This timely work addresses sensitive issues and relations between Muslims and Christians around the world. The book uniquely captures the opportunity for Christians and Muslims to come together and discuss pertinent issues such as pluralism, governance, preaching, Christian missionary efforts, and general misperceptions of Muslim and Christian communities. Joint authorship and discussion within the book is used to offer dialogue and responses between different contributors. This dialogue reveals that Christians and Muslims hold many things in common while having meaningful differences. It also shows the value of honestly sharing convictions while respecting and hearing the beliefs of another.

The second edition of Understanding Fundamentalism provides a compelling and up to date picture of religious reactions against the modern secular world. Comparing Christian, Islamic, and Jewish fundamentalist movements, anthropologist Richard Antoun shows how all three share common characteristics. In each tradition, fundamentalists seek purity in an impure world, attempt to make the ancient past relevant to their contemporary situation, look to move religion out of the worship center and into every aspect of life, and actively struggle against the aspects of the modern world they regard as evil. The new edition addresses fundamentalism in the post-9/11 world, transnational religion, and the impact of religious migration on Afghanistan and Western Europe. A glossary and Antoun's readable style make the concepts readily accessible for beginning students. For classes in religious studies, anthropology, or sociology of religion, Understanding Fundamentalism brings a balanced introduction to these often-misunderstood religious activists.

Since the 1960s a fresh wave of new religions and what has come to be termed 'spiritualities' have been evident on a global scale. This volume in The Library of Essays on Sexuality and Religion focuses on these 'new' religions and their often contentious attitudes towards human sexuality. Part 1, through previously-published articles, provides instances of affirming orientations of the 'new' religions towards sexuality. This entails scrutinising examples of innovative religion from a historical perspective, as well as those of a more contemporary nature. Part 2 examines, with pertinent illustrations, the controversial character of 'new' religions in their 'cultist' forms and matters of sexual control and abuse. Part 3 considers sexuality as articulated through paganism, the occult and esotericism in the postmodern setting. Part 4 examines both hetero- and non-hetero- expressions of sexuality through the so-called 'New Spiritualities', Quasi-religions and the more 'hidden' forms of religiosity.

What is the nature of Christian unity? Is it Sacramental, Organic, Federal, Spiritual? These are questions that demand careful examination when different Christian traditions are drawing closer to one another in a common desire to heal the divisions that hinder the witness of the Church to the world. In any attempt to deal with these questions, full weight must be given to the evidence of the New Testament itself: what kind of unity does it reveal? In New Testament Pattern, Jean-Louis Leuba reveals a two-fold framework of unity in the New Testament. One strand - in its witness to Christ, to the Apostles and to the Church - emphasises the institutional, traditional and particular. The other strand emphasises the personal, dynamic and universal. Yet the two strands are actually one. Their unity is more comprehensive, more creative, than any undifferentiated unity could be, with important implications for ecumenism and broader scriptural study.

Mormons, or members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, form a growing population in both numbers and influence. Yet few people have more than a passing knowledge of the document that defines and drives this important movement---the Book of Mormon.A former Mormon and an adult convert to Christianity, author Ross Anderson provides a clear summary of the Book of Mormon including its history, teachings, and unique features. Stories from the author and other ex-Mormons illustrate the use of Mormon scripture in the Latter-day Saint church. Anderson gives special attention to how the Book of Mormon relates to Christian beliefs about God, Jesus, and the Bible.With discussion questions to facilitate group use and a focus on providing an accurate portrayal of Mormons beliefs, Understanding the Book of Mormon is an indispensable guide for anyone wishing to become more familiar with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its most formative scripture.

Faithful Neighbors outlines an introduction to the rationale for interfaith work through both theological and practical viewpoints, using stories from real experiences of interfaith cooperation to offer encouragement, inspiration, and practical steps to do the same. The book has eight chapters in three main sections. Section one provides a Christian and Muslim rationale for engaging with the Other. Section two outlines stories of those involved in interfaith work in a series of contexts: academic research, intercultural, pastoral care, youth work, and peace work. The concluding section details recommendations and resources for best practice. Faithful Neighbors exhorts both Muslims and Christians to be faithful neighbors drawing on their traditions and real life practice for the sake of life-giving community.

