Phenomenon of Religion

Phenomenon of Religion
Author: Ninian Smart
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 163
Release: 1973-06-18
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1349001147

The philosophy of religion is one of several very active branches of philosophy today, and the present series is designed both to consolidate the gains of the past and to direct attention upon the problems of the future. Between them these volumes will cover every aspect of the subject, introducing it to the reader in the state in which it is today, including its open ends and growing points. Thus the series is designed to be used as a comprehensive textbook for students. But it is also offered as a contribution to present-day discussion; and each author will accordingly go beyond the scope of an introduction to formulate his own position in the light of contemporary debates.

The Phenomenon of Religion

The Phenomenon of Religion
Author: Moojan Momen
Publisher: One World (UK)
Total Pages: 648
Release: 1999
Genre: Religion
ISBN:

Illustrated with photographs representing all the world's major religious traditions, this is a unique and innovative account of the role of religion in our lives.

Breaking the Spell

Breaking the Spell
Author: Daniel C. Dennett
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 472
Release: 2006-02-02
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 110121886X

The New York Times bestseller – a “crystal-clear, constantly engaging” (Jared Diamond) exploration of the role that religious belief plays in our lives and our interactions For all the thousands of books that have been written about religion, few until this one have attempted to examine it scientifically: to ask why—and how—it has shaped so many lives so strongly. Is religion a product of blind evolutionary instinct or rational choice? Is it truly the best way to live a moral life? Ranging through biology, history, and psychology, Daniel C. Dennett charts religion’s evolution from “wild” folk belief to “domesticated” dogma. Not an antireligious screed but an unblinking look beneath the veil of orthodoxy, Breaking the Spell will be read and debated by believers and skeptics alike.

Intelligent Design and Religion as a Natural Phenomenon

Intelligent Design and Religion as a Natural Phenomenon
Author: John S. Wilkins
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 559
Release: 2017-03-02
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1351927108

Over the past decade a strident public debate has arisen about the nature and origin of religions. Controversies include how exactly religion evolved, whether by individual or group selection, if it is adaptive, and if not, whether and how it is a side effect of evolution. This volume focuses on the issue of naturalizing religion: on the ways in which cognitive science and social sciences have treated religion as a natural phenomenon. It questions whether religious behaviour, institutions, and experiences can be explained in natural terms. The editor brings together some of the best published work on the definition of 'religion', intelligent design and the evolution of religion.

Understanding Sport as a Religious Phenomenon

Understanding Sport as a Religious Phenomenon
Author: Eric Bain-Selbo
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 185
Release: 2016-09-08
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1472506987

Readers are introduced to a range of theoretical and methodological approaches used to understand religion – including sociology, philosophy, psychology, and anthropology – and how they can be used to understand sport as a religious phenomenon. Topics include the formation of powerful communities among fans and the religious experience of the fan, myth, symbols and rituals and the sacrality of sport, and sport and secularization. Case studies are taken from around the world and include the Olympics (ancient and modern), football in the UK, the All Blacks and New Zealand national identity, college football in the American South, and gymnastics. Ideal for classroom use, Understanding Sport as a Religious Phenomenon illuminates the nature of religion through sports phenomena and is a much-needed contribution to the field of religion and popular culture.

Why God?

Why God?
Author: Rodney Stark
Publisher: Templeton Foundation Press
Total Pages: 303
Release: 2017-03-30
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1599475219

Why is it that the majority of people, from all socio-economic, education, and ethnic backgrounds, ascribe to some sort of faith? What draws us to religion? What pushes us away? And what exactly is religion anyway? Defining religion over the past century has, ironically, led to theories that exclude belief in God, proposing that all systems of thought concerning the meaning of life are religions. Of course, this makes it impossible to distinguish the village priest from the village atheist, or Communism from Catholicism. Worse yet, it makes all religious behavior irrational, presuming that, for example, people knowingly pray to an empty sky. Renowned sociologist of religion Rodney Stark offers a comprehensive, decisive, God-centered theory of religion in his book, Why God: Explaining Religious Phenomena. While his intent is not to insist that God exists, Stark limits religions to systems of thought based on belief in supernatural beings—to Gods. With this God-focused theory, Stark explores the entire range of religious topics, including the rise of monotheism, the discovery of sin, causes of religious hostility and conflict, and the role of revelations. Each chapter of Why God? builds a comprehensive framework, starting with the foundations of human motivations and ending with an explanation of why most people are religious. Stark ultimately settles what religion is, what it does, and why it is a universal feature of human societies. Why God? is a much needed guide for anyone who wants a thorough understanding of religion and our relationship to it, as well as a firm refutation to those who think religion can exist without the divine.

Religion Explained

Religion Explained
Author: Pascal Boyer
Publisher: Basic Books
Total Pages: 406
Release: 2007-03-21
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 046500461X

Many of our questions about religion, says the internationally renowned anthropologist Pascal Boyer, were once mysteries, but they no longer are: we are beginning to know how to answer questions such as "Why do people have religion?" and "Why is religion the way it is?" Using findings from anthropology, cognitive science, linguistics, and evolutionary biology, Boyer shows how one of the most fascinating aspects of human consciousness is increasingly admissible to coherent, naturalistic explanation. And Man Creates God tells readers, for the first time, what religious feeling is really about, what it consists of, and how it originates. It is a beautifully written, very accessible book by an anthropologist who is highly respected on both sides of the Atlantic. As a scientific explanation for religious feeling, it is sure to arouse controversy.

Witchcraft, Oracles, and Magic Among the Azande

Witchcraft, Oracles, and Magic Among the Azande
Author: Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 301
Release: 1976
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 0198740298

An abridged version of the 1937 an-thropological study of the Azande of the southern Sudan, the theoretical insights of which have proven increasingly influential among both anthropologists and others

Philosophy of Religion

Philosophy of Religion
Author: Tim Bayne
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 161
Release: 2018
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0198754965

Philosophy of religion contains some of our most burning questions about the role of religion in the world, and the relationship between believers and God. Tim Bayne considers the core debates surrounding the concept of God; the relationship between faith and reason; and the problem of evil, before looking at reincarnation and the afterlife.