In the late 1800s, as Japanese leaders mulled over the usefulness of religion in modernizing their country, they chose to invite Unitarian missionaries to Japan. This book spotlights one facet of debates sparked by the subsequent encounter between Unitarianism and Buddhism-an intersection that has been largely neglected in the scholarly literature. Focusing on the cascade of events triggered by the missionary presence of the American Unitarian Association on Japanese soil between 1887 and 1922, Michel Mohr's study sheds new light on this formative time in Japanese religious and intellectual history. Drawing on the wealth of information contained in correspondence sent and received by Unitarian missionaries in Japan, as well as periodicals, archival materials, and Japanese sources, Mohr shows how this missionary presence elicited unprecedented debates on "universality" and how the ambiguous idea of "universal truth" was utilized by missionaries to promote their own cultural and ethnocentric agendas. At the turn of the twentieth century this notion was appropriated and reformulated by Japanese intellectuals and religious leaders, often to suit new political and nationalistic ambitions.

This ground-breaking book contains contributions from 12 different religious traditions: Hinduism, African Traditional Religion, Judaism, Jainism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Shintoism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Unitarianism and Baha'i. Interfaith worship and prayer can be complex, but this book demonstrates that in a world of many cultures and religions, there is an urgent need for religions to come together with trust and communication, especially when there is a crisis. Full of insights and examples of practice, the book demonstrates how religions can be a powerful means of unity and compassion. The book opposes the 'clash of civilisations' model as a way of interpreting the world and promotes peace, hope, and the possibility of cooperation. Religious believers can be sincere and committed to their own faith, while recognising the need to stand firmly together with members of other religious traditions.

"Shankar challenges the assumption, so common in the history of Western education and modernity, that the North is backward in both because it did not allegedly encourage the spread of education and Christianity...The book is very clear on religious co-existence, and also on the changes to Islamic culture. Thus, its conclusions open up new avenues to examine further the impact of Christianity on Islam and vice-versa." -American Historical ReviewWho Shall Enter Paradise? recounts in detail the history of Christian-Muslim engagement in a core area of sub-Saharan Africa's most populous nation, home to roughly equal numbers of Christians and Muslims. It is a region today beset by religious violence, in the course of which history has often been told in overly simplified or highly partisan terms. This book reexamines conversion and religious identification not as fixed phenomena, but as experiences shaped through cross-cultural encounters, experimentation, collaboration, protest, and sympathy. Shobana Shankar relates how Christian missions and African converts transformed religious practices and politics in Muslim Northern Nigeria during the colonial and early postcolonial periods. Although the British colonial authorities prohibited Christian evangelism in Muslim areas and circumscribed missionary activities, a combination of factors-including Mahdist insurrection, the abolition of slavery, migrant labor, and women's evangelism-brought new converts to the faith. By the 1930s, however, this organic growth of Christianity in the north had given way to an institutionalized culture based around medical facilities established in the Hausa emirates. The end of World War II brought an influx of demobilized soldiers, who integrated themselves into the local Christian communities and reinvigorated the practice of lay evangelism. In the era of independence, Muslim politicians consolidated their power by adopting many of the methods of missionaries and evangelists. In the process, many Christian men and formerly non-Muslim communities converted to Islam. A vital part of Northern Nigerian Christianity all but vanished, becoming a religion of "outsiders."

Juxtaposing "ecumenism" and "jihad," two words that many would consider strange and at odds with one another, Peter Kreeft argues that we need to change our current categories and alignments. We need to realize that we are at war and that the sides have changed radically. Documenting the spiritual and moral decay that has taken hold of modern society, Kreeft issues a wake-up call to all God-fearing Christians, Jews, and Muslims to unite together in a "religious war" against the common enemy of godless secular humanism, materialism, and immorality. Aware of the deep theological differences of these monotheistic faiths, Kreeft calls for a moratorium on our polemics against one another so that we can form an alliance to fight together to save Western civilization.