Evangelicalism has rapidly become one of the most significant religious movements in the modern world. An umbrella term that encompasses many Protestant denominations that share core tenets of Christianity, evangelicalism is foremost defined by its disciples' consideration of the Bible as the ultimate moral and historical authority, the desire to evangelize or spread the faith, and the value of religious conversion known as being “born again.” As the Evangelical movement has grown rapidly, so has its influence on the political stage. Evangelicals affect elections up and down the Americas and across Africa, provoke governments throughout Asia, fill up some of the largest church buildings, and possess the largest congregations of any religion in the world. Yet evangelicals are wildly diverse- from Canadian Baptists to Nigerian Anglicans, from South Sea Methodists to Korean Presbyterians, and from house churches in Beijing to megachurches in Saõ Paulo. This Very Short Introduction tells the evangelical story from the preacher-led revivals of the eighteenth century, through the frontier camp meetings of the nineteenth, to the mass urban rallies of the twentieth, and the global megachurches of the twenty-first. More than just a sketch of where evangelicals have come from, this volume aims to clearly examine the heart of evangelical phenomenon. Is there such a (single) thing as evangelicalism? What is its basic character? Where are the evangelicals going? And what in the world do they want?

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

The academic study of religion recently has turned to the investigation of emotion as a crucial aspect of religious life. Researchers have set out in several directions to explore that new terrain and have brought with them an assortment of instruments useful in charting it. This volume collects essays under four categories: religious traditions, religious life, emotional states, and historical and theoretical perspectives. In this book, scholars engaged in cutting edge research on religion and emotion describe the ways in which emotions have played a role in Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and other religions. They analyze the manner in which key components of religious life ritual, music, gender, sexuality and material culture represent and shape emotional performance. Some of the essays included here take a specific emotion, such as love or hatred, and observe the place of that emotion in an assortment of religious traditions and cultural settings. Other essays analyze the thinking of figures such as St. Augustine, Soren Kierkegaard, Jonathan Edwards, Emile Durkheim, and William James. This collection offers a range of critical perspectives on the academic study of religion and emotion, in the form of syntheses, provocations, and prospective observations, that will inform the work of those already engaged in the field. Taken together, the writings included in this handbook serve as an ideal entry point for anyone wishing to familiarize themselves with the new academic study of religion and emotion.

Another World is Possible: Spiritualities and Religions of Global Darker Peoples represents voices of darker skin peoples throughout the world. What they have in common is their mobilizing their own created religions and spiritualities to forge self-identities. Some claim direct links to centuries of indigenous spiritual practices which have survived relatively in tact despite the invasion of foreign religions. Others have appropriated externally introduced religions and greatly modified these belief systems by combining or syncretizing them with indigenous perspectives and practices. All authors indicate the celebration and positive utility of their communities' spiritualities and religions. Without them, not only would individuals have died, but entire cultures and contexts would have perished. Thus, religion and spirituality suggest survival and pragmatic purposes. From creation narratives to Trickster heroes and heroines, spirituality and religion incarnate meaning, as well as fashion meaning so that humans can make surviving and thriving sense of the ecology and all breathing realities. The gods, God, and ancestors give life to peoples and their cultures, ecologies, and economies, all in the service of aiding the human community to be more fully human as servants to what spiritualities and religions have facilitated on earth. This books speaks to the progressive role of spiritualities and religions for today. In that sense, it is a gift to the world from the darker skin peoples globally.

