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Religion is universal human culture. No phenomenon is more ... Read more

Religion is universal human culture. No phenomenon is more widely shared or more intensely studied, yet there is no agreement on what religion is. Now, in Faces in the Clouds, anthropologist Stewart Guthrie provides a provocative definition of religion in a bold and persuasive new theory. Guthrie says religion can best be understood as systematic anthropomorphism--that is, the attribution of human characteristics to nonhuman things and events. Many writers see anthropomorphism as common or even universal in religion, but few think it is central. To Guthrie, however, it is fundamental. Religion, he writes, consists of seeing the world as humanlike. As Guthrie shows, people find a wide range of humanlike beings plausible: Gods, spirits, abominable snowmen, HAL the computer, Chiquita Banana. We find messages in random events such as earthquakes, weather, and traffic accidents. We say a fire "rages," a storm "wreaks vengeance," and waters "lie still." Guthrie says that our tendency to find human characteristics in the nonhuman world stems from a deep-seated perceptual strategy: in the face of pervasive (if mostly unconscious) uncertainty about what we see, we bet on the most meaningful interpretation we can. If we are in the woods and see a dark shape that might be a bear or a boulder, for example, it is good policy to think it is a bear. If we are mistaken, we lose little, and if we are right, we gain much. So, Guthrie writes, in scanning the world we always look for what most concerns us--livings things, and especially, human ones. Even animals watch for human attributes, as when birds avoid scarecrows. In short, we all follow the principle--better safe than sorry. Marshalling a wealth of evidence from anthropology, cognitive science, philosophy, theology, advertising, literature, art, and animal behavior, Guthrie offers a fascinating array of examples to show how this perceptual strategy pervades secular life and how it characterizes religious experience. Challenging the very foundations of religion, Faces in the Clouds forces us to take a new look at this fundamental element of human life. Minimize

Free Worldwide Delivery : Eight Theories of Religion : Pape ... Read more

Free Worldwide Delivery : Eight Theories of Religion : Paperback : Oxford University Press Inc : 9780195165708 : 0195165705 : 23 Feb 2006 : Offers summary, analysis, and appraisal of many landmark modern efforts to explain the origin and function of religion. Beginning in the middle decades of the nineteenth century, this book considers the Victorian anthropology of E B Tylor and James Frazer; the "reductionist" social science of Sigmund Freud, Emile Durkheim, and Karl Marx; and more. Minimize

In the 1600s Colonial French settlers brought Christianity ... Read more

In the 1600s Colonial French settlers brought Christianity into the lands that are now the state of Mississippi. Throughout the period of French rule and the period of Spanish dominion that followed, Roman Catholicism remained the principal religion. By the time that statehood was achieved in 1817, Mississippi was attracting Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, and other Protestant evangelical faiths at a remarkable pace, and by the twentieth century, religion in Mississippi was dominantly Protestant and evangelical. In this book Randy J. Sparks traces the roots of evangelical Christianity in the state and shows how the evangelicals became a force of cultural revolution. They embraced the poorer segments of society, welcomed high populations of both women and African Americans, and deeply influenced ritual and belief in the state's vision of Christianity. In the 1830s as the Mississippi economy boomed, so did evangelicalism. As Protestant faiths became wedded to patriarchal standards, slaveholding, and southern political tradition, seeds were sown for the war that would erupt three decades later. Until Reconstruction many Mississippi churches comprised biracial congregations and featured women in prominent roles, but as the Civil War and the racial split cooled the evangelicals' liberal fervor and drastically changed the democratic character of their religion into archconservatism, a strong but separate black church emerged. As dominance by Protestant conservatives solidified, Jews, Catholics, and Mormons struggled to retain their religious identities while conforming to standards set by white Protestant society. As Sparks explores the dissonance between the state's powerful evangelical voice and Mississippi's social and cultural mores, he reveals the striking irony of faith and society in conflict. By the time of the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, religion, formerly a liberal force, had become one of the leading proponents of segregation, gender inequality, and ethnic animosity among whites in the Magnolia State. Among blacks, however, the churches were bastions of racial pride and resistance to the forces of oppression. Randy J. Sparks, an associate professor of history at Tulane University, is the author of On Jordan's Stormy Banks: Evangelical Religion in Mississippi, 1773-1876. Heritage of Mississippi Series, distributed for the Mississippi Historical Society Minimize

