Although research on contemporary pilgrimage has expanded considerably since the early 1990s, the conversation has largely been dominated by Anglophone researchers in anthropology, ethnology, sociology, and religious studies from the United Kingdom, the United States, France and Northern Europe. This volume challenges the hegemony of Anglophone scholarship by considering what can be learned from different national, linguistic, religious and disciplinary traditions, with the aim of fostering a global exchange of ideas. The chapters outline contributions made to the study of pilgrimage from a variety of international and methodological contexts and discuss what the 'metropolis' can learn from these diverse perspectives. While the Anglophone study of pilgrimage has largely been centred on and located within anthropological contexts, in many other linguistic and academic traditions, areas such as folk studies, ethnology and economics have been highly influential. Contributors show that in many traditions the study of 'folk' beliefs and practices (often marginalized within the Anglophone world) has been regarded as an important and central area which contributes widely to the understanding of religion in general, and pilgrimage, specifically. As several chapters in this book indicate, 'folk' based studies have played an important role in developing different methodological orientations in Poland, Germany, Japan, Hungary, Italy, Ireland and England. With a highly international focus, this interdisciplinary volume aims to introduce new approaches to the study of pilgrimage and to transcend the boundary between center and periphery in this emerging discipline.

Exploring the distinctive nature and role of local pilgrimage traditions among Muslims and Catholics, Muslim and Catholic Pilgrimage Practices draws particularly on south central Java, Indonesia. In this area, the hybrid local Muslim pilgrimage culture is shaped by traditional Islam, the Javano-Islamic sultanates, and the Javanese culture with its strong Hindu-Buddhist heritage. This region is also home to a vibrant Catholic community whose identity formation has occurred in a way that involves complex engagements with Islam as well as Javanese culture. In this respect, local pilgrimage tradition presents itself as a rich milieu in which these complex engagements have been taking place between Islam, Catholicism, and Javanese culture. Employing a comparative theological and phenomenological analysis, this book reveals the deeper religio-cultural and theological import of pilgrimage practice in the identity formation and interaction among Muslims and Catholics in south central Java. In a wider context, it also sheds light on the larger dynamics of the complex encounter between Islam, Christianity and local cultures.

12th Annual Outreach Resource of the Year (Cross-Cultural) How can we build bridges with Muslims? Muslims are our coworkers, neighbors and friends. But Christians don't always know how to build relationships with Muslims. Fouad Masri provides practical ways for Christians to initiate conversations and develop relationships with Muslims. He offers insights into Muslim culture and helps Christians understand and relate their Muslim friends. Masri addresses seven common questions that Muslims ask about Jesus and the Christian faith, providing sensitive answers that winsomely guide Muslims to Jesus without arguing or awkward debating. With real-life stories of fruitful conversations and genuine relationships, Masri helps readers see Muslims as Jesus sees them, without fear, with love, hope and expectation. You don't need a Ph.D. in Islam to share your faith with a Muslim. You just need the heart of an ambassador. Discover how.

Over the past two centuries relations between Mormons and evangelicals could at best be described as guarded and suspicious and at worst as antagonistic and hostile. In recent years, however, evangelicals and Mormons have frequently found themselves united against certain influences in society-militant atheism, growing secularism, ethical relativism and frontal attacks on marriage, the family and religious liberty. With this background, a group of nine Mormon and ten evangelical scholars undertook a remarkable journey over a period of fifteen years to discuss differences and investigate possible common ground. The essays in this book reflect thoughtful, respectful and nuanced engagements on some of the most controversial topics that have inflamed passions in the past. Evangelical contributors include Craig Blomberg Christopher Hall Gerald McDermott Among the Mormon participants are Spencer Fluhman Camille Fronk Olson Grant Underwood They and thirteen others consider what they have learned about honest, frank and respectful dialogue while also taking up key doctrines for both communities. The results may surprise you as the nature of God, authority, grace and more are all discussed with both candor and generosity.

A gripping study of how religiously motivated violence and militant movements end, from the perspectives of those most deeply involved. Mark Juergensmeyer is arguably the globe's leading expert on religious violence, and for decades his books have helped us understand the worlds and worldviews of those who take up arms in the name of their faith. But even the most violent of movements, characterized by grand religious visions of holy warfare, eventually come to an end. Juergensmeyer takes readers into the minds of religiously motivated militants associated with the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq, the Sikh Khalistan movement in India's Punjab, and the Moro movement for a Muslim Mindanao in the Philippines to understand what leads to drastic changes in the attitudes of those once devoted to all-out ideological war. When God Stops Fighting reveals how the transformation of religious violence manifests for those who once promoted it as the only answer.