Another World is Possible: Spiritualities and Religions of Global Darker Peoples represents voices of darker skin peoples throughout the world. What they have in common is their mobilizing their own created religions and spiritualities to forge self-identities. Some claim direct links to centuries of indigenous spiritual practices which have survived relatively in tact despite the invasion of foreign religions. Others have appropriated externally introduced religions and greatly modified these belief systems by combining or syncretizing them with indigenous perspectives and practices. All authors indicate the celebration and positive utility of their communities' spiritualities and religions. Without them, not only would individuals have died, but entire cultures and contexts would have perished. Thus, religion and spirituality suggest survival and pragmatic purposes. From creation narratives to Trickster heroes and heroines, spirituality and religion incarnate meaning, as well as fashion meaning so that humans can make surviving and thriving sense of the ecology and all breathing realities. The gods, God, and ancestors give life to peoples and their cultures, ecologies, and economies, all in the service of aiding the human community to be more fully human as servants to what spiritualities and religions have facilitated on earth. This books speaks to the progressive role of spiritualities and religions for today. In that sense, it is a gift to the world from the darker skin peoples globally.

Confucianism and Catholicism, among the most influential religious traditions, share an intricate relationship. Beginning with the work of Matteo Ricci (1552-1610), the nature of this relationship has generated great debate. These ten essays synthesize in a single volume this historic conversation. Written by specialists in both traditions, the essays are organized into two groups. Those in the first group focus primarily on the historical and cultural contexts in which Confucianism and Catholicism encountered one another in the four major Confucian cultures of East Asia: China, Vietnam, Korea, and Japan. The essays in the second part offer comparative and constructive studies of specific figures, texts, and issues in the Confucian and Catholic traditions from both theological and philosophical perspectives. By bringing these historical and constructive perspectives together, Confucianism and Catholicism: Reinvigorating the Dialogue seeks not only to understand better the past dialogue between these traditions, but also to renew the conversation between them today. In light of the unprecedented expansion of Eastern Asian influence in recent decades, and considering the myriad of challenges and new opportunities faced by both the Confucian and Catholic traditions in a world that is rapidly becoming globalized, this volume could not be more timely. Confucianism and Catholicism will be of interest to professional theologians, historians, and scholars of religion, as well as those who work in interreligious dialogue. Contributors: Michael R. Slater, Erin M. Cline, Philip J. Ivanhoe, Vincent Shen, Anh Q. Tran, S.J., Donald L. Baker, Kevin M. Doak, Xueying Wang, Richard Kim, Victoria S. Harrison, and Lee H. Yearley.

An inspired gathering of religious writings that reveals the "divine reality" common to all faiths, collected by Aldous Huxley

"The Perennial Philosophy," Aldous Huxley writes, "may be found among the traditional lore of peoples in every region of the world, and in its fully developed forms it has a place in every one of the higher religions."

With great wit and stunning intellect--drawing on a diverse array of faiths, including Zen Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Christian mysticism, and Islam--Huxley examines the spiritual beliefs of various religious traditions and explains how they are united by a common human yearning to experience the divine. "The Perennial Philosophy" includes selections from Meister Eckhart, Rumi, and Lao Tzu, as well as the Bhagavad Gita, Tibetan Book of the Dead, Diamond Sutra, and Upanishads, among many others.

This book offers engagements with topics in mainline theology that concern the lifelines in and of the Pacific (Pasifika). The essays are grouped into three clusters. The first, Roots, explores the many roots from which theologies in and of Pasifika grow - sea and (is)land, Christian teachings and scriptures, native traditions and island ways. The second, Reads, presents theologies informed and inspired by readings of written and oral texts, missionary traps and propaganda, and teachings and practices of local churches. The final cluster, Routes, places Pasifika theologies upon the waters so that they may navigate and voyage. The 'amanaki (hope) of this work is in keeping talanoa (dialogue) going, in pushing back tendencies to wedge the theologies in and of Pasifika, and in putting native wisdom upon the waters. As these Christian and native theologies voyage, they chart Pasifika's sea of theologies.

