservation and development efforts has facilitated relationships between people with different value structures. Despite this, little attention has been paid to the interdependence of sustainability and religion, and no significant comparisons of religious and secular sustainability advocacy. Religion and Sustainability presents the first broad analysis of the spiritual dimensions of sustainability-oriented social movements. Exploring the similarities and differences between the conceptions of sustainability held by religious, interfaith and secular organizations, the book analyses how religious practice and discourse have impacted on political ideology and process.

"Abrahamic religion" has long been a buzzword in ecumenical discourse. It is the notion that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, despite their profound differences, are united in their reverence for Abraham-not just as the progenitor of Israel, but as a universal father in the faith. Abraham's Ashes offers a forceful critique of the biblical and Qur'anic views of Abraham, showing how at the heart of all prophetic religions lies an untenable myth of suprarational magical thinking about "revelation." This myth involves communiques to a privileged male from a mysterious patriarchal God who demands, and in the case of Jesus, actually receives the tribute of human sacrifice. This cruel story proves to be an apt introduction to the bizarre, contradictory, and oppressive fantasy known as monotheism.

This book explores how media and religion combine to play a role in promoting peace and inciting violence. It analyses a wide range of media - from posters, cartoons and stained glass to websites, radio and film - and draws on diverse examples from around the world, including Iran, Rwanda and South Africa. Part One considers how various media forms can contribute to the creation of violent environments: by memorialising past hurts; by instilling fear of the 'other'; by encouraging audiences to fight, to die or to kill neighbours for an apparently greater good. Part Two explores how film can bear witness to past acts of violence, how film-makers can reveal the search for truth, justice and reconciliation, and how new media can become sites for non-violent responses to terrorism and government oppression. To what extent can popular media arts contribute to imagining and building peace, transforming weapons into art, swords into ploughshares? Jolyon Mitchell skillfully combines personal narrative, practical insight and academic analysis.

This book explores how media and religion combine to play a role in promoting peace and inciting violence. It analyses a wide range of media - from posters, cartoons and stained glass to websites, radio and film - and draws on diverse examples from around the world, including Iran, Rwanda and South Africa. Part One considers how various media forms can contribute to the creation of violent environments: by memorialising past hurts; by instilling fear of the 'other'; by encouraging audiences to fight, to die or to kill neighbours for an apparently greater good. Part Two explores how film can bear witness to past acts of violence, how film-makers can reveal the search for truth, justice and reconciliation, and how new media can become sites for non-violent responses to terrorism and government oppression. To what extent can popular media arts contribute to imagining and building peace, transforming weapons into art, swords into ploughshares? Jolyon Mitchell skillfully combines personal narrative, practical insight and academic analysis.

What does it mean to be a Western Buddhist? For the predominantly Anglo-Australian affiliates of two Western Buddhist centres in Australia, the author proposes an answer to this question, and finds support for it from interviews and her own participant-observation experience. Practitioners' prior experiences of experimentation with spiritual groups and practices - and their experiences of participation, practice and self-transformation - are examined with respect to their roles in practitioners' appropriation of the Buddhist worldview, and their subsequent commitment to the path to enlightenment. Religious commitment is experienced as a decision-point, itself the effect of the individual's experimental immersion in the Centre's activities. During this time the claims of the Buddhist worldview are tested against personal experience and convictions. Using rich ethnographic data and Lofland and Skonovd's experimental conversion motif as a model for theorizing the stages of involvement leading to commitment, the author demonstrates that this study has a wider application to our understanding of the role of alternative religions in western contexts.

Religion Today introduces students to key concepts in religious studies through a compelling problem-solving framework. Each chapter opens with a contemporary case study that helps students engage in current religious issues, explore possible solutions to difficult religious problems today, and learn key themes and concepts in religious studies. To enhance student learning, a free Student Study Guide is available for download from Rowman & Littlefield. The Study Guide features chapter summaries, definition quizzes for students to test themselves on key terms, and possible learning activities.

In her fascinating exploration of feline history, Georgie Anne Geyer explores the connections between the royal and sacred felines of ancient civilizations and the beloved domestic cats of today. Chasing an irresistible mystery across the globe, Geyer conducts exhaustive research into the little-known puzzle of how cats came to occupy their unique position in the lives of humans. Treated with the tenacity, resourcefulness, and narrative instinct of a seasoned foreign correspondent, the investigation yields unexpected answers and poses tantalizing new questions.