How does one culture 'read' another? In Literature and Religion, two scholars, one from China and one from the West, each read texts from the other's culture as a means of dialogue. A key issue in such an enterprise is the nature of religion and what we understand by that term in a world in which ancient religious customs seem to be dying or under threat. Does a comparative study of religious literature offer a way towards mutual understanding - or merely illustrate our differences? Underpinned by their own friendship, these two partners in conversation show what is possible.

The impact of faith on modern society is without question. Religion is frequently at the centre of global issues and cultural conflict, and continues to provoke intense debate. It is more important than ever that we engage intelligently and respectfully with the thought and practices of those who follow the world's various faiths. This book examines the discipline of religious studies and clearly explains the origins, beliefs, sacred texts, customs and practices of eight religious traditions. Every chapter is written by a leading expert, all but one of whom are also members of the faith communities they write about. The information given is authoritative and balanced, but also provides the believer's perspective so that the reader may understand and appreciate people of different faiths. Glossaries at the end of each chapter provide clear and concise definitions of key terms. Questions throughout the book invite personal reflection from the reader and further reading lists point the way to additional study. A Guide to Religious Thought and Practices is ideal for those following an introductory course on religious traditions or for anyone interested in learning about other faiths.

Spanning thousands of years, this new collection brings together writings and teachings about sex, marriage, and family from the Jewish, Christian, Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, and Confucian traditions. The volume includes traditional texts as well as contemporary materials showing how the religions have responded to the changing conditions and mores of modern life. It reveals the similarities and differences among the various religions and the development of ideas and teachings within each tradition. Selections shed light on each religion's views on a range of subjects, including sexuality and sexual pleasure, the meaning and purpose of marriage, the role of betrothal, the status of women, the place of romance, grounds for divorce, celibacy, and sexual deviance.

Separate chapters devoted to each religion include introductions by leading scholars that contextualize the readings. The selections are drawn from a variety of genres including ritual, legal, theological, poetic, and mythic texts. The volume contains such diverse examples as the Zohar on conjugal manners, a contemporary Episcopalian liturgy for same-sex unions, Qur'anic passages on the equality of the sexes, the Ka--masu--tra on husbands, wives, and lovers, Buddhist writings on celibacy, and Confucian teachings on filial piety.

Contributors include: Michael S. Berger, Emory University; Azizah Y. al-Hibri, Richmond School of Law; Alan Cole, Lewis and Clark College; Paul B. Courtright, Emory University; Patricia Buckley Ebrey, University of Washington; Raja M. El-Habti, Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights; Luke Timothy Johnson, Emory University; Mark D. Jordan, Emory University

This book investigates Turkey's departure from a 'flawed democracy' under Kemalist secularism, and its transitioning into Islamist authoritarian Erdoganism, through the lenses of informal law, legal pluralism, and legal hybridity. In doing so, it examines the attempts of Turkey's ruling party (AKP) at social engineering and gradual Islamisation of the Turkish state and society, by using informal Islamist laws. To that end, the book argues that the AKP has paved the way for Islamist legal hybridity where society, state, and law, are being gradually Islamised on an ad hoc basis. Informal law and legal pluralism in Turkey have had a non-state characteristic which have permitted Muslims to solve disputes by seeking the opinions of religio-legal scholars. Yet under the AKP rule, this informal legal system has become increasingly dominated by conservatives, sometimes radical Islamists, which the governing party has taken advantage of by either formalizing some parts of the informal Islamist law, or using it informally to mobilize its supporters against the opposition.

"This fascinating little book deals in detail with what at first might seem a small cult, colourful and dynamic certainly, but of significance merely local to its place of origin in the Indian state of Kerala. As the story unfolds, however, it becomes clear that this is far from the case, and that the phenomenon is full of interest for students of the history of religions. From Dr Gabriel's many other writings we have learned to expect patient investigation and humane and sympathetic interpretation. In this book we find those qualities once more abundantly on display." - From the Foreword by Professor Andrew Walls, Liverpool Hope University "This very short study of a possession cult in India raises important questions about the relation of religion to social organization -- and of the relation of religions to each other." - David Eller, Community College of Denver, Anthropology Review Database June 26, 2011 Playing God discusses the genre of rituals known as Teyyam extant in the North Malabar region of Kerala State, India. In this elaborately costumed ritual practitioners invoke the spirit of a deity into themselves that constitutes a splendid theophany in which, when the ritual process is over, the devotees are able to talk to the god and invoke his/her blessings and predictions of their future. This book concentrates on the cult of the Muttappan duo of gods, the most popular among the Teyyams of North Malabar. Playing God analyses the mythology and ritual praxis of the Muttappan cult and examines attempts to integrate the cult into a wider Hinduism by enunciating a new hermeneutic of the legend and rituals based on the Hindu Advaitic tradition. The book also discusses how the Teyyam ritual contrasts significantly with rituals and worship in Brahminical Hinduism. The popularity of the cult is a reflection of the changing relationships between castes in Kerala, involving a closer symbiosis and reflecting the urge by the untouchable groups of Kerala to gain a higher standing and acceptance in Keralan Hindu society. The rituals are rich in theological significance and symbolism, and have links to the performing arts of Kerala such as Kathakali and Ottam Tullal.