This is a new text for the sociology of religion course. ... Read more

This is a new text for the sociology of religion course. Instead of surveying the field systematically, the text is organized around a set of big questions that generate the most discussion and debate in the sociology of religion field.Big questions covered in the text, include: Whatever happened to the so-called 'decline of religion'? Explaining religious vitality in today's world. Why is there a rising tide of fundamentalism around the world? How have recent waves of immigration changed the landscape of religion in the US and elsewhere? What are we to make of innovative ways to get your religion? -Mega-churches, televangelism and the crystal shop around the corner Is religion a force for social change or a tool of the status quo? Can democratic political systems accommodate growing religious diversity? If religion teaches love, how can it lead to violence? How are sex roles, gender identity and definitions of the family infused with religious meaning? Does religion contribute to environmental degradation? Does it have a role to play in preserving the environment? What's with the struggle between science and religion? Do we need God to do good? Religious and moral values in schools, charities and public policy. Minimize

Rich is a Religion offers an unprecedented and detailed loo ... Read more

Rich is a Religion offers an unprecedented and detailed look at the timeless secrets to building and maintaining wealth.... Minimize

We all know what religion is - or do we? Confronted with re ... Read more

We all know what religion is - or do we? Confronted with religious pluralism and cultural diversity, it manifests itself in many forms. What is Religion? serves not only as an introduction to the different belief systems flourishing throughout the modern world, but asks us to consider how the very boundaries of faith might be drawn now and in the future. How might religion interact with political ends, or permeate culture, society and everyday life? Is the post-secular world in thrall to 'religions' of its own kind - materialism, humanism, medicine, science? And what logic separates 'common-sense' or academic knowledge from the immutable but unstable boudaries of faith? Which is the more certain? What does it mean to believe?Combining clear accounts of contemporary global religious practice with an incisive philosophical interrogation of the dynamics and aims of belief, What is Religion? offers a fresh and wide-ranging introduction to the perennial human questions of ritual, faith, ethics and salvation. Minimize

Revised and updated, the third edition of this highly accla ... Read more

Revised and updated, the third edition of this highly acclaimed anthology surveys all the major religious traditions--Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and African religions--and also covers Zen Buddhism, Shinto, and the religious experience in America. Ideal for courses in world religions and comparative religion, it introduces the unique claims, hopes, and wisdom of each tradition in its own voice, through substantial excerpts from its scriptures, prophets, and authors. "I have tried to pay heed," Eastman writes in his Preface, "to A. C. Bouquet's warning of many years ago that the study of religion may sink to the level of collecting dead insects or pressed flowers, which in the process lose all their color and reality. There is not much excuse for a dreary book about a subject as inherently interesting and provocative as the world's religions." The following selections are new to the third edition: Diana L. Eck's "Frontiers of Encounter," Barbara Stoler Miller on Yoga, R. K. Narayan's story "Chudala," Julia Ching's "Confucianism in Perspective," Thomas Merton on Chuang Tzu, Joseph M. Kitagawa's "The Way of the Kami," Ian Reader on Shinto, Vincent Mulago on African Religions, and "A Personal Note" by John Hick. Minimize

The current ecological crisis is a matter of urgent global ... Read more

The current ecological crisis is a matter of urgent global concern, with solutions being sought on many fronts. In this book, Seyyed Hossein Nasr argues that the devastation of our world has been exacerbated, if not actually caused, by the reductionist view of nature that has been advanced by modern secular science. What is needed, he believes, is the recovery of the truth to which the great, enduring religions all attest; namely that nature is sacred. Nasr traces the historical process through which Western civilization moved away from the idea of nature as sacred and embraced a world view which sees humans as alienated from nature and nature itself as a machine to be dominated and manipulated by humans. His goal is to negate the totalitarian claims of modern science and to re-open the way to the religious view of the order of nature, developed over centuries in the cosmologies and sacred sciences of the great traditions. Each tradition, Nasr shows, has a wealth of knowledge and experience concerning the order of nature. The resuscitation of this knowledge, he argues, would allow religions all over the globe to enrich each other and cooperate to heal the wounds inflicted upon the Earth. Minimize