South Asia is home to more than a billion Hindus and half a billion Muslims. But the region is also home to substantial Christian communities, some dating almost to the earliest days of the faith. The stories of South Asia's Christians are vital for understanding the shifting contours of World Christianity, precisely because of their history of interaction with members of these other religious traditions. In this broad, accessible overview of South Asian Christianity, Chandra Mallampalli shows how the faith has been shaped by Christians' location between Hindus and Muslims. Mallampalli begins with a discussion of South India's ancient Thomas Christian tradition, which interacted with West Asia's Persian Christians and thrived for centuries alongside their Hindu and Muslim neighbours. He then underscores efforts of Roman Catholic and Protestant missionaries to understand South Asian societies for purposes of conversion. The publication of books and tracts about other religions, interreligious debates, and aggressive preaching were central to these endeavours, but rarely succeeded at yielding converts. Instead, they played an important role in producing a climate of religious competition, which ultimately marginalized Christians in Hindu-, Muslim-, and Buddhist-majority countries of post-colonial South Asia. Ironically, the greatest response to Christianity came from poor and oppressed Dalit (formerly "untouchable") and tribal communities who were largely indifferent to missionary rhetoric. Their mass conversions, poetry, theology, and embrace of Pentecostalism are essential for understanding South Asian Christianity and its place within World Christianity today.

In late 2007 Muslim leaders from around the world together issued in the pages of The New York Times an open letter to Christian leaders inviting cooperation as a step toward peace. That letter, -A Common Word between Us and You, - acknowledged real differences between the two faiths but nonetheless contended that -righteousness and good works- should be the only areas in which they compete. The 138 signatories included over a dozen grand muftis, an ayatollah, and a Jordanian prince, and the document was widely considered a groundbreaking step toward reconciliation between Islam and Christianity -- two major religions with a great deal in common. / That original letter and a collaborative Christian response -- -Loving God and Neighbor Together- -- both appear in this remarkable volume. Building on those original momentous documents, A Common Word further includes subsequent commentary and dialogue between Muslim and Christian scholars addressing critical and frequently asked questions. All in all, this eventful book encapsulates a brave and encouraging move toward harmony and accord between two world religions so often seen to be at odds.

The textbook begins with a chapter on exclusivism, inclusivism, particularity and pluralism, and one on interfaith. Each chapter explains the history, rationale and workings of the various approaches. Moreover, each is divided into sub-sections dealing with various forms of each approach, so that each may be appreciated in its individuality, i.e. the chapter on 'Inclusivism' will include sections on 'fulfilment theology' 'anonymous Christians', etc. The second part of this textbook deals with attitudes towards different faiths, considering the problems and relations that exist with Christian approaches to each. It will deal with the world's major faiths as well as primal religions and new religious movements. The introduction and conclusion will deal with some central themes that run throughout, in particular, the questions of the Trinity and concepts of salvation. In each section reference will be made to the key texts discussed in the Reader which accompanies this(9780334041155), however, the work may be read as a stand alone text.

English summary: In this volume, Wolfgang Speyer continues his studies of the relationship between antiquity and Christianity. His goal is to make the differences as well as the common ground between the ancient polytheistic religions and Judaism and Christianity, the monotheistic revealed religions, easier to understand. He shows the continuities as well as the breaks in the spiritual legacy of antiquity and Christianity since the late Middle Ages and explains why, in his opinion, separating late Christian antiquity and the early Middle Ages is wrong. In philological, historical, systematic and philosophical essays, the author assumes that man is intrinsically a homo religiosus, and that religiousness therefore is also the source of philosophy and science. German description: Mit dem vorliegenden Band setzt Wolfgang Speyer seine Studien zum Verhaltnis von Antike und Christentum in Form von Aufsatzen fort. Sein Anliegen ist es, die Unterschiede, aber auch die Gemeinsamkeiten zwischen den polytheistischen Religionen des Altertums und den monotheistischen Offenbarungsreligionen Judentum und Christentum verstandlicher zu machen. Er zeigt sowohl Kontinuitaten als auch Bruche im geistigen Erbe von Antike und Christentum seit dem Spatmittelalter auf und verdeutlicht, warum die Trennung von christlicher Spatantike und fruhem Mittelalter aus seiner Sicht falsch ist. In philologischen, historischen, religionswissenschaftlichen und philosophischen Studien geht er dabei grundsatzlich davon aus, dass der Mensch wesenhaft ein 'homo religiosus', die Religiositat also auch der Quellgrund fur Philosophie und Wissenschaft ist.