Towards a Jewish-Christian-Muslim Theology delineates the ways that Christianity, Islam, and the Jewish tradition have moved towards each another over the centuries and points to new pathways for contemporary theological work. Explores the development of the three Abrahamic traditions, brilliantly showing the way in which they have struggled with similar issues over the centuries Shows how the approach of each tradition can be used comparatively by the other traditions to illuminate and develop their own thinking Written by a renowned writer in philosophical theology, widely acclaimed for his comparative thinking on Jewish and Islamic theology A very timely book which moves forward the discussion at a period of intense inter-religious dialogue

With this volume, a group of scholar-practitioners of Islam, Judaism and Christianity invite readers to share in their understanding of scriptural text study and disciplined reasoning.

Grapples with questions ranging from the nature of scripture and revelation to the relevance of philosophies such as idealism, pragmatism and phenomenology.
Offers a constructive alternative to modernity, going deep into the scriptures while also drawing critically on modern philosophies and methodologies.
Shows how Muslim, Jewish and Christian believers can study, reason and work together in a way that does not compromise their religious integrity and respects others' religious integrity.
A timely publication, of interest to all those interested in interfaith dialogue or in the nature of scriptural study.

Many people who are drawn to Buddhism today are seeking for spiritual knowledge as opposed to simple faith or sectarian belief. Hermann Beckh had a profound personal connection to the Buddhist path and the noble truths it contains, yet he was also dedicated to a radical renewal of Christianity. Assimilating the groundbreaking research of Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), Beckh's comprehension of Buddhism was neither limited to historical documents nor scholarly research in philology. Rather, from his inner meditation and spiritual understanding, he saw the earlier great world religions as waymarks for humanity's evolving consciousness. In the modern world, the apprehension of Christianity needed to be grounded firmly in a universally-valid, inner cognition and experience: `In this light, knowledge becomes life.' Hermann Beckh - Professor of Tibetan Studies and Sanskrit in Berlin, subsequently a founding priest of The Christian Community - first published this mature study in 1925. Having already produced the comprehensive Buddha's Life and Teaching in 1916, Beckh's sweeping perspectives combined with his extensive academic knowledge provided a unique grounding for authoring this work. As he notes, From Buddha to Christ follows a path of development, `both of method and goal'. Thus, studying this book is itself a path of knowledge and potential initiation. Beckh's universal insights remain relevant - and if anything have gained in value - to twenty-first century readers. This edition features an additional essay, `Steiner and Buddha: Neo-Buddhist Spiritual Streams and Anthroposophy' (1931), in which Beckh, for the first and last time, explains his lifelong personal connection to the Buddhist path. `Christianizing the Buddha's impulse at the same time broadens the Christian horizon...' - Hermann Beckh

Spirit Power explores the manifestation of the American Century in Korean history with a focus on religious culture. It looks back on the encounter with American missionary power from the late nineteenth century, and the long political struggles against the country’s indigenous popular religious heritage during the colonial and postcolonial eras. The book brings an anthropology of religion into the field of Cold War history. In particular, it investigates how Korea’s shamanism has assimilated symbolic properties of American power into its realm of ritual efficacy in the form of the spirit of General Douglas MacArthur. The book considers this process in dialog with the work of Yim Suk-jay, a prominent Korean anthropologist who saw that a radically cosmopolitan and democratic world vision is embedded in Korea’s enduring shamanism tradition.

A New York Times bestselling scholar’s illuminating exploration of the earliest Christian narrated journeys to heaven and hell   “[An] illuminating deep dive . . . An edifying origin story for contemporary Christian conceptions of the afterlife.�—Publishers Weekly   From classics such as the Odyssey and the Aeneid to fifth-century Christian apocrypha, narratives that described guided tours of the afterlife played a major role in shaping ancient notions of morality and ethics. In this new account, acclaimed author Bart Ehrman contextualizes early Christian narratives of heaven and hell within the broader intellectual and cultural worlds from which they emerged. He examines how fundamental social experiences of the early Christian communities molded the conceptions of the afterlife that eventuated into the accepted doctrines of heaven, hell, and purgatory.   Drawing on Greek and Roman epic poetry, early Jewish writings such as the Book of Watchers, and apocryphal Christian stories including the Acts of Thomas, the Gospel of Nicodemus, and the Apocalypse of Peter, Ehrman demonstrates that ancient tours of the afterlife promoted reflection on matters of ethics, faith, ambition, and life’s meaning, the fruit of which has been codified into Christian belief today.