Free Worldwide Delivery : Religions in the Modern World : P ... Read more

Free Worldwide Delivery : Religions in the Modern World : Paperback : Taylor & Francis Ltd : 9780415458917 : 0415458919 : 26 May 2009 : Considers the history and modern practices of the world's main religious traditions. This title analyses trends in the manifestation of religion in the modern world, from secularization to the rise of fresh spiritualities. It includes chapters on Religion and Violence, Paganism, and Religion and Popular Culture. Minimize

The religious practices and understandings of small indigen ... Read more

The religious practices and understandings of small indigenous societies are recognized by many to be in no way inferior to other religious beliefs.... Minimize

Religion and the Creation of Race and Ethnicity is the firs ... Read more

Religion and the Creation of Race and Ethnicity is the first collection devoted to demonstrating the role that religion and myth have played in the creation of the categories of “race” and “ethnicity.” When scholars approach religion and race, they tend to focus on such issues as how African Americans have expressed Christianity, or how Japanese or Mexicans have lived “religiously.” This volume, meant specifically for those new to the field, brings together an ensemble of prominent scholars and illuminates instead the role religious myths have played in shaping those very social boundaries that we call “races” and “ethnicities.” It asks, what part did Christianity play in creating “Blackness”? To what extent was Japanese or Mexican identity itself the product of religious life?The text, comprised of all original material, introduces readers to the social construction of race and ethnicity and the ways in which these concepts are shaped by religious narratives. It offers examples from both the U.S. and around the world, exploring these themes in the context of places as diverse as Bosnia, India, Japan, Mexico, Zimbabwe, and the Middle East. The volume helps make the case that any account of the social construction of race and ethnicity will be incomplete if it fails to consider the influence of religious traditions and myths. Contributors include: Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., Joel Martin, Jacob Neusner, Roberto S. Goizueta, Laurie Patton, and Michael A. Sells. Minimize

.cs7CED571B{text-align:left;text-indent:0pt;padding:0pt 0pt ... Read more

.cs7CED571B{text-align:left;text-indent:0pt;padding:0pt 0pt 0pt 0pt;margin:0pt 0pt 0pt 0pt} .cs5EFED22F{color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal; } In this insightful work, Harry H. Singleton, III, analyzes the white religious establishment’s use of Christian faith throughout American history to link divine will with black oppression. This exploitation establishes Christian faith as the single most persuasive tool in convincing whites of their superiority and blacks of their inferiority. Singleton calls for a reexamination of the major categories of Christian theology due to its misuse by many leading white clergy and theologians. He constructs a more liberating approach to Christian faith by freeing it from its convenient concerns with heaven more than the earth, with the church more than the world, and with the individual more than the community. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in both the historical and contemporary impact of Christian faith on the current racial situation in America. Minimize

The Truth presents a concise summary of the divine messages ... Read more

The Truth presents a concise summary of the divine messages sent to us by God through our greatest prophets. When studied successively, these spiritual lessons form a Tower of Truth that should not be broken or interpreted along religious lines. Instead, these spiritual Truths should be shared and assimilated by everyone, regardless of one’s religious affiliation. In addition, The Truth explores the five primary religions that evolved after the prophets died: Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam, to determine whether any of these manmade religions have remained faithful to the Truth, including the primordial Truth that the Supreme Being is comprised of both masculine and feminine energy. Minimize

Free Worldwide Delivery : Religion and Youth : Paperback : ... Read more

Free Worldwide Delivery : Religion and Youth : Paperback : Ashgate Publishing Group : 9780754667681 : 0754667685 : 21 Jul 2010 : What is the future of religion given the responses of young people? Offering a comprehensive international perspective on the sociology of youth and religion, this book reveals key geographical and organisational variables as well as the complexities of the engagement between youth and religion. Minimize