War das Individuum im alten Ägypten Dämonen, Krankheiten oder anderen Bedrohungen schutzlos ausgeliefert oder konnte sich der Mensch verschiedener Praktiken bedienen, um diese fernzuhalten? Christoffer Theis untersucht schriftliche und archäologische Hinterlassenschaften, die den magischen Schutz verschiedener Räume im alten Ägypten nachweisen. Er legt eine ausführliche Analyse und einen Kommentar der vorliegenden Zeugnisse für den Schutz des Landes Ägypten, der Stadt, des Tempels, des Hauses, des Schlafgemachs wie des Grabes vor und geht auf Hinterlassenschaften aus anderen kontemporären Kulturbereichen wie Mesopotamien, Altanatolien und dem Raum Syrien-Palästina ein. Außerdem vergleicht er diese in einem weiteren Schritt mit griechischem, koptischem, arabischem und hebräischem Material. Die derzeit vorhandenen Quellen bezeugen deutlich inter- sowie transkulturelle Homogenitäten und Identifikationsmerkmale durch die lokalen und temporalen Räume. Die Arbeit wurde 2017 mit dem Forschungspreis der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft ausgezeichnet.

Christianity and Confucianism: Culture, Faith and Politics, sets comparative textual analysis against the backcloth of 2000 years of cultural, political, and religious interaction between China and the West. As the world responds to China's rise and China positions herself for global engagement, this major new study reawakens and revises an ancient conversation. As a generous introduction to biblical Christianity and the Confucian Classics, Christianity and Confucianism tells a remarkable story of mutual formation and cultural indebtedness. East and West are shown to have shaped the mind, heart, culture, philosophy and politics of the other - and far more, perhaps, than either knows or would want to admit. Christopher Hancock has provided a rich and stimulating resource for scholars and students, diplomats and social scientists, devotees of culture and those who pursue wisdom and peace today.

All of us should condemn terrorism--whether the perpetrators are Muslim extremists, white supremacists, Marxist revolutionaries, or our own government. But it's time for us to stop asking Muslims to condemn terrorism under the assumption they are guilty of harboring terrorist sympathies or promoting violence until they prove otherwise. Renowned expert on Islamophobia Todd Green shows us how this line of questioning is riddled with false assumptions that say much more about "us" than "them." Green offers three compelling reasons why we should stop asking Muslims to condemn terrorism:1) The question wrongly assumes Islam is the driving force behind terrorism 2) The question ignores the many ways Muslims already condemn terrorism.3) The question diverts attention from unjust Western violence. This book is an invitation for self-examination when it comes to the questions we ask of Muslims and ourselves about violence. It will open the door to asking better questions of our Muslim neighbors, questions based not on the presumption of guilt but on the promise of friendship.

The first book to examine the controversial Qur'anic phrase which divides Christianity and Islam. According to the majority of modern Muslims and Christians, the Qur'an denies the crucifixion of Jesus, and with it, one of the most sacred beliefs of Christianity. However, it is only mentioned in one verse - "They did not kill him and they did not crucify him, rather, it only appeared so to them" - and contrary to popular belief, its translation has been the subject of fierce debate among muslims for centuries. This the first book devoted to the issue, delving deeply into largely ignored Arabic sources, which suggest the the origins of the conventional translation may lie within the Christian Church. Arranged along historical lines, and covering various Muslim schools of thought, from Sunni to Sufi, The Crucifixion and the Qur'an unravels the crucial dispute that separates the World's two principal faiths.

This classic study by Norman Daniel explores the political and religious considerations behind distorted western views of Islam, examining Christian-Muslim interaction from medieval times to the modern world. First published over 30 years ago, the message within this great scholarly achievement is more relevant today than ever before. This timeless and accessible book should be of interest to students and for anyone wishing to gain a deeper insight into the complex relations between two of the world's greatest religions.

Historians have long been aware that the encounter with Europeans affected all aspects of Native American life. But were Indians the only ones changed by these cross-cultural meetings? Might the newcomers' ways, including their religious beliefs and practices, have also been altered amid their myriad contacts with native peoples? In Encounters of the Spirit, Richard W. Pointer takes up these intriguing questions in an innovative study of the religious encounter between Indians and Euro-Americans in early America. Exploring a series of episodes across the three centuries of the colonial era and stretching from New Spain to New France and the English settlements, he finds that the flow of cultural influence was more often reciprocal than unidirectional.

