A History of the World's Religion

by Noss, David S.; Noss, John Boyer

• ISBN13: 9780130105325
• ISBN10: 0130105325
• Edition: 10th
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-01-01
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Summary

Refined by over forty years of dialogue and correspondence with religious experts and practitioners around the world, this text is widely regarded as the hallmark of fairness and accuracy in its field. It is also the most thorough, yet concise history of world religions available in a single volume, treating many subjects largely neglected in other texts. The book's depth, breadth, and organization free instructors from having to cover everything in lectures, enabling them to select specific assignments and use class time for questions, discussion, and their own favorite materials.

Table of Contents

Preface	xiii
Part 1 Some Primal and Bygone Religions	1	(74)
CHAPTER 1 Religion in Prehistoric and Primal Cultures	2	(34)
I. Beginnings: Religion in Prehistoric Cultures	2	(6)
II. Basic Terminology: Characteristics of Religion in Primal Cultures	8	(10)
III. Case Study: The Dieri of Southeast Australia	18	(6)
IV. Case Study: The BaVenda Of South Africa	24	(3)
V. Case Study: The Cherokees of the Southeastern Woodlands	27	(8)
Glossary	35	(1)
CHAPTER 2 Bygone Religions That Have Left Their Mark on the West	36	(39)
I. Mesopotamia	36	(7)
II. Greece	43	(13)
III. Rome	56	(6)
IV. Europe Beyond the Alps	62	(6)
V. Mesoamerica: The Maya	68	(6)
Glossary	74	(1)
Part 2 The Religions of South Asia	75	(174)
CHAPTER 3 Early Hinduism: The Passage from Ritual Sacrifice to Mystical Union	76	(26)
I. The Religion of the Vedic Age	77	(10)
II. Brahmanism, Caste, and Ceremonial Life	87	(12)
Glossary	99	(3)
CHAPTER 4 Later Hinduism: Religion as the Determinant of Social Behavior	102	(46)
I. Changes in Brahmanism: The Four Goals and the Three Ways	103	(3)
II. The Ordered Society: The Way of Works	106	(2)
III. The Reflective Mode: The Way of Knowledge, the Upanishads	108	(3)
IV. The Reflective Models: The Six Acceptable Systems	111	(6)
V. The Devotional Mode: The Way of Devotion, the Bhagavad Gita	117	(5)
VI. The Devotional Models: Epics, Puranas, and Deities	122	(10)
VII. The Devotional Life	132	(5)
VIII. Issues and Problems of the Present	137	(9)
Glossary	146	(2)
CHAPTER 5 Jainism: A Study in Asceticism	148	(12)
I. Mahavira's Manner of Life	150	(3)
II. Philosophy and Ethics of Jainism	153	(3)
III. Mahavira's Followers	156	(3)
Glossary	159	(1)
CHAPTER 6 Buddhism in Its First Phase: Moderation in World Renunciation	160	(22)
I. Life of the Founder	161	(9)
II. The Teachings of the Buddha	170	(10)
Glossary	180	(2)
CHAPTER 7 The Religious Development of Buddhism: Diversity in Paths to Nirvana	182	(54)
I. The Spread of Buddhism in India and Southeast Asia	184	(8)
II. The Rise of the Mahayana in India	192	(2)
III. The Spread of Buddhism in Northern Lands	194	(5)
IV. The Help-of-Others Message of the Mahayana	199	(3)
V. The Mahayana Philosophies of Religion	202	(6)
VI. Mahayana Schools of Thought in China and Japan	208	(13)
VII. Buddhism in Tibet	221	(6)
VIII. Buddhism Today	227	(7)
Glossary	234	(2)
CHAPTER 8 Sikhism: A Study in Syncretism	236	(13)
I. The Life and Work of Nanak	237	(3)
II. Nanak's Teaching	240	(2)
III. The Political History of Sikhism	242	(5)
Glossary	247	(2)
Part 3 The Religions of East Asia	249	(100)
CHAPTER 9 Native Chinese Religion and Daoism	250	(34)
I. The Basic Elements of Chinese Religion	250	(12)
