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Roy R. Robson is Professor of History and Director of the Honors Program at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. He teaches courses on modern Europe, Russia, and world religions. His interdisciplinary teaching includes “Intellectual Heritage: Time” and “Views of the Cosmos." Robson writes extensively on Russian history and world religions. His last book, Solovki, won praise from the New Yorker, The Times (London), Condé Nast Traveler, and the Journal of Modern History. Robson serves as the series editor on Orthodox Christianity for Northern Illinois University Press. This year, the National Endowment for the Humanities honored the University’s Intellectual Heritage program by granting Dr. Robson a fellowship to expand his course on Time. Dr. Robson is president-elect of the Southern Conference on Slavic Studies, the largest regional association of Slavic scholars in America.
In this Section:
1. Brief Table of Contents
2. Full Table of Contents
1. BRIEF TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Chapter 1: Thinking about Relgion
Chapter 2: Talking about Religion
Chapter 3: Hinduism: The Eternal Law
Chapter 4: Hinduism: Law and Life
Chapter 5: Buddhism: Becoming Awake
Chapter 6: Buddhism: Awakening the World
Chapter 7: East Asian Sacred Ways: The Eternal Dao
Chapter 8: East Asian Sacred Ways: Harmony in the World
Chpater 9: Judaism: A Chosen People Choosing God
Chapter 10: Judaism: Israel in the Diaspora
Chapter 11: Christianity: The God-Man Messiah
Chapter 12: Christianity: Communion and Community
Chapter 13: Islam: Submission and Faith
Chapter 14: Islam: The Pillars and the Umma
Chapter 15: Religions of Place: A Sacred World Around Us
Chapter 16: New Religions: A Quest for the Sacred
2. FULL TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Chapter 1: Thinking About Religion
Religion as a Field of Study
Asking Questions about Religion
The Four Questions
Is There a God?
What Does It Mean to Be Human?
How Do Humans Interact with the Sacred?
How Does the Sacred Become Community?
Do You Have Other Questions?
Critical Thinking with THINK World Religions
The Visual Summary
Doing Research on Religions
Creating a Question Matrix
Important Parts of the Book
Chapter 2: Talking about Religion
Steeler Nation or Church of the Steelers?
Can We Describe Steeler Nation as a Religion?
Characteristics of Religions
Why Is Religion so Difficult to Talk About?
The Steeler Nation
Strategies for Studying World Religions
The Big Question: Is Religion True or False?
What Is Truth?
THINK World Religions: Truthfulness vs. “Truthiness”
Can There Be More Than One Truth?
THINK World Religions: Pontius Pilate: “What Is Truth?”
Back to Steeler Nation
Visual Summary
Chapter Review
Chapter 3: Hinduism: The Eternal Law
A Sacred Place: A Hindu Temple
Is There a God in Hinduism?
Dharma
Sacred Texts and Traditions
A Sacred Action: The Puja
Brahman: Source of All Divinity
Three Main Gods of Hinduism
THINK World Religions: Beliefs and Science
Primary Gods: A Closer Look
Rocks, Rivers, and Animals
What Does it Mean to Be Human?
The Caste System
THINK World Religions: The Story of Purusha from the Rig-veda
Human Beings: Out of Touch with Brahman
Dharma and Karma
Internal Conflict: Cows and Hinduism
Moksha: Breaking the Cycle
Chapter Review
Chapter 4: Hinduism: Law and Life
A Place in the World: The Bharatiya Temple
How Do Humans Interact with the Sacred?
The Path of Works: Sacrifice, Purity, and Ritual
Internal Conflict: Ahimsa and Social Movements
The Path of Devotion: Bhakti
The Yogic Paths of Knowledge
How Does the Sacred Become Community?
Religion and the Family
Hindu Views of Death
THINK World Religions: Sati: Ritual Widow Burning
Sanatana Dharma and the Caste System
Religion + Gender: Women in Hinduism
Contemporary Religions Issues: Gandhi, Hinduism, and Politics
Conclusion
Visual Summary
Chapter Review
Chapter 5: Buddhism: Becoming Awake
A Sacred Place: The Fogong Si Temple
Is There a God?