This enlightening edited collection shows how migration shapes the lives of faith communities - and vice versa - through diverse prisms including diaspora, generational change, cultural conflict, conceptions of 'ministry' and artistic response. The contributors comprise writers, poets and artists from the three largest Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) and beyond. They show how issues of migration are addressed through a variety of different media such as theological debate and shared community action, poetry and art. As issues of migration are an important factor in so many political and social debates, faith communities are looking for guidance on how to deepen their theological understanding of migration. This book helps them to reflect on their own practices and experiences, learn from their own traditions and engage in dialogue with diverse communities. *All royalties from book sales will be donated to The Helen Bamber Foundation - a UK-based charity that supports people who have survived extreme physical, sexual and psychological violence.*

Multifaith spaces reflect the diversity of the modern world and enable a connection between individuals from different religious backgrounds. These spaces also highlight the complex and sensitive areas of political and social debates regarding the emergence of densely urbanised populations. They hold the potential to encourage connection and dialogue between members of different communities, promoting empathy, community and shared activity for the betterment of society. This book explores the history, development, design and practicalities of multifaith spaces from the early shared religious buildings that had to cater for two or more faiths, to the shared multifaith spaces of modern secular locations such as universities, airports and hospitals. Terry Biddington looks at the architectural, theological, social, legal and practical complexities that arise from the development and use of such spaces. The book also draws together research to enable further development of multifaith spaces.

English summary: During the early Imperial period, traditions of lived religion were increasingly interpreted and made plausible as a source of philosophical thought. Holy stories, rites and cult objects appeared as a reflection of divine truth, since they revealed knowledge which promised real life. Conversely, the philosophical interpretation of the world referred to the religious tradition as the last ground for knowledge. In this conference volume, researchers from various disciplines present a panorama of the religious and philosophical literature in the Imperial period from the pagan Greek and Latin literature, Hellenistic-Jewish and New Testament texts to Qumran as well as gnostic and hermetic writings. German description: In der fruhen Kaiserzeit werden Traditionen der gelebten Religion verstarkt als Quelle philosophischen Denkens interpretiert und plausibilisiert. Heilige Erzahlungen, Riten und Kultgegenstande erscheinen als Reflex gottlicher Wahrheit: sie eroffnen Erkenntnis, die wahres Leben verspricht. Umgekehrt beruft sich philosophische Weltdeutung auf die religiose Tradition als letzten Erkenntnisgrund. Dieser Verschmelzung religioser und philosophischer Diskurse, die insbesondere den Platonismus judischer, christlicher und pagan-religioser Provenienz kennzeichnet, entspringen kreative Neudeutungen in beiden Feldern.Im vorliegenden Tagungsband zeichnen ausgewiesene Fachleute aus den Bereichen Klassische Philologie, Theologie, Religionswissenschaft, Judaistik und Philosophiegeschichte ein Panorama der religios-philosophischen Literatur der fruhen Kaiserzeit, uber religios-kulturelle Herkunftsbereiche, Sprachgrenzen und Literaturgattungen hinweg. Die Beitrage reichen von der paganen griechischen und lateinischen Literatur uber hellenistisch-judische und neutestamentliche Texte bis hin zu Qumran sowie dem gnostischen und hermetischen Schrifttum. Dieser Querschnitt durch die religios-philosophische Literatur der Kaiserzeit wird erganzt und vertieft durch exemplarische Studien zu einzelnen Autoren und Texten (Philon von Alexandria, Plutarch, Johannesevangelium, Klemens von Alexandria). Die Beitrage wurden bei der Impulstagung des Projekts Ratio Religionis im Februar 2007 an der Georg-August-Universitat Gottingen gehalten.Wichtige Quellentexte werden am Schluss zweisprachig dargeboten.

An unexpected fusion of two major western religious traditions, Judaism and Christianity, has been developing in many parts of the world. Contemporary Christian movements are not only adopting Jewish symbols and aesthetics but also promoting Jewish practices, rituals, and lifestyles. Becoming Jewish, Believing in Jesus is the first in-depth ethnography to investigate this growing worldwide religious tendency in the global South. Focusing on an austere "Judaizing Evangelical" variant in Brazil, Carpenedo explores the surprising identification with Jews and Judaism by people with exclusively Charismatic Evangelical backgrounds. Drawing upon extensive fieldwork and socio-cultural analysis, the book analyses the historical, religious, and subjective reasons behind this growing trend in Charismatic Evangelicalism. The emergence of groups that simultaneously embrace Orthodox Jewish rituals and lifestyles and preserve Charismatic Evangelical religious symbols and practices raises serious questions about what it means to be "Jewish" or "Christian" in today's religious landscape. This case study reveals how religious, ethnic, and cultural markers are being mobilized in unpredictable ways within the Charismatic Evangelical movement in much of the global South. The book also considers broader questions regarding contemporary women's attraction to gender-traditional religions. This comprehensive account of how former Charismatic Evangelicals in Brazil are gradually becoming austerely observant "Jews," while continuing to believe in Jesus, represents a significant contribution to the study of religious conversion, cultural change, and debates about religious hybridization processes.