A Concise Introduction to World Religions

Based on the best-selling World Religions: Eastern Traditions and World Religions: Western Traditions, A Concise Introduction to World Religions, Fourth Edition, is ideal for single-semester courses. Renowned contributors trace the origins and evolution of the major traditions, explain their essential teachings, outline their practices, and examine their interactions with modern culture and society, while insightful introductory and concluding essays suggest countless avenues for further reflection and study.

Roy C. Amore is Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Windsor in Ontario.

Amir Hussain is Professor of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.

The late Willard G. Oxtoby, the original editor of this work, was Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto.

Contributors
Preface
1. STUDYING RELIGIONS
What Is Religion?
Why Study Religion?
Insider Versus Outsider
Methods for the Study of Religion
Basic Human Religion: Origins of Faith
Three Worlds
Sacred Places
Animal Spirits
Death and Burial
Why Are Humans Religious?
Basic Human Religion: Patterns of Faith
Shamanism
Connecting to the Cosmos
Temple Religion
Middle Eastern Prophets and Asian Sages
The First Principle: Greek Philosophy and Daoist Thought
Mystery Religion
Avatar: God on Earth
Scriptural Religion
Some Practical Matters
2. INDIGENOUS TRADITIONS
"Indigenous" Religion
Change and Syncretism
"Us" and "Them"
"Primitives" and the Problem of History
Transmission
Stories
Origin Stories
Tricksters
Practice
Ritual
Rites of Passage
Sacrifice
Cultural Expressions
Weaving
Carvings
Buildings
Colonialism
Invasion
Conversion
Appropriation
Recent Developments
Interaction and Adaptation
"The End is Near"
Autonomy and Equality
Contemporary Indigenous Traditions
Summary
3. RELIGIONS OF ANTIQUITY
Introduction
Prehistory
Gobekli Tepe
Catalhoyuk
Nabta Playa
Common Features of the Religions of Antiquity
Deities
Myth
Services to the Gods
Afterlife
Mesopotamian Tradition
Egyptian Tradition
Greek Tradition
Roman Tradition
Iranian Tradition (Zoroastrianism)
Manichaean Tradition
The End of Paganism
Recent Developments
Summary
4. JEWISH TRADITIONS
Jewish Identity as Ethnicity and Religion
Earliest Jewish History: The Biblical Story
The Biblical Narrative as Sacred History
The Origins of "Israel," "Hebrew," "Jew," and "Semitic"
When Was the Torah Written Down?
Relationship as Covenant: The Israelites and their God
Of Kings and Messiahs
The Exile in Babylonia
The Second Temple Period (515 BCE-70CE)
The Impact of Alexander the Great
A Variety of Judaisms
Enter the Romans (63 BCE)
Herod the Great
The Rabbinic Period
The Talmud and Women
Jewish Life under Islam: Seventh toTwelfth Century
The Gaonic Period
Maimonidies
Jews in the Christian World: Seventh to Fifteenth Century
The Spanish Inquisition
The Kabbalah
Eastern Europe
The Modern Period
Haskalah: The Jewish Enlightenment
Modern Branches of Judaism
The Modern Synagogue
Anti-Semitism
Zionism
The Holocaust (1933-1945)
The Rise of Hitler
The State of Israel
Life-Cycle Events
How Jews Deal with Death
Marriage
Divorce
Recent Developments
The Jewish Bloodline
Attitudes towards Gays and Lesbians
Gender Equality: A Distance Yet to Go
Summary
5. CHRISTIAN TRADITIONS
Origins
Internal Conflicts in the Early Church
Relations Between Church and Society
Constantine
Authority in the Early Church
Centralized Authority
Women in Ministry
The Development of Orthodoxy
The Scriptural Canon
Councils of the Church
Other Early Heresies
Key Figures in Early Church Development
Relations Between East and West
Practice
Worship Spaces
Early Christian Art