Very little is known in the West about Tibetan Buddhism in ... Read more

Very little is known in the West about Tibetan Buddhism in comparison with other eastern religions. This is partly because the vast literature which it has produced, and which illuminates its history, is still far from accessible. In addition there exists a deep division between monastic Lamaism and religion as it is lived by the people: the former is fragmented into many schools, while the latter shows numerous regional variations. The first comprehensive account of Tibetan Buddhism to be published in English since Waddell's "Buddhism of Tibet" appeared in 1894, this translation is certain to become the standard reference work on the subject. Minimize

Many evangelicals have embraced a Christianized 'folk ... Read more

Many evangelicals have embraced a Christianized 'folk religion' characterized by glib sayings they've never deeply examined.... Minimize

An exploration into the vitality and richness of Japanese r ... Read more

An exploration into the vitality and richness of Japanese religious life! Distinguished scholar and teacher H. Byron Earhart provides a fresh, firsthand look at Japanese religious life, sensitively distilling its unique characteristics. Within the larger framework of the distinctive Japanese religious heritage, Earhart explains the major traditions; provides a historical-cultural context; examines objects of worship--kami ("gods"), Buddhas, ancestors, and holy persons; interprets Japanese concepts of worship reflected in views on society, space, time, and human life; and assesses the general world view created by the individual traditions taken as a whole. Religions of Japan is enriched by the author's fieldwork, which brings an immediacy to his description of a traditional rural community festival and the life story of a member of a new religion in a modern urban setting. The result is an insider's view of Japanese religious life today, showing its vitality and the richness and distinctiveness of its impressive heritage. Minimize

At a time when religious fundamentalism is having a huge im ... Read more

At a time when religious fundamentalism is having a huge impact upon the world, this book helps us to understand how people acquire, conceptualise and practise religion at both personal and social levels. At a time when religious fundamentalism is having a huge impact upon the world, this book helps us to understand how people acquire, conceptualise and practise religion at both personal and social levels. Explores religion both as a social phenomenon and as a form of inner experience. Explains why people believe what they do. Looks at the effects of religious and spiritual belief upon behaviour, and upon physical and psychological health. Outlines the various approaches to religious and spiritual experience. Surveys all relevant research. Minimize

This collection of essays examines religion in the American ... Read more

This collection of essays examines religion in the American South across three centuries--from the beginning of the eighteenth century to the civil rights movement of the 1960s. The first collection published on the subject in fifteen years, Religion in the American Southbuilds upon a new generation of scholarship to push scholarly conversation about the field to a new level of sophistication by complicating "southern religion" geographically, chronologically, and thematically and by challenging the interpretive hegemony of the "Bible belt." Contributors demonstrate the importance of religion in the South not only to American religious history but also to the history of the nation as a whole. They show that religion touched every corner of society--from the nightclub to the lynching tree, from the church sanctuary to the kitchen hearth.These essays will stimulate discussions of a wide variety of subjects, including eighteenth-century religious history, conversion narratives, religion and violence, the cultural power of prayer, the importance of women in exploiting religious contexts in innovative ways, and the interracialism of southern religious history. Minimize

Living Religions presents a highly readable and stimulating ... Read more

Living Religions presents a highly readable and stimulating survey of the modern religious world though an emphasis on the personal consciousness of believers and their own accounts of their religion and relevance in contemporary life."Religion is not a museum piece. Religion is a vibrant force in the lives of many people around the world, and many religions are presently experiencing a renaissance." - Mary Pat Fisher, Preface to Living ReligionsAlong with a team of specialist consultants in each faith, and drawing on a wealth of scholarly research and firsthand source material, Mary Pat Fisher provides a fresh and challenging insight into the historical development and teachings of traditional faiths, indigenous religions, and new religious movements. She considers how the contemporary beliefs and practices of each of these traditions have evolved, and explores the changing nature of each religion; particularly the role of women, and the issues and controversies such as fundamentalism, violence, globalization, and interfaith initiatives. Minimize