Part 1 is a comprehensive study of the Qur'anic data about each prophet, with a full portrait of every figure and dealing also with all the major scholarly literature on the subject and with the Qur'anic concept of prophetology. Part 2 is a history and study of the general Muslim literature dealing with the prophets.

An accessible and up-to-date survey of scholarly thinking about Hinduism, perfect for courses on Hinduism or world religions The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Hinduism examines the historical trajectories that have led to the modern religion of Hinduism. Covering main themes such as philosophy, practice, society, and science, this comprehensive volume brings together a variety of approaches and perspectives in Hindu Studies to help readers better appreciate the richness, complexity, and diversity of Hinduism. Essays by acknowledged experts in the field present historical accounts of all major traditions, analyze key texts, engage with Hindu theology and philosophy, address contemporary questions of colonialism and identity, and more. Throughout the text, the authors highlight the links, common threads, and issues that reoccur in the history of Hinduism. Fully revised and updated, the second edition of the Companion incorporates the most recent scholarship and reflects the trend away from essentialist understandings of Hinduism. New chapters examine the Goddess tradition, Hindu diaspora, Hinduism and inter-religious comparison, Hindu philosophy, and Indian astronomy, medicine, language, and mathematics. This edition places further emphasis on the importance of region-specific studies in analyzing Hinduism, discusses important theoretical issues, and offers fresh perspectives on current discourse in Hindu society and politics. Provides a thorough overview of major texts, their histories, and the traditions that preserve them Describes the major textual traditions in Sanskrit with examples in different Indian vernacular languages Addresses major issues and contemporary debates about the nature and study of Hinduism Discusses the importance of systematic, rational thinking in Indian sciences, philosophy, and theology Examines key socio-political themes in Hinduism that are of particular relevance to the modern world The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Hinduism, Second Edition is an excellent text for undergraduate courses on Hinduism in Religious Studies and Philosophy departments, and an invaluable resource for scholars and researchers in Hindu Studies.

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Problems of Religious Diversity" analyzes the philosophical questions raised by the fact that many religions in the world often appear to contradict each other in doctrine and practice. The volume distinguishes the differences between religious and non-religious responses to these questions, and evaluates the fundamental philosophical underpinnings of these contemporary debates. It further discusses what a religion is and how diversity in religion can be understood, and examines the concepts of religious truth and salvation. Questions considered include:
Can there be more than one true religion?
What is the relation between commitment to one's faith and tolerance of other faiths?
How does one's awareness of diverse religious claims affect the degree or strength of belief in one's own religion?
In what ways can the concept of salvation and its prospects be construed in response to the contradictory nature of different religions?

Superhero phenomena exploded into 20th- and 21st-century popular culture by way of the visual medium of comic books. In an increasingly secular (yet spiritual) culture that has largely renounced "the gods" (and even religion), what does the return of the superhero through our own pop cultural mythologies say to us-or even about us? This collection of essays from leading and up-and-coming scholars in the fields of comparative mythology and depth psychology considers the return of the superhero as representative of our own unique emergent modern mythology: a wildly diverse pantheon that reflects back to us our most far-reaching hopes and (im)possible (super)human desires. In placing the interpretive tools of comparative mythology and depth psychology alongside the comic book phenomenon, a super-powered palette emerges that unveils the hidden potential of modern readers' own heightened imaginations. The essays in this anthology examine select comic book and superhero characters from the "Silver Age" 1960s through contemporary 21st-century adaptations and innovations, as readers are invited to discover and uncover what the (re)emergence of these perennial gods and goddesses have to say about our own secret super selves today.

Has the God who prepared the gospel for all people groups also prepared all people groups for the gospel? Don Richardson, author of the bestselling book Peace Child, has studied cultures throughout the world and found startling evidence of belief in the one true God within hundreds of them. In Eternity in Their Hearts, Richardson gives fascinating, real-life examples of ways people groups have exhibited terms and concepts in their histories that have prepared them for the gospel. Read how Pachacuti, the Inca king who founded Machu Picchu, the majestic fortress in Peru, accomplished something far more significant than merely building fortresses, temples, or monuments. He sought, reached out, and found a God far greater than any popular "god" of his own culture. And there have been others throughout the world, like him, who lived to receive the blessing of the gospel. Get ready to be amazed at these intriguing examples of how God uses redemptive analogies to bring all men to Himself, bearing out the truth from Ecclesiastes that God "has also set eternity in the hearts of men" (3:11).