The Rise of Monasticism
Eastern Orthodoxy
Christianizing the Slavs
Byzantine Art
Icons in the Orthodox Church
Medieval Christianity
Decline and Expansion
The Crusades
Punishing Heresy
The Development of Papal Authority
Reason and Revelation: Scholasticism and Mysticism
Medieval Religions Communities: Monastic and Mendicant Orders
Women in Medieval Catholicism
Sainthood
Worship in the Medieval Church
The Early Modern Era
Humanism
The Protestant Reformation in Continental Europe
Sixteenth-Century Protestant Denominations
The Counter-Reformation
The English Reformation
Worship and the Protestant Reformation
The Modern Era
The Enlightenment
Sociopolitical Context
Evangelical Great Awakenings
Women and Revivalism
Missions
Theological Controversies and Denominational Splitting
Historical Biblical Criticism
Reactions to Modernism
Theological Diversity in the Modern/Postmodern Era
The Changing Place of Women
Twentieth-Century Movements for Social Change
Vatican II
The Church of Rome Today
Recent Developments
Ecumenism
Fission and Fusion
Christianity and Pluralism
Summary
6. MUSLIM TRADITIONS
Beginnings
Pre-Islamic Arabia
The Life of Muhammad (560-632 CE)
Foundations
Prophets and Messengers
The Qur'an
Practice
The Five Pillars of Islam
Religious Sciences
Islamic Philosophy and Theology
Variations of Islam
Shi'ism
Sufism: The Mystical Tradition
The Spread of Islam
North Africa
Spain
Sub-Saharan Africa
Central Asia and Iran
China
South Asia
Southeast Asia
Cultural Expressions
Islamic Architecture
Islamic Art
Towards the Modern World
Islam and Modernity
Premodern Reform Movements
Modern Revivalism and Reform
Recent Developments
Twentieth-Century Secularism
Twentieth-Century Islamic Revivalism
Contemporary Revivalist Movements
State Islam and the Islamic Revolution
Islam in Western Europe
Islam in North America
Marriage and the Family
War, Terrorism, and Violence
Summary
7. HINDU TRADITIONS
"Hinduism"
Origins
The Harappa Culture
The Indo-Europeans
The Vedas
Classical Hinduism
The Ramayana
The Mahabarata and the Bhagavad Gita
The Three Ways to Liberation
The Deities of Classical Hinduism
The Hindu "Trinity"
Ages of Time
Caste and the Laws of Manu
The Stages and Goals of Life
Attitudes Toward Women
Schools and Communities of Theology
Vedanta
Yoga
Tantra
Hinduism in Southeast Asia
South Indian Devotion (Bhakti)
North Indian Bhakti
Colonialism and Beyond
Practices, Rituals, and Arts
Temple Worship
Sculptural and Pictorial Symbolism
Domestic Worship
Ayurvedic Medicine
The Annual Festival Cycle
Life-Cycle Rites
Women's Rituals
The Performing Arts
Recent Developments
Global Hinduism, Interaction, and Adaptation
The Hindu Diaspora
Hinduism and the Environment
Other Challenges
Summary
8. SIKH TRADITIONS
Overview
Guru Nanak
The 10 Gurus
The Khalsa
Crystallization
The Sacred Scriptures
Sikh Doctrine
Four Notions of Guruship
Sikh Ethics
Practice
Prayer
Congregational Worship
The Annual Festival Cycle
Life-Cycle Rituals
Differentiation
Encounter with Modernity
Sikh Reform Movements
Cultural Expressions
Social Norms
The Role of Women
Music
Art
Literature
Interaction and Adaptation
Twentieth-Century India
The Sikh Diaspora
White Sikhs
Recent Developments
Religious Pluralism
Political Militancy
Sexuality and Bioethical Issues
Environmental Issues
Sikh Visibility
Summary
9. JAINA TRADITIONS
Overview
The Shramana Revolution
The Early Sangha
Sacred Literature
Cosmology
Major Developments
Reform
Practice
Ascetic Practice
Householder Practice
The Fast to Death
Jaina Astrology
Jaina Worship
Expressive Dimensions
Festivals
Jainas among Others
Women
Recent Developments
Twentieth-Century Reform Movements
Jaina Identity