God or Gods in Buddhism: No, Yes, and Maybe
A Sacred Action: Alms-Giving
The Life of the Buddha
THINK World Religions: Some Sanskrit and Pali Equivalent Terms in Buddhism
Principles of Buddhism
What Does It Mean to Be Human?
The Eightfold Path
THINK World Religions: A U.S. Army Chaplain Who Is a Buddhist
The Human Condition in Theravada and Mahayana Traditions
THINK World Religions: King Ashoka and the Spread of Buddhism
Internal Conflict: Buddhism and Gender
Chapter Review
Chapter 6: Buddhism: Awakening the World
A Place in the World: Protests in Myanmar
How Do Humans Interact with the Sacred?
The First Jewel: Taking Refuge in the Buddha
THINK World Religions: Secret Tantric Practice
The Second Jewel: Taking Refuge in the Dharma
Religion + Health: Mind Over Body
How Does the Sacred Become Community?
Monastic Life
Monastery and Laity: Tibetan Buddhism
Buddhism Without a Monastic Sangha: Buddhism Comes to the West
Contemporary Religious Issues: Tibet and China
Conclusion
Visual Summary
Chapter Review
Chapter 7: East Asian Sacred Ways: The Eternal Dao
A Sacred Place: Chang Ling
Is There a God?
Dao, Qi, and Yin/Yang
A Sacred Action: Tai Chi
The Yijing (I Ching)
Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism: Syncretic Traditions in East Asia
THINK World Religions: The Analects
Buddhism in East Asia
What Does It Mean to Be Human?
The Confucian View of Humanity
The Daoist View of Humanity
Internal Conflict: Legalism
THINK World Religions: The Immortals
Chapter Review
Chapter 8: East Asian Sacred Ways: Harmony in the World
A Place in the World: Lion Dance in New York’s Chinatown
How Do Humans Interact with the Sacred?
Veneration of Confucius
Interacting with the Dao through Qi
Contemporary Religious Issues: Falun Gong
Religion + Medicine: Acupuncture
How Does the Sacred Become Community?
Confucianism
THINK World Religions: What’s in a Name?
Daoism
Community in East Asian Buddhist Traditions
THINK World Religions: Chairman Mao and the People’s Republic
Conclusion
Visual Summary
Chapter Review
Chpater 9: Judaism: A Chosen People Choosing God
A Sacred Place: The Central Synagogue
What Is Judaism?
A Sacred Action: Bar and Bat Mitzvah
Is There a God?
Proof of God
Definition of God
The Name of God
How Does God Communicate with Us?
THINK World Religions: Where Are the Pictures?
What Does It Mean to Be Human?
“In the Beginning”
The Human Condition: Abraham, Isaac, and Becoming a Chosen People
THINK World Religions: Jews, Israel, or Children of Israel: Which Term Is Correct?
The Commandments: Words and Deeds
History and Meaning: Cycles of Sin and Redemption
THINK World Religions: What Happens after We Die?
THINK World Religions: A Psalm of Hope and Longing
Chapter Review
Chapter 10: Judaism: Israel in the Diaspora
A Place in the World: The Eruv
How Do Humans Interact with the Sacred?
Prayer
Following the Commandments: The Example of Food
Religion + Education: The Importance of Education in Judaism
THINK World Religions: Deuteronomy 14:1–21
Mystical Judaism and the Kabbalah
How Does the Sacred Become Community?
Calendar and Life Cycle Rituals
Denominations in American Judaism
Judaism in the Modern World
THINK World Religions: Reconstructionist Judaism
Contemporary Religious Issues: Holocaust Denial
Conclusion
Visual Summary
Chapter Review
Chapter 11: Christianity: The God-Man Messiah
A Sacred Place: St. Stephen’s of Walbrook
The Messiah: Jesus Christ
Is There a God?
A Sacred Action: Liturgy and Eucharist
THINK World Religions: Paul’s Mystical Experience
THINK World Religions: Varieties of Early Christianity
Seeking God in the Early Christian Church
THINK World Religions: Christianity and Popular Culture: The DaVinci Code
The Problem with the Holy Trinity
THINK World Religions: Don’t Understand the Holy Trinity? Try These Techniques!
What Does It Mean to Be Human?