This comprehensive volume focuses on the world's religions and the changes they have undergone as they become more global and diverse in form. It explores the religions of the world not only in the regions with which they have been historically associated, but also looks at the new cultural and religious contexts in which they are developing. It considers the role of migration in the spread of religions by examining the issues raised for modern societies by the increasing interaction of different religions. The volume also addresses such central questions as the dynamics of religious innovation which is evidenced in the rise and impact of new religious and new spirituality movements in every continent.

In Chapter 38:21-25, the Qur'an relates a very short narrative about the biblical King David's seeking and receiving God's forgiveness. The earliest Muslim exegetes interpreted the qur'anic verses as referring to the Hebrew Bible's story of David's adultery with Bathsheba, as related in 2 Samuel 12:1-13. Later Muslims, however, having developed the concept of prophetic impeccability, radically reinterpreted those verses to show David as innocent of any wrongdoing since, in the Muslim tradition, he is not only a king, but a prophet as well. David in the Muslim Tradition: The Bathsheba Affair outlines the approach of the Qur'an to shared scriptures, and provides a detailed look at the development of the exegetical tradition and the factors that influenced such exegesis. By establishing four distinct periods of exegesis, Khaleel Mohammed examines the most famous explanations in each stratum to show the metamorphosis from blame to exculpation. He shows that the Muslim development is not unique, but is very much in following the Jewish and Christian traditions, wherein a similar sanitization of David's image has occurred.

Covering eclectic topics ranging from South Asian religion to motherhood to world dance to ethnomusicology, this book focuses on contemporary selected experiences of women and how their lives interface with religion. Religion has often been perceived as the source of constriction for women's roles in society. This volume explores how modern women across Asia are mobilizing their faith traditions to address existential issues encountered in both the public and private realms, relating to economics, public participation, politics, and culture. As such, it is revealed that religion can be a powerful force for social change and ameliorating women's lives, despite use of religious doctrine in the past to limit women. Editor Zayn R. Kassam, PhD, and the contributors cover not only the commonly considered "Asian" traditions of Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism but also Christianity, Judaism, Bahai, and indigenous traditions. The book reveals that the challenges and opportunities Asian women face arise both from within and outside, whether in terms of developments within their countries or in relation to international political and economic regimes. The chapters explore how the issues Asian women face have as much to do with cultural and religious codes as they do with politics, economics, education, and the law; consider the varying ways in which family and motherhood are affected by the state's construction of the gendered citizen, by social constructs of motherhood, and by policies regarding women and children's access to health care; and identify the roles played by religion and spirituality in these circumstances. Examines how women draw upon their faith to address the issues they face in the changing contexts of globalization, religion and spirituality, and feminism Reveals the myriad ways in which women across Asia are mobilizing to become agents of change while remaining firmly rooted in their religious and cultural traditions Highlights how religion can be a powerful force for social change

Among French structuralists, Louis Dumont is sometimes regarded as an inferior to the far more celebrated Claude Levi-Strauss. But, in truth, Dumont has far more to contribute to the study of religion than his more fashionable contemporary. Notably, his work has informed the specialized field of study in the religions of India, but also more recently the comparative study of modern ideology of the West with the worldviews of traditional societies. Unlike the recent volumes published on Dumont's work aimed at social anthropologists, this volume identifies kernel ideas of particular interest for the study of religion. Thus, while acknowledging Dumont's technical contribution to kinship studies or his part in the debates over the intricacies of structural theory or his apparent attempts to link idealism and empiricism, this volume focuses on subjects of particular interest to students and scholars of religion: concepts such as sacred and profane, pure and impure, transcendence, values, ideology, hierarchy, and cross cultural comparison. Attention will also be paid to the ethical implications of Dumont's ideas, especially about his preference for hierarchy in social arrangements.

