World Religions Today

By John L. Esposito, Todd T. Lewis, Darrell J. Fasching

Book Overview

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.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195102533
• ISBN13: 9780195102536
• Release Date: November 2001
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 576 Pages
• Weight: 2.18 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 9.1" x 7.5"

Customer Reviews

Happy shopper

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Lovely book

I really like this book. Very informational, stunning graphics, easy to read and well designed book. Very happy.

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the book was new. the price was reasonable, much cheaper than bookstore price. it didn't take long to mail. generally, very good.

The Many Ways that God has Spoken

Zoroaster, Krishna, Buddha, Christ, Muhammad, and many other founders of mainsteam legitimate religions have offered a connection to God for many people. The definition of a religion is that it offers a unique holy book independant of any other faith and has a central founder whose life is a testament to sacrifice. This book gives an explanation of the W5 of each faith and one universal theme remains - Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. The Golden Rule is universal. So if you get anything out of this wonderful book it is this .... before you do anything .... especially to one who is innocent ... remember this because karma may come from Hinduism but it too is universal - what goes around comes around.

Religion faces Modernity and Postmodernity

I have used this book in an introductory class in World Religions. I have found the book to be very usable and filled with the kind of information one needs. At the same time, the authors do not lose sight of the central ideas, practices, and trends of each major religion.In reading the book, one needs to keep in mind the structure of each chapter, which begins with general ideas of religious practices and beliefs today, then goes back in time to show how they got the way they are. When one reads thoroughly, one gets a good picture of where the major religions are today and possibly where they are going. The index is thorough, and there are two appendices, one a vocabulary for each major religion, the other a time line of major developments for each religion. These are very useful. Also helpful are the review questions at the end of each chapterThe theme of the book is the confrontation of each religion with modernism, and its status now in a postmodern (postcolonial)world. This approach is highly informative and increases the interest of the reader. There is an introductory chapter on religion in general, and the first chapter on Christianity includes a discussion of how the modern era was born out of Protestantism. This means that Christianity is shortchanged somewhat because much of the discussion is on "modernism". There are some printing errors that need to be fixed. I was very pleased with this book, and I highly recommend it.