It was Geyer's curiosity about her own cats that inspired her to study the history of human-feline relations and especially the exalted status of cats among the ancients as royal or sacred beings. In Egypt, Geyer learned of the cat-goddess Bastet and of the cat's role in the transmigration of souls. In Myanmar she saw Leonardo DiCaprio, Ricky Martin, and the other incongruously named cats of the Nga Phe Kyaung monastery, trained by the monks to jump through hoops. She even met a family who dutifully guards the heritage of the Japanese Bobtail, cultivating the line in--of all places--rural Virginia.

Richly illustrated with photographs of Geyer's journeys and historical cat images, When Cats Reigned Like Kings describes forty-one recognized modern cat breeds plus other popular cats. Every cat lover can, thus, trace his or her cat to these breeds and their many relatives. The result is a remarkable book, bound to delight and amaze cat fanciers and adventure seekers.

Are we the world's good neighbor or a global bully? This timely book provides us with an opportunity to pause and reflect on what may be the most pressing issue of our day: What are America's global responsibilities as the only remaining superpower? What should we be doing with our resources, energy, talent, and strength? What shouldn’t we be doing? "Those of us who live with spiritual convictions, or who worship in religious communities, sometimes have the opportunity to hear from the pulpit, from the bima, in the prayer hall, in the zendo, or elsewhere what one spiritual leader believes on these issues. This book is for those of us who want a variety of opinions, for those of us who want to understand the issues more deeply and make up our own minds." —from the Introduction Spiritual Perspectives on America’s Role as Superpower invites you to explore these essential questions with sixteen of today’s most profound religious and spiritual teachers. Coming from a wide variety of faiths, including Protestant, Catholic, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Vedantist, and interfaith traditions, this intriguing volume’s contributors bring a crucial point of view to the already-intense national debate centering on America’s place in the world: that of spirituality. An invaluable resource for those wishing to better understand varied spiritual viewpoints on America’s role as superpower, these thought-provoking original essays provide a lucid introduction to the historical, moral, and theological aspects of this controversial issue.

Based on the How to Be a Perfect Stranger: A Guide to Etiquette in Other People's Religious Ceremonies. The handbook for how to respond in an appropriate way when someone dies—no matter what their faith or denomination. Few of us are ever prepared for the loss of a relative, friend or colleague. This stressful situation can be made worse if we are unfamiliar with the practices and rituals of the deceased person's religious tradition. This complete guide provides all the answers you need to express your condolences and show your respect in the appropriate way regardless of the religious tradition involved, addressing many common concerns, including: Will there be a ceremony—what will it be like, and how long will it last? What should I wear? What should I avoid doing, wearing, saying? Are flowers appropriate? What is the appropriate behavior if viewing the body? These are just a few of the basic, very practical questions answered in this unique etiquette guide covering all the major (and many minor) denominations and religions found in North America—from Hindu to Presbyterian, from Mennonite to Sikh—helping you to do the right thing in a difficult situation. Covers all the major (and many minor) denominations and religions found in North America: African American Methodist Churches • Assemblies of God Baha’i • Baptist • Buddhist • Christian and Missionary Alliance • Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) • Christian Congregation • Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) • Church of the Brethren • Church of the Nazarene • Churches of Christ • Episcopalian and Anglican • Evangelical Free Church • Greek Orthodox • Hindu • International Church of the Foursquare Gospel • International Pentecostal Holiness Church • Islam • Jehovah’s Witnesses • Jewish • Lutheran • Mennonite/Amish • Methodist • Mormon • (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) • Native American/First Nations • Orthodox Churches • Pentecostal Church of God • Presbyterian • Quaker (Religious Society of Friends) • Reformed Church in America/Canada • Roman Catholic • Seventh-day Adventist • Sikh • Unitarian Universalist • United Church of Canada • United Church of Christ • Wesleyan

An important interfaith dialogue examines causes of global inequality and explores solutions. In A World of Inequalities: Christian and Muslim Perspectives, fourteen leading Christian and Muslim scholars respond to the global crisis of inequality by demanding and modeling interreligious dialogue. This volume takes an intersectional approach, examining aspects of global inequality including gender, race and ethnicity, caste and social class, economic and sociopolitical disparities, and slavery. Essays explore the roots of these realities, how they are treated in Christian and Muslim traditions and texts, and how the two faiths can work together to address inequality. A World of Inequalities brings readers into the conversation, inviting them to engage in a similar dialogue by offering pairs of essays alongside texts for close reading. Scholars, religious leaders, and students of theology and theological ethics will find this a useful resource to address this pressing issue.