Over the last decade the once marginal extreme right of the ... Read more

Over the last decade the once marginal extreme right of the Turkish ideological spectrum has grown in size as well as in influence and has effectively reshaped party competition in Turkey. Policy mandates and electoral bases of the rising extreme right rely on potentially explosive social cleavages in the country. One such confrontation is between the secularist and pro-Islamist forces, which has always been one of the centrepieces of modern Turkish politics.The rise of pro-Islamist electoral forces from a marginal to an undeniably imposing position in Turkish electoral politics has led many to worry that a deep-rooted schism has come to the forefront of Turkish politics. The frontline of this secularist vs pro-Islamist confrontation is quite widespread ranging from a debate around the ban of turban and headscarves in universities to religious education in the country, from Islamic principles in the economy to Turkish foreign policy towards the Middle Eastern countries.This volume was previously published as a special issue of the journal Turkish Studies. Minimize

Jorstad has written the first comprehensive history of Amer ... Read more

Jorstad has written the first comprehensive history of American religion in the past decade. Drawing on many contemporary sources, he divides religion in the Eighties into three sections, each characterized by its own struggle. Mainline churches are largely involved in identity crises and social issues. Evangelicals are confronting scandals, politics, and the pressures of the mass media. Private seekers, which the author sees as the wave of the future, swing between quietistic New Age philosophies and the desire for world transformation. Everywhere the tension is between the conservatives holding fast and the liberals pressing on. While Jorstad clearly sympathizes with the latter, he presents a balanced picture of recent religious history. An excellent work of social and historical analysis with insights for the future. Recommended for academic and public libraries. Library JournalDuring the 1980s, some of the most far-reaching and dramatic changes in American life were those occurring in religious life. Battles over abortion, televangelist morality scandals, responding to AIDS, gender issues, and American political policy toward South Africa are just a few of the major issues that made front-page news. This comprehensive history of American religion in the 1980s explores these and other issues, beginning with their historical background in the great awakening of the 1960s counterculture. It proceeds to trace the contours of the holders fast/pressers on battle (conservatives vs. moderates and liberals) in three areas: mainline struggles over denominational identity, social gospel outreach, and gender issues; evangelical struggles over involvement in office-seeking politics, televangelist morality, and popularization of traditional teaching; and privatized seeking of fulfillment through personal relationships, inner spiritual growth, and pursuit of the promises of New Age transformations of self and society. Using contemporary writings, interviews, reports, and other primary documents of the times as well as drawing on the interpretations of specialists in contemporary religious life, Jorstad throroughly explores every aspect of the themes covered.In Part I, the book focuses on mainliners, documenting the decline of ecumenical energy and the sources and results of the fierce internal battles within mainline denominations over holding to older identities at the expense of extensive involvement in the major social crises of the day. Within the evangelical/fundamental section, the book examines the effects of the Falwells, Robertsons, and others in elective national politics and to what extent this movement depended on the leadership in the White House. Evangelism's expression through and use of mass media is also addressed. The third major trend, privatization (largely New Age), is examined with attention to how seekers sought fulfillment through improving the quality of their relationships with partner, spouse, family, friends, and local community. The leadership of such interpreters as Scott Peck, James Dobson, Charles Swindoll, and Robert Schuller is also examined in detail. The final chapter explores the history, spread, and impact of New Age faith on the religious expression of the 1980s. Holding Fast/Pressing On is the first full-length account of the major developments of religion during the decade. It breaks new ground in using sociological theory to interpret the importance of the search for the self and will be of interest to students of American religious history and life, contemporary social trends and problems, and mass media, politics and religion. Minimize

Religious power assumes strikingly different forms, often r ... Read more

Religious power assumes strikingly different forms, often regarded as unique and unrelated. Religion in Context, however, argues that these apparently contradictory experiences are part of a web of mutually sustaining elements. I.M. Lewis analyzes phenomena such as witchcraft, cannibalism, and shamanism, revealing connections among them and with the world religions. This expanded and updated edition illuminates critical aspects of religious power, and will be of value to anyone concerned with the nature of religion in the modern world. Minimize

This provocative text considers whether evolutionary explan ... Read more

This provocative text considers whether evolutionary explanations can be used to clarify some of life’s biggest questions. Examines topics of race, sex, gender, the nature of language, religion, ethics, knowledge, consciousness and ultimately, the meaning of life Each chapter presents a main topic, together with discussion of related ideas and arguments from various perspectives Addresses questions such as: Did evolution make men and women fundamentally different? Is the concept of race merely a social construction? Is morality, including universal human rights, a mass delusion? Can religion and evolution really be harmonized? Does evolution render life meaningless? Written in a clear and informative style, with helpful references for further reading and research Minimize

