Religion in World History

Religion in World History
Author: John C. Super
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 313
Release: 2006-08-21
Genre: History
ISBN: 1134379293

In Religion and World History, distinguished authors John C. Super and Briane K. Turley examine the value of religion for interpreting the human experience in the past and present. They explore the elements of religion which best connect it to the cultural and political dynamics that have influenced history. Working within this framework, Super and Turley present three unifying themes: * the relationship between formal and informal religious beliefs, how these change through time, and how they are reflected in different cultures * the relationship between church and state, from theocracies to the repression of religion * the ongoing search for spiritual certainty, and the consequent splintering of core religious beliefs and the development of new ones. One of the few recent books to examine religion’s role in geo-political affairs, its unique approach enables the reader to grasp the many and complex ways in which religion acts upon and reacts to broader global processes.

A Little History of Religion

A Little History of Religion
Author: Richard Holloway
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 253
Release: 2016-08-23
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0300222149

For curious readers young and old, a rich and colorful history of religion from humanity’s earliest days to our own contentious times In an era of hardening religious attitudes and explosive religious violence, this book offers a welcome antidote. Richard Holloway retells the entire history of religion—from the dawn of religious belief to the twenty-first century—with deepest respect and a keen commitment to accuracy. Writing for those with faith and those without, and especially for young readers, he encourages curiosity and tolerance, accentuates nuance and mystery, and calmly restores a sense of the value of faith. Ranging far beyond the major world religions of Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, and Hinduism, Holloway also examines where religious belief comes from, the search for meaning throughout history, today’s fascinations with Scientology and creationism, religiously motivated violence, hostilities between religious people and secularists, and more. Holloway proves an empathic yet discerning guide to the enduring significance of faith and its power from ancient times to our own.

A History of the World's Religions

A History of the World's Religions
Author: David S. Noss
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 1341
Release: 2016-09-17
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 131550751X

A History of the World's Religions bridges the interval between the founding of religions and their present state, and gives students an accurate look at the religions of the world by including descriptive and interpretive details from the original source materials. Refined by over forty years of dialogue and correspondence with religious experts and practitioners around the world, A History of the World's Religions is widely regarded as the hallmark of scholarship, fairness, and accuracy in its field. It is also the most thorough yet manageable history of world religion available in a single volume, treating many subjects largely neglected in other texts.

God

God
Author: Reza Aslan
Publisher: Random House
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2017-11-07
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0553394738

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The author of Zealot explores humanity’s quest to make sense of the divine in this concise and fascinating history of our understanding of God. In Zealot, Reza Aslan replaced the staid, well-worn portrayal of Jesus of Nazareth with a startling new image of the man in all his contradictions. In his new book, Aslan takes on a subject even more immense: God, writ large. In layered prose and with thoughtful, accessible scholarship, Aslan narrates the history of religion as a remarkably cohesive attempt to understand the divine by giving it human traits and emotions. According to Aslan, this innate desire to humanize God is hardwired in our brains, making it a central feature of nearly every religious tradition. As Aslan writes, “Whether we are aware of it or not, and regardless of whether we’re believers or not, what the vast majority of us think about when we think about God is a divine version of ourselves.” But this projection is not without consequences. We bestow upon God not just all that is good in human nature—our compassion, our thirst for justice—but all that is bad in it: our greed, our bigotry, our penchant for violence. All these qualities inform our religions, cultures, and governments. More than just a history of our understanding of God, this book is an attempt to get to the root of this humanizing impulse in order to develop a more universal spirituality. Whether you believe in one God, many gods, or no god at all, God: A Human History will challenge the way you think about the divine and its role in our everyday lives. Praise for God “Timely, riveting, enlightening and necessary.”—HuffPost “Tantalizing . . . Driven by [Reza] Aslan’s grace and curiosity, God . . . helps us pan out from our troubled times, while asking us to consider a more expansive view of the divine in contemporary life.”—The Seattle Times “A fascinating exploration of the interaction of our humanity and God.”—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “[Aslan’s] slim, yet ambitious book [is] the story of how humans have created God with a capital G, and it’s thoroughly mind-blowing.”—Los Angeles Review of Books “Aslan is a born storyteller, and there is much to enjoy in this intelligent survey.”—San Francisco Chronicle

National Geographic Concise History of World Religions

National Geographic Concise History of World Religions
Author: Tim A. Cooke
Publisher: National Geographic Books
Total Pages: 356
Release: 2011
Genre: History
ISBN: 1426206984

Presented in a time line format, the book offers a survey of world religions. It examines global perspectives on the history of faith in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Oceania, Africa and the Middle East.