This Reader presents a diverse and ecumenical cross-section of ecclesiological statements from across the twenty centuries of the church's existence. It builds on the foundations of early Christian writings, illustrates significant medieval, reformation, and modern developments, and provides a representative look at the robust attention to ecclesiology that characterizes the contemporary period. This collection of readings offers an impressive overview of the multiple ways Christians have understood the church to be both the 'body of Christ' and, at the same time, an imperfect, social and historical institution, constantly subject to change, and reflective of the cultures in which it is found. This comprehensive survey of historical ecclesiologies is helpful in pointing readers to the remarkable number of images and metaphors that Christians have relied upon in describing the church and to the various tensions that have characterized reflection on the church as both united and diverse, community and institution, visible and invisible, triumphant and militant, global and local, one and many. Students, clergy and all interested in Christianity and the church will find this collection an invaluable resource.

Peter D. Beaulieu examines the challenge posed by-and to-modernity and historic Islam as they encounter one another. He compares the Western separation of Church and state with the unitary Islamic State, and explores the proposed cultural and societal principles of the Second Vatican Council as potentially influencing long-term events in both arenas. Beaulieu's research is comprehensive and richly documented, yet offers an accessible triangular inquiry into the mosque, the manger, and modernity. By restoring a place at the table for Trinitarian Christianity alongside the engulfing monotheism of Islam and the alternative skepticism of Western rationalism, this inquiry broadens the pallet of inter-religious and intercultural contact points. Beyond Secularism and Jihad? provides balanced attention to the differences as well as the similarities between Christianity, Islam, and modernity. An emerging theme is natural law, which is universal and intrinsic to all mankind and not confined to competing theologies. Neglected in the West that it helped create, natural law might contribute to the needed "grammar" for dialogue between the citizens in the West and the followers of Islam.

Robert N. McCauley and E. Thomas Lawson are considered the founders of the field of the cognitive science of religion. Since its inception over twenty years ago, the cognitive science of religion has raised questions about the philosophical foundations and implications of such a scientific approach. This volume from McCauley, including chapters co-authored by Lawson, is the first book-length project to focus on such questions, resulting in a compelling volume that addresses fundamental questions that any scholar of religion should ask. The essays collected in this volume are those that initially defined this scientific field for the study of religion. These essays deal with issues of methodology, reductionism, resistance to the scientific study of religion, and other criticisms that have been lodged against the cognitive science of religion. The new final chapter sees McCauley reflect on developments in this field since its founding. Tackling these debates head on and in one place for the first time, this volume belongs on the shelf of every researcher interested in this now established approach to the study of religion within a range of disciplines, including religious studies, philosophy, anthropology and the psychology of religion.

The author of this unique volume, Dr. Ronald W. Pies is a psychiatrist with a long-standing inerest in Jewish thought. Readers will surely note Dr. Pies's efforts to connect the teachings found within Pirkei Avot with the larger fabric of psychology, philosophy, and literature. While Pirkei Avot is a unique and specific expression of Judaic values, it is nevertheless true that the world's great religions often resonate with the values found within them. In some instances, this may reflect a direct historical/cultural interaction; in other cases, it reflects what may be called "convergent evolution." In any case, as the author writes, "Many values articulated in the world's major faiths are seen to mirror those embraced in Pirkei Avot.

This book offers a fully up-to-date and comprehensive guide to religion in Britain since 1945. A team of leading scholars provide a fresh analysis and overview, with a particular focus on diversity and change. They examine:

• relations between religious and secular beliefs and institutions
• the evolving role and status of the churches
• the growth and settlement of non-Christian religious communities
• the spread and diversification of alternative spiritualities
• religion in welfare, education, media, politics and law
• theoretical perspectives on religious change.

The volume presents the latest research, including results from the largest-ever research initiative on religion in Britain, the AHRC/ESRC Religion and Society Programme. Survey chapters are combined with detailed case studies to give both breadth and depth of coverage. The text is accompanied by relevant photographs and a companion website.