Religion is central to the lives of millions of people arou ... Read more

Religion is central to the lives of millions of people around the globe.... Minimize

What is the subject of theology? These fourteen essays argu ... Read more

What is the subject of theology? These fourteen essays argue against the view that "religion" is the name of one particular territory that we may consider or ignore if we feel so inclined. That "religion" is a subject quite different from others, such as politics, art, science, law and economics, is peculiar to modern Western culture. But Professor Lash states that the "modern" world is ending, and in the consequent confusion is the possibility of discovering new forms of ancient wisdom that the "modern" world obscured from view. Part I explores the dialogue between Christianity and Hinduism. Those essays in Part II (six were published between 1988 and 1994, and five are unpublished) consider relations between theology and science, the secularity of Western culture and questions of Christian hope or eschatology. Minimize

This book provides a comprehensive selection of readings th ... Read more

This book provides a comprehensive selection of readings that relate to and explore the definition of religion. The texts come from a wide range of approaches, unified both by the questions they address and their broadly social scientific perspective. The disciplines covered include anthropology, phenomenology, psychology and sociology. The editors have also included some key texts relating to the feminist approach to and critique of religion. The initial section of the book includes some of the foundational texts, such as materials by Marx, Freud, and Durkheim. The remaining sections look at more recent discussions of the issues from the different disciplinary perspectives. Each reading is introduced by a biographical sketch of the author. The book also includes introductory discussions to each section that both raise the key issues developed in a particular discipline and address the disciplinary approaches from a more critical stance. Theories of Religion: A Reader is an invaluable critical resource, accessible to a broad audience as well as students of theology and religious studies. Minimize

Statistics on the American family are sobering. From 1975 t ... Read more

Statistics on the American family are sobering. From 1975 to 2000, one-third of all children were born to single mothers, and one-half of all marriages ended in divorce. While children from broken homes are two to three times more likely to develop behavioral and learning difficulties, two-parent families are not immune to problems. The cost of raising children has increased dramatically, and married couples with children are now twice as likely as childless couples to file for bankruptcy. Clearly, the American family is in trouble. But how this trouble started, and what should be done about it, remain hotly contested.In a multifaceted analysis of the current state of a complex institution, Family Transformed brings together outstanding scholars from the fields of anthropology, demography, ethics, history, law, philosophy, primatology, psychology, sociology, and theology. Demonstrating that the family is both distinctive in its own right and deeply interwoven with other institutions, the authors examine the roles of education, work, leisure, consumption, legal regulation, public administration, and biology in shaping the ways we court and marry, bear and raise children, and make and break family bonds. International in approach, this wide-ranging volume situates current American debates over sex, marriage, and family within a global framework. Weighing mounting social science evidence that supports a continued need for the nuclear family while assessing the challenges posed by new advocacy for same-sex marriage, and delegalized coupling, the authors argue that only by reintegrating the family into a just moral order of the larger community and society can we genuinely strengthen it. This means not simply upholding traditional family values but truly grasping the family's growing diversity, sustaining its coherence, and protecting its fragility for our own sake and for the common good of society. Minimize

In his preface to Practical Religion, Bishop J.C. Ryle (181 ... Read more

In his preface to Practical Religion, Bishop J.C. Ryle (1816-1900) wrote, The present volume contains a series of papers about practical religion and deals with the daily duties, dangers, experiences and privileges of all who profess and call themselves Christians. I now send forth this volume with an earnest prayer that God the Holy Spirit may bless it, and make it useful and helpful to many souls. By practical religion Ryle does not mean a religion of works , but one in which those who are saved can put their faith into practice. Ryle was appointed a the first Bishop of Liverpool in 1880 and was the leader of the Evangelical party in the Church of England for more than half a century. He is highly regarded for his plain and lively writings on practical and spiritual themes, and their usefulness and impact have been consistently recognized and remain as wise and relevant today as when he first wrote them.Lightly edited and updated, this modern edition remains faithful to Ryle s original work, and conveys its timeless truths of what every believer ought to be, to do, and to expect. Minimize