Sacred Quest : An Invitation to the Study of Religion

by Cunningham, Lawrence; Kelsay, John

• ISBN13: 9780136061526
• ISBN10: 0136061524
• Edition: 5th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-06-18
• Publisher: Pearson

Summary

This text provides a thematic and comparative approach to the study of religion. The focus of individual chapters gives equal weight to both theoretical issues and to practices as they are reflected in the major religions of the world. It examines the main ideas that characterize all religious thought and practice, focusing on such fundamental topics as ritual, sacred language, ethics, salvation, and the problem of evil.

Author Biography

Lawrence Cunningham is a Rev. John A. O'Brien Professor of Theology in the Department of Theology at Notre Dame University. Cunningham's research interests are in the history and practice of Catholic spirituality as well as the intersection of theology and culture. The author or editor of twenty books, he writes regularly for journals both learned and pastoral. Twice honored by the university for his teaching, he also received a Presidential Award in 2001 for his service to the church and the academy. He is currently finishing a book on Roman Catholicism for Cambridge University Press and is the Christianity editor for the the forthcoming Norton Anthology of World Religions.

 

John Kelsay is Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Religion at Florida State University.  He is the author of Arguing the Just War in Islam (Cambridge, Mass:  Harvard University Press, 2007) and other works dealing with Muslim and Christian teaching about war.  A past recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, he also serves as co-editor of the Journal of Religious Ethics.

 

 

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
The Breadth and Depth of Religious Experience	p. 1
A Brief Outline of the Phenomenological Method	p. 3
Attitudes and Institutions in the Study of Religion	p. 6
A Final Word	p. 8
Notes	p. 9
Suggestions for Further Reading	p. 10
Toward a Definition of Religion	p. 11
The Search for a Definition of Religion	p. 12
Elements of Religion	p. 13
Religion and Human Thought	p. 13
Religion and Feeling	p. 14
Religion and Action	p. 14
Individual and Social Existence	p. 15
Values and Religion	p. 15
Substance or Function?	p. 16
Toward Resolution	p. 18
A Proposal	p. 20
In Conclusion	p. 22
Notes	p. 23
Suggestions for Further Reading	p. 24
The Nature of the Sacred	p. 25
The Complex Character of the Sacred	p. 25
The Concept of Sacred Reality	p. 26
Specially Distinctive	p. 27
To Some Extent, Beyond the Volitional Control of Human Beings	p. 30
Specially Prominent with Respect to Human Welfare	p. 32
Properly Determinative of Various Aspects of Human Existence	p. 34
Summary	p. 35
Notes	p. 35
Suggestions for Further Reading	p. 36
The Appearance of the Sacred	p. 37
Types of Sacred Appearance	p. 39
Varieties of Media	p. 39
Sacred Persons	p. 39
Sacred Objects	p. 44
Sacred Time	p. 46
Sacred Space	p. 49
Sacred Appearance and the Complexity of Traditions	p. 51
Notes	p. 53
Suggestions for Further Reading	p. 54
The Language(s) of the Sacred	p. 55
Myth	p. 56
Stories	p. 59
Story as Parable	p. 61
The Preservation of Sacred Language	p. 62
Oral Cultures	p. 62
Scriptural Cultures	p. 63
A Summary and Synthesis	p. 64
The Language of Theology	p. 65
The Visual Language of Religion	p. 67
Language and Truth	p. 68
Notes	p. 70
Suggestions for Further Reading	p. 70
Ritual	p. 71
Myth(os) and Ritual	p. 72
The Passover	p. 72
Holy Communion (The Eucharist)	p. 73
Rites of Passage	p. 74
Birth Rituals	p. 75
Rituals of Initiation	p. 75
Rituals of Mourning and Death	p. 76
Temporal Rites and Celebrations	p. 77
The Religious Meaning(s) of Ritual	p. 78
Adoration	p. 79
Thanksgiving	p. 79
Petition	p. 79
Penance/Purification	p. 80
Ritual as a Problem	p. 80
Ritual as a System	p. 82
Notes	p. 83
Suggestions for Further Reading	p. 83
Sacred Communities	p. 84
The Social Character of Religion	p. 85
Religion and Social Resistance	p. 86
Heresy/Schism/Division	p. 89
Tradition and Innovation	p. 93
The Social Aspects of Worship	p. 95
A Word of Conclusion	p. 97
Notes	p. 98
Suggestions for Further Reading	p. 98
The Problem of Evil	p. 100
Identifying Evil	p. 101
Responses to Evil: Some Classic Patterns	p. 105
Evil and Karma: The Indian Context	p. 105
The Consolation of Promise	p. 107
The Appeal to Sovereignty	p. 108
Dualism	p. 110
Are the Answers Adequate?	p. 112
Notes	p. 113
Suggestions for Further Reading	p. 114
Religion and Morality	p. 115
Defining the Issues	p. 116
Religion, Morality, and Justification	p. 117
Justification: General Considerations	p. 118
Practical Justification: Three Cases	p. 119
Hinduism: The Caste System	p. 120
Islam: The Justification and Limitation of War	p. 122
Christianity: Why Pray?	p. 125
Religion and Morality: Patterns	p. 127
Notes	p. 128
Suggestions for Further Reading	p. 129
The Quest for Salvation	p. 130
Concepts of Salvation	p. 131
Individual Salvation in This World	p. 131
The Search for Meaning	p. 132
The Desire to Be Remembered	p. 132
The Ideal of Completion	p. 133
Individual Salvation in Another World	p. 134
Joining the Spirit World	p. 134
Cosmic Cycling or Expansion	p. 135
The Idea of Judgment	p. 136
Group Salvation in This World	p. 137
Salvation Through the People	p. 137
Salvation Through the Tradition	p. 138
Salvation in the Kingdom of God in This World	p. 138
Group Salvation in Another World	p. 139
Now That Distinctions Have Been Made	p. 139
Paths to Salvation	p. 140
The Path of Knowledge	p. 140
The Path of Action	p. 140
The Path of Aesthetics	p. 141
The Path of Submission	p. 141
The Path of Grace	p. 142
A Closing Reminder	p. 143
Notes	p. 143
Suggestions for Further Reading	p. 144
Glossary	p. 145
Index	p. 151
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