Among French structuralists, Louis Dumont is sometimes regarded as an inferior to the far more celebrated Claude Levi-Strauss. But, in truth, Dumont has far more to contribute to the study of religion than his more fashionable contemporary. Notably, his work has informed the specialized field of study in the religions of India, but also more recently the comparative study of modern ideology of the West with the worldviews of traditional societies. Unlike the recent volumes published on Dumont's work aimed at social anthropologists, this volume identifies kernel ideas of particular interest for the study of religion. Thus, while acknowledging Dumont's technical contribution to kinship studies or his part in the debates over the intricacies of structural theory or his apparent attempts to link idealism and empiricism, this volume focuses on subjects of particular interest to students and scholars of religion: concepts such as sacred and profane, pure and impure, transcendence, values, ideology, hierarchy, and cross cultural comparison. Attention will also be paid to the ethical implications of Dumont's ideas, especially about his preference for hierarchy in social arrangements.

Mind and Body in Early China critiques Orientalist accounts of early China as the radical, "holistic" other. The idea that the early Chinese held the "strong" holist view, seeing no qualitative difference between mind and body, has long been contradicted by traditional archeological and qualitative textual evidence. New digital humanities methods, along with basic knowledge about human cognition, now make this position untenable. A large body of empirical evidence suggests that "weak" mind-body dualism is a psychological universal, and that human sociality would be fundamentally impossible without it. Edward Slingerland argues that the humanities need to move beyond social constructivist views of culture, and embrace instead a view of human cognition and culture that integrates the sciences and the humanities. Our interpretation of texts and artifacts from the past and from other cultures should be constrained by what we know about the species-specific, embodied commonalities shared by all humans. This book also attempts to broaden the scope of humanistic methodologies by employing team-based qualitative coding and computer-aided "distant reading" of texts, while also drawing upon our current best understanding of human cognition to transform our basic starting point. It has implications for anyone interested in comparative religion, early China, cultural studies, digital humanities, or science-humanities integration.

All twenty-two original articles in the current volume are based on lectures given at the conference "The Jews in Italy: Their Contribution to the Development and Diffusion of Jewish Heritage", which was convened in September 2011, at the University of Bologna, Department of Cultural Heritage. Geographically, the articles range from Italy to the Ottoman Empire (the Balkans and Aleppo), from France and Germany to the Middle East, including Israel, North and East Africa (Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, and Ethiopia). Chronologically, articles begin with the Roman period, through the Middle Ages and Renaissance until modern times. In this collection, the reader will find a wide range of subjects reflecting various scholarly perspectives such as history; Christian-Jewish relations; Kabbalah; commentary on the Bible and Talmud; language, grammar, and translation; literature; philosophy; gastronomy; art; culture; folklore; and education.

A groundbreaking new theory of religion Religion remains an important influence in the world today, yet the social sciences are still not adequately equipped to understand and explain it. This book advances an innovative theory of religion that goes beyond the problematic theoretical paradigms of the past. Drawing on the philosophy of critical realism and personalist social theory, Christian Smith explores why humans are religious in the first place-uniquely so as a species-and offers an account of secularization and religious innovation and persistence that breaks the logjam in which religious scholarship has been stuck for so long. Certain to stimulate debate and inspire promising new avenues of scholarship, Religion features a wealth of illustrations and examples that help to make its concepts accessible to readers. This superbly written book brings sound theoretical thinking to a perennially thorny subject, and a new vitality and focus to its study.

This book offers an entirely new contribution to the history of multiculturalism in Britain, 1880-1940. It shows how friendship and co-operation between Christian and Jewish women changed lives and, as the Second World War approached, actually saved them. The networks and relationships explored include the thousand-plus women from every district in Manchester who combined to send a letter of sympathy to the Frenchwoman at the heart of the Dreyfus Affair; the religious leagues for women's suffrage who initiated the first interfaith campaigning movement in British history; the collaborations, often problematic, on refugee relief in the 1930s; the close ties between the founder of Liberal Judaism in Britain, and the wife of the leader of the Labour Party, between the wealthy leader of the Zionist women's movement and a passionate socialist woman MP. A great variety of sources are thoughtfully interrogated, and concluding remarks address some of the social concerns of the present century.