II. Daoism as a Philosophy (Dao-jia)	262	(10)
III. Daoism as Magic and Religion (Dao-jiao)	272	(11)
Glossary	283	(1)
CHAPTER 10 Confucius and Confucianism: A Study in Optimistic Humanism	284	(38)
I. The Man Confucius	285	(3)
II. The Teachings of Confucius	288	(12)
III. The Confucian School--Its Rivals and Champions	300	(12)
IV. Neo-Confucianism	312	(4)
V. The State Cult of Confucius	316	(2)
VI. Religion in China in the Modern Period	318	(3)
Glossary	321	(1)
CHAPTER 11 Shinto: The Native Contribution to Japanese Religion	322	(27)
I. The Background of Shinto	323	(3)
II. The Shinto Myth	326	(2)
III. Shinto in Medieval and More Recent Times	328	(6)
IV. State Shinto to 1945	334	(5)
V. Shinto and the Warrior	339	(3)
VI. Shrine Shinto Today	342	(1)
VII. Domestic and Sectarian Shinto	343	(4)
Glossary	347	(2)
Part 4 The Religions of the Middle East	349	(247)
CHAPTER 12 Zoroastrianism: A Religion Based on Ethical Dualism	350	(22)
I. Iranian Religion Before Zoroaster	351	(2)
II. The Life and Teachings of Zoroaster	353	(5)
III. The Religion of the Later Avesta	358	(7)
IV. The Zoroastrians of the Present Day	365	(5)
Glossary	370	(2)
CHAPTER 13 Judaism in Its Early Phases: From Hebrew Origins to the Exile	372	(36)
I. The Religion of the Pre-Mosaic Hebrews	373	(3)
II. Moses and the Covenant with Yahweh (About 1250 B.C.E.)	376	(6)
III. Yahweh and the Baals	382	(5)
IV. Prophetic Protest and Reform	387	(13)
V. The Babylonian Exile	400	(6)
Glossary	406	(2)
CHAPTER 14 The Religious Development of Judaism	408	(34)
I. The Rise of Judaism in the Restoration Period	408	(6)
II. New Trends of Thought in the Greek and Maccabean Periods	414	(6)
III. The Roman Period to 70 C.E.	420	(2)
IV. The Great Dispersion	422	(2)
V. The Making of the Talmud	424	(3)
VI. The Jews in the Middle Ages	427	(7)
VII. Judaism in the Modern World	434	(7)
Glossary	441	(1)
CHAPTER 15 Christianity in Its Opening Phase: The Words and Work of Jesus in Apostolic Perspective	442	(30)
I. The World into which Jesus Came	442	(4)
II. The Life of Jesus: The First Phase	446	(4)
III. The Themes of Jesus' Teaching	450	(6)
IV. The Climactic Events	456	(4)
V. The Apostolic Age	460	(6)
VI. The Early Church (50-150 C.E.)	466	(4)
Glossary	470	(2)
CHAPTER 16 The Religious Development of Christianity	472	(56)
I. The Ancient Catholic Church (150-1054 B.C.E.)	472	(13)
II. The Eastern Orthodox Churches	485	(3)
III. The Roman Catholic Church in the Middle Ages	488	(9)
IV. The Protestant Reformation	497	(10)
V. The Catholic Reformation	507	(2)
VI. Crosscurrents in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries	509	(3)
VII. Eastern Orthodoxy in the Modern World	512	(1)
VIII. Catholicism in the Modern World	513	(4)
IX. Protestantism in the Modern World	517	(7)
X. Recent Theological Trends	524	(2)
Glossary	526	(2)
CHAPTER 17 Islam: The Religion of Submission to God: Beginnings	528	(36)
I. Arabian Beliefs and Practices Before Muhammad	529	(4)
II. The Prophet Muhammad	533	(6)
III. The Faith and Practice of Islam	539	(9)
IV. The Spread of Islam	548	(3)
V. The First Five Centuries of Muslim Thought	551	(12)
Glossary	563	(1)
CHAPTER 18 The Shi ah Alternative and Regional Developments	564	(32)
I. The Party (Shi ah) of 'Ali	564	(8)
II. Further Developments	572	(2)
III. Islam and Culture	574	(3)
IV. Issues in the Modern Period	577	(4)
V. Regional Developments	581	(11)
VI. Movements Towards Innovation and Syncretism	592	(3)
Glossary	595	(1)
References for Quotations	596	(11)
Suggestions for Further Reading	607	(13)
Index	620