Led by general editor Jonathan Z. Smith, a team drawn from the American Academy of Religion has collected more than 3,200 entries written by 327 leading experts from around the world and across the theological and religious spectrum. The exceptional editorial team includes associate editor William Scott Green and area editors Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley, Lawrence S. Cunningham, Gary L. Ebersole, Malcom David Eckel, Sam D. Gill, Alfred Hiltebeitel, Richard C. Martin, Carole A. Myscofski, Jacob Neusner, and Hans H. Penner.
Designed for the general reader, this highly accessible resource addresses everything from the great living traditions such as Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Judaism to the very latest new religions. Diverse topics -- from the experience of women in Islam to the troublesome realities of religion and violence -- are covered with compelling facts and figures, eloquent prose, and riveting accuracy.
Have You Ever Wondered- What draws a person to alternative religious traditions? And what exactly is a "cult"?
- What are the branches on the Jewish Chanukah menorah symbolize? And why bitter herbs are eaten at Passover?
- Why children color eggs at Easter time? What a tree has to do with Christmas?
- Why is there such a debate over the ordination of women in the Catholic Church?
- If organized religion is necessary for a fulfilled humankind? How it all began, anyway?
All these questions and much, much more are answered in this essential and powerful new tool: The HarperCollins Dictionary of Religion -- the definitive guide to understanding religion today.
Designed for the general reader, this highly accessible resource addresses everything from the major traditions to the arcane and such diverse topics as the experience of women in Islam to religion and violence. Reflecting the best of the latest research, the exceptional entries are written by 250 leading authorities from the American Academy of Religion.
This dictionary has behind it the authority of American Academy of Religion, under whose auspices it was compiled. The 3200-plus articles are written by a team of 327 religion scholars, experts in their respective fields. Although in the introduction this team is called "international," only 32 members are from outside the United States, and over half of those are from Western Europe, the United Kingdom, and Canada. In addition to the standard alphabetically arranged articles on persons, holy days, rituals, deities, scriptures, etc., there are ten major articles dealing with ancient and modern religious traditions and one on the study of religion. Each of the standard articles begins with a clear, concise definition. Extensive cross references tie related articles together, though of the major articles, only "Religions of Antiquity," "New Religions," and "Religions of Traditional Peoples" provide lists of cross references. Though this is generally a thorough and well-written work, it has its shortcomings. The article "Goddess religion" speaks of "womanchurch" congregations but doesn't refer the reader to the article "Woman-church." The Sacred Name doctrine is mentioned without explanation in "Identity Christianity," and there is no article defining the term. Abortion is treated in a half-page article, but homosexuality (an equally controversial subject) is relegated to two brief paragraphs. Nonetheless, the HarperCollins dictionary compares well with other current one-volume dictionaries. Next to A New Dictionary of Religions (LJ 11/15/95), it lacks a bibliography, but it includes guides to pronunciation, a feature absent from the former as well as from Continuum Dictionary of Religion (Continuum, 1994) and Larousse Dictionary of Beliefs and Religions (LJ 11/1/94). Consequently, it is recommended by itself or as a complement to other dictionaries of religion. Craig W. Beard, Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham Lib. Copyright 1998 Library Journal Reviews
Shopping Cart
