American Transcendentalism and Asian Religions (Hardcover)

Transcendentalism is well-known as a peculiarly American philosophical and religious movement. Less well-known is the extent to which such famous Transcendentalists as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau drew on religions of Asia for their inspiration. Arthur Versluis offers a comprehensive study of the relationship between the American Transcendentalists and Asian religions. He argues that an influx of new information about these religions shook nineteenth-century American religious consciousness to the core. With the publication of ever more material on Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism, the Judeo-Christian tradition was inevitably placed as just one among a number of religious traditions. Fundamentalists and conservatives denounced this influx as a threat, but the Transcendentalists embraced it, poring over the sacred books of Asia to extract ethical injunctions, admonitions to self-transcendence, myths taken to support Christian doctrines, and manifestations of a supposed coming universal religion. The first major study of this relationship since the 1930s, American Transcendentalism and Asian Religions is also the first to consider the post-Civil War Transcendentalists, such as Samuel Johnson and William Rounseville Alger. Examining the entire range of American Transcendentalism, Versluis's study extends from the beginnings of Transcendentalist Orientalism in Europe to its continuing impact on twentieth-century American culture. This exhaustive and enlightening work sheds important new light on the history of religion in America, comparative religion, and nineteenth-century American literature and popular culture.

General

Imprint:	Oxford UniversityPress
Country of origin:	United States
Series:	Religion in America
Release date:	May 2001
First published:	September 1993
Authors:	Arthur Versluis (Assistant Professor of English)
Dimensions:	244 x 165 x 29mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover - Cloth over boards
Pages:	364
ISBN-13:	978-0-19-507658-5
Categories:	Books > Language & Literature > Literature: history & criticism > Literary studies > 19th century Books > Humanities > History > American history > 1800 to 1900 Books > Humanities > History > History of specific subjects > Military history Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > General > Comparative religion Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence > War & defence operations > Civil war Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Non-Christian religions > Religions of Indic & Oriental origin > Oriental religions > General Books > History > American history > 1800 to 1900 Books > History > History of specific subjects > Military history Books > Religion & Spirituality > Non-Christian religions > Religions of Indic & Oriental origin > Oriental religions > General Books > Religion & Spirituality > General > Comparative religion
LSN:	0-19-507658-3
Barcode:	9780195076585

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