Major World Religions: From Their Origins To The PresentLloyd Ridgeon This work seeks to answer questions about the great religious traditions in the contemporary age. It focuses upon those religions that continue to demand the attention of the Western world. Following an introduction on the philosophy of religion, attention is focused on Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam which are religions that have had (and probably continue to have) the greatest number of followers in Western society. In addition to the lasting impact that religion has had in society, we are witnesses to the development of secularism on the one hand and the revival of religious sentiment on the other, thus chapters on modernity, postmodernism, and 'fundamentalism' have also been included. The distinctive feature of the book is its modern feel. Each chapter brings the reader up-to-date with recent developments and commentaries upon recent religious thought, theology and religious-political movements. Moreover, the length of the chapters permits a detailed analysis which is so often lacking in books on world religions. |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Abhidharma Amitabha antiSemitism argued Asia ayas believed Bible Bodhisattva brahmins Buddha Buddhanature Caliph called caste century challenge Chinese Christian Church Christian fundamentalism claim concerns culture death Derrida dharma distinction divine doctrine emptiness enlightenment example existence faith fundamentalism fundamentalist God’s groups hadith hajj Hebrew Hindu Hinduism holy human ibid idea India interpretation Islamic Israel Jesus Jewish Jews Judaism karma king language London Lotus Sutra Mahayana Buddhism means meditation Messiah Mishnah modern monks moral movement Muhammad Muslims mystical nature nineteenth one’s original Orthodox Oxford period philosophy political postmodern practice prayer prophets Pure Land question Qur’an Rabbinic religion religious traditions ritual Sanskrit scholars Scripture secular Shiite Shinran social society spiritual Sufis Sufism Sutra Talmud Tathagatagarbha teaching temple Testament texts theologians theology thought Torah translation truth understanding University Press Veda Vedic West Western women word worship Yogacara zakat