Before Religion

Before Religion
Author: Brent Nongbri
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 315
Release: 2013-01-22
Genre: History
ISBN: 0300154178

Examining a wide array of ancient writings, Brent Nongbri dispels the commonly held idea that there is such a thing as ancient religion. Nongbri shows how misleading it is to speak as though religion was a concept native to pre-modern cultures.

Meta-Religion

Meta-Religion
Author: James W. Laine
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 300
Release: 2015-01-03
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0520281365

Whereas many textbooks treat the subject of world religions in an apolitical way, as if each religion were a path for individuals seeking wisdom and not a discourse intimately connected with the exercise of power, James W. Laine treats religion and politics as halves of the same whole, tracing their relationship from the policies of Alexander the Great to the ideologies of modern Europe secularists, with stops in classical India, China, and the Islamic world. Meta-Religion is a groundbreaking text that brings power and politics to the fore of our understanding of world religions, placing religion at the center of world history. This synthetic approach is both transformative and enlightening as it presents a powerful model for thinking differently about what religion is and how it functions in the world. With images and maps to bring the narrative to life, Meta-Religion combines sophisticated scholarly critique with accessibility that students and scholar alike will appreciate.

Religion and its History

Religion and its History
Author: Jörg Rüpke
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 235
Release: 2021-05-09
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1000381129

Religion and its History offers a reflection of our operative concept of religion and religions, developing a set of approaches that bridge the widely assumed gulf between analysing present religion and doing history of religion. Religious Studies have adapted a wide range of methodologies from sociological tool kits to insights and concepts from disciplines of social and cultural studies. Their massive historical claims, which typically idealize and reify communities and traditions, and build normative claims thereupon, lack a critical engagement on the part of the researchers. This book radically rethinks and critically engages with these biases. It does so by offering neither an abridged global history of religion nor a small handbook of methodology. Instead, this book presents concepts and methods that allow the analysis of contemporary and past religious practices, ideas, and institutions within a shared framework.

Great Events in Religion [3 volumes]

Great Events in Religion [3 volumes]
Author: Florin Curta
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 1514
Release: 2016-11-28
Genre: Religion
ISBN:

This three-volume set presents fundamental information about the most important events in world religious history as well as substantive discussions of their significance and impact. This work offers readers a broad and thorough look at the greatest events in world religious history, covering a wide range of religions, time periods, and areas around the globe. The entries present authoritative information and informed viewpoints written by expert contributors that enable readers to easily learn about the chief events in religious history, help them to better understand the course of world history, and promote a greater respect for culturally diverse religious traditions. The first of the three volumes covers religion from the preliterary world through around AD 600; the second, the post-classical era from 600 to 1450; and the third, the modern era from 1450 to the present. Each volume begins with a substantive introduction that discusses the history of world religions during the period covered by the volume. The chronologically ordered entries overview each event, place it in historical context, and identify the reasons for its enduring significance.

The History of the Rise and Fall of the World's Religions and their Evolution

The History of the Rise and Fall of the World's Religions and their Evolution
Author: Younus Samadzada
Publisher: Fulton Books, Inc.
Total Pages: 260
Release: 2022-01-14
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1637101422

This book chronologically documents the rise and fall of the major religions of the world and explores the role that various cultural factors such as dance, trance, music, song, and language have played in this evolution. The role that leaders play in the evolution of religion is also discussed. Starting from the primitive religions of hunter-gatherer societies in which religion was not part of any institution, the next stages of human life from the agricultural revolution to the modern religions of today are discussed. Among the modern religions discussed are Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Scientology, and numerous others. The reader is further provided with a unique perspective on the potential good and evil aspects of religion and the very reality of the existence of a God or gods, and the possible downfalls of the religious belief system.