World Religions Today

by Esposito, John L.; Fasching, Darrell J.; Lewis, Todd

• ISBN13: 9780195102536
• ISBN10: 0195102533
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-11-29
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The twenty-first century is witnessing a resurgence and globalization of religion. Around the world, religion has become an increasingly more important and pervasive force in personal and public life, and faith and politics now play a powerful role in international affairs. Revealing the significance of religion in contemporary life, World Religions Today explores major religious traditions--Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and East Asian religions--as dynamic, ongoing forces in the lives of individuals and in the collective experience of modern societies. Moving beyond the almost exclusively historical perspective of many books in the field, this text takes a fresh approach, using solid historical coverage of the various religious traditions as a framework to help students understand how faiths have evolved to the present day. It connects today's religions to their classical beliefs and practices but also shows how these religions have responded to and been transformed by the modern world. To help students grasp what might be "new" about the emerging era of religious life in the 21st century, the authors open each discussion with a contemporary scenario of religious experience that illustrates the tensions between pre-modern views and modernity. World Religions Today includes a general introduction that provides essential background information for students and features many pedagogical aids including timelines, maps, numerous illustrations, questions for discussion, and a glossary of key terms. Ideal for undergraduate courses in world religions and comparative religion, World Religions Today emphasizes the interconnectedness of faith, culture, politics, and society, providing a peerless examination of the diverse ways in which contemporary human beings are religious.

Table of Contents

Preface	x
Introduction	3	(34)
Globalization: World Religions in Everyone's Hometown	3	(34)
Understanding Religious Experience and Its Expressions	5	(8)
The Great Religious Stories of the World	13	(11)
Modernization in Global Perspective	24	(3)
Modern Colonialism, the Socialist Challenge, and the End of Modernity	27	(4)
Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World	31	(3)
Discussion Questions	34	(1)
Notes	35	(2)
Christianity and the Road to Modernity	37	(72)
Overview	37	(72)
Encounter with Modernity: The Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy	41	(4)
Premodern Christianity: The Formative Era	45	(15)
Premodern Christianity: The Classical Era	60	(10)
Christianity and Modernity	70	(21)
Christianity and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World	91	(13)
Conclusion	104	(1)
Discussion Questions	105	(1)
Key Terms	106	(1)
Suggested Reading	106	(3)
The Many Faces of Judiasm: Sacred and Secular	109	(72)
Overview	109	(72)
Encounter with Modernity: Modern Judaisms and the Challenge of Ultra-Orthodoxy	111	(9)
Premodern Judaism: The Formative Era---Biblical Origins	120	(9)
Premodern Judaism: The Formative Era---From Torah to Talmud	129	(8)
Premodern Judaism: The Classical Era	137	(18)
Judaism and Modernity	155	(14)
Judaism and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World	169	(6)
Conclusion	175	(3)
Discussion Questions	178	(1)
Key Terms	179	(1)
Suggested Reading	179	(1)
Notes	179	(2)
Islam: The Many Faces of the Muslim Experience	181	(92)
Overview	181	(92)
Encounter with Modernity: The Challenge of Western Colonialism	185	(3)
Premodern Islam: The Formative Era	188	(17)
Premodern Islam: The Classical Era	205	(24)
Islam and Modernity	229	(12)
Islam and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World	241	(19)
Islam: Postmodern Challenges	260	(7)
Conclusion	267	(1)
Discussion Questions	267	(1)
Key Terms	268	(1)
Suggested Reading	269	(1)
Notes	269	(4)
Hinduism: Myriad Paths to Salvation	273	(80)
Overview	273	(80)
Encounter with Modernity: Hindu Challenges to India as a Secular State	275	(4)
Premodern Hinduism: The Formative Era	279	(6)
Premodern Hinduism: The Classical Era	285	(16)
Premodern Hinduism: The Postclassical Era	301	(10)
Hinduism and Modernity	311	(8)
Hinduism and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World	319	(26)
Conclusion	345	(3)
Discussion Questions	348	(1)
Key Terms	349	(1)
Suggested Reading	350	(1)
Notes	350	(3)
Buddhism: Ways to Nirvana	353	(78)
overview	353	(78)
Encounter with Modernity: Socially Engaged Buddhism	356	(2)
Premodern Buddhism: The Formative Era	358	(12)
Premodern Buddhism: The Classical Era	370	(16)
Premodern Buddhism: Buddhist Expansion	386	(8)
Buddhism and Modernity	394	(13)
Buddhism and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonical World	407	(14)
Conclusion	421	(5)
Discussion Questions	426	(1)
Key Terms	427	(1)
Suggested Reading	428	(1)
Notes	429	(2)
East Asian Religions: Traditions of Human Cultivation and Natural Harmony	431	(83)
Overview	431	(83)
Encounter with Modernity: Postcolonial Confucian Economics	433	(6)
East Asian Religions in the Premodern Era	439	(28)
East Asian Religions and Modernity	467	(10)
East Asian Religions and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World	477	(28)
Conclusion	505	(5)
Discussion Questions	510	(1)
Key Terms	511	(1)
Suggested Reading	511	(1)
Notes	512	(2)
Glossary	514	(13)
Time Lines	527	(24)
Index	551