Christian Confessions
Internal Conflict: Good Nature but Evil Deeds? 1
What Happens When Human Beings Die? Christian Ideas of Heaven and Hell
Christianity + Literature: Dostoevsky, On Hell
Internal Conflict: Christianity and Evolution
Chapter Review
Chapter 12: Christianity: Communion and Community
A Place in the World: Mother Teresa of Calcutta
How Do Humans Interact with the Sacred?
What’s in a Name? Churches, Denominations, and Communities
THINK World Religions: Justin Martyr Describes Christian Interaction with the Sacred
The Eucharist: An Ancient Christian Form of Communion with God
Prayer: Personal and Communal Interaction with the Sacred
THINK World Religions: Music and Prayer
Contemplation and Quiet as Forms of Interaction with the Sacred
THINK World Religions: Spiritual Double Clicking
Finding a Direct Link to God: The Charismatic Movement
How Does the Sacred Become Community?
Monasticism
Calendars, Rituals and Community Celebrations
Communal Worship and Identity
Christians in the World
Religion + Politics in the USA: The Religious Right
Conclusion
Visual Summary
Chapter Review
Chapter 13: Islam: Submission and Faith
A Sacred Place: Selimiye Mosque, Turkey
Is There a God?
The “Glorious Qur’an”
A Sacred Action: Sandys Travailes
God and the Kaaba
THINK World Religions: “Allah” or “God”?
Comprehending God in Islam
Religion + People of the Book: Judaism and Christianity in the Qur’an
What Does It Mean to Be Human?
Muhammad’s Biography
Islam After Muhammad’s Death
Women in Islam
THINK World Religions: Behind the Veil: Why Islam’s Most Visible Symbol Is Spreading
The Sira, Sunna, and Hadith
Religion + Secular Literature: The Fatwa of Salman Rushdie
What Happens after Humans Die?
Chapter Review
Chapter 14: Islam: The Pillars and the Umma
A Place in the World: Mecca
How Do Humans Interact with the Sacred?
Shahada: Witnessing and Professing Faith in God
The Shia Shahada: Purity and Fidelity
THINK World Religion: Message to the Blackman in America by Elijah Muhammad
Interacting with the Divine through Prayer: The Second Pillar of Islam
Interacting with God through Food and Fasting: The Third Pillar of Islam
THINK World Religions: Islam and Ritual Purity
Sufism: Mystical Interaction with the Sacred
Religion + Poetry: The Poet Rumi
THINK World Religions: The Intoxication of Qalandar
How Does the Sacred Become Community?
Giving to the Poor: The Fourth Pillar of Islam
The Hajj: The Fifth Pillar of Islam
Jihad in a Modern World?
Conclusion
Visual Summary
Chapter Review
Chapter 15: Religions of Place: A Sacred World Around Us
A Sacred Place: The Tipi
Is There a God?
A Sacred Action: Black Elk’s Vision
THINK World Religions: Glooskap the Divinity
The Medicine Wheel
THINK World Religions: Sacred Land and Sacred Power Across the Globe
What Does It Mean to Be Human?
How Do Humans Interact with the Sacred? How Does the Sacred Become Community?
Sacred Words
From Words to Steps: The Vision Quest
Steps Become Ritual: The Sun Dance
American Indian Spirituality Meets Christian Spirituality: Is God Red or White?
Breaking the Sacred Bonds of the Land: Native Americans and the U.S. Government
Thinking About Indigenous World Religions
THINK World Religions: Casinos and Native American Life
Conclusion
Visual Summary
Chapter Review
Chapter 16: New Religions: A Quest for the Sacred
A Sacred Place: Stonehenge
A Sacred Action: The Blessing Ceremony
Defining the New Religious Movements
Is There a God?
A New Path for Christianity: The Unification Movement
Wicca and the New Age: Ancient Magick for a Modern Era
Religion + Violence: New Religious Movements + Violence 5 Cults?
Religion + The Supernatural: UFOlogy
What Does It Mean to Be Human?
Unificationism
Wicca and the New Age
How Do Humans Interact with the Sacred?
Unificationism
Wicca and the New Age
How Does the Sacred Become Community?
Unificationism
Wicca and the New Age
Community and Celebrity in the New Age
Religion + Controversy: Religious Pluralism
Conclusion: Thinking about New Religious Movements
Visual Summary
Chapter Review
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