Jainism Around the World
Summary
10. BUDDHIST TRADITIONS
Overview
The First Gem: The Buddha
Religious Life in Ancient India
The Bodhisattva Vow and Previous Lives
Siddhartha's Birth and Childhood
The Four Sights and the Great Departure
Enlightenment
Setting the Wheel in Motion
Entering Parinirvana
The Second Gem: The Dharma
The Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path
The Three Characteristics of Existence
Dependent Origination
The Tripitaka: Three Baskets of Sacred Texts
The Third Gem: The Sangha
Bhikshus and Bhikshunis
Ordained and Lay Women
Controversies, Councils, and Sects
King Ashoka's Conversion
Buddhism and the State
Early Buddhism: The First Vehicle ("Hinayana")
Theravada Buddhism
Theravada in Sri Lanka
Theravada in Southeast Asia
Theravada Practice: Rituals and Mindfulness
Mahayana: The Second Vehicle
Mahayana Doctrine
Mahayana Schools
Mahayana Holidays
Vajrayana: The Third Vehicle
Vajrayana Practice
Vajrayana in East Asia
Vajrayana in Tibet
Interaction and Adaptation in East Asia
China
Korea
Japan
Cultural Expressions
Stupas and Pagodas
Temples
Images of the Buddha
Buddhism and the Modern World
India
Theravada in Modern Sri Lanka
Theravada in Modern Southeast Asia
Mahayana in Vietnam
Buddhism in Modern China, Korea, and Japan
Buddhism in the West
Recent Developments
The Female Sangha
A Renewed Sense of Mission
Buddhist Economics
Cooperation among Buddhists
Summary
11. CHINESE AND KOREAN TRADITIONS
Overview
The Classical Period to the Qin (c. 2300 BCE-206 BCE)
Confucian Beginnings
Daoism
The Han Dynasty (202 BCE-220 CE)
State Confucianism, Huang-Lao, and Religious Daoism
The Introduction of Buddhism
Confucianism
Daoism
Buddhism
The Six Dynasties Period (220-589)
Confucianism
Buddhism
Daoism
The Sui and Tang Dynasties (589-907)
China Reunited
Confucianism
Daoism
Buddhism
The Song, Yuan, and Ming Dynasties (960-1644)
Daoism
Confucianism
Buddhism
Popular Religion
The Qing Dynasty and Republican Period (1644-present)
The Challenges of Modernity
Confucianism
Daoism and Popular Religion
Buddhism
Government Treatment of Religion
Popular Religion
Recent Developments
Korean Religions
Korea and China: A Shared History
Old Joseon
The Three Kingdoms (c. 50 BCE-668 CE)
United Silla, Later Three Kingdoms, and Goryeo (668-1392)
Joseon (1392-1910)
Recent Developments: 1897 to the Present
North Korea
South Korea
Summary
12. JAPANESE TRADITIONS
Overview
Foundations
Persistent Themes
Seeking Benefits
Religious and Spiritual Agents
Mythology
Other Spiritual Agents
Unsettled Spirits
Pivotal Developments in Japanese Religious History
Tendai and Shingon
New Emphases in Japanese Religious Practice
New Sects in the Kamakura and Muromachi Periods
Pure Land Salvation
Rinzai Zen and Kamakura Culture
Soto Zen: The Gradual Path
Nichiren
Confucianism and the Beginnings of Shinto
The Emergence of "Shinto"
Continuities of Japanese Religious Practice
Global and Domestic Trends
Christianity's Rise and Fall
Unification and Stability
Religion Meets Modernity
Recent Developments
Nationalism and Shinto
Postwar Restructuring and Religious Adaptation
Summary
13. NEW RELIGIONS AND MOVEMENTS
Defining New Religions, Sects, and Cults
New Religions from the East
Soka Gakkai
Falun Dafa (Falun Gong)
International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)
Religions Arising from the Abrahamic Lineage
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons)
The Baha'i Faith
The Nation of Islam
The Kabbalah Centre
The Church of Almighty God (Eastern Lightning)
Religions Inspired by Other Forms of Spirituality
Wicca: The Witchcraft Revival
Scientology
The Raëlian Movement
The New Age Movement
Summary
Credits
Index