Comparative Religion

Comparative Religion PDF Author: Carla Mooney
Publisher: Nomad Press
ISBN: 1619303027
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 129

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Book Description
Over 7 billion people live on the earth, and 84 percent of them describe themselves as being religious. Few topics incite such passion as religion. What does that mean? Why are humans invested in ideas that may never be proved? Why has religion played such an important role in history? In Comparative Religion: Investigate the World through Religious Tradition, readers seek answers to these questions by comparing and contrasting the cultural, spiritual, and geographical underpinnings of five different religions. By developing a better understanding of the similarities and differences among religions of the world, readers gain a strong foothold in a dialogue that has continued for thousands of years. Combining hands-on activities with theology, history, geography, world cultures, art, and architecture, Comparative Religions encourages deeper understanding of the world’s religions. Entertaining graphic art, fascinating sidebars, and links to primary sources bring the topic to life, while key questions reaffirm foundational concepts. Activities include conducting an interview with a rabbi, comparing the story of Abraham and Isaac in three sacred texts, studying the architecture of the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, studying the Hindu practice of yoga and meditation, and examining how religious doctrines shape the behavior of believers.

Comparative Religion

Comparative Religion PDF Author: Carla Mooney
Publisher: Nomad Press
ISBN: 1619303027
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 129

Get Book Here

Book Description
Over 7 billion people live on the earth, and 84 percent of them describe themselves as being religious. Few topics incite such passion as religion. What does that mean? Why are humans invested in ideas that may never be proved? Why has religion played such an important role in history? In Comparative Religion: Investigate the World through Religious Tradition, readers seek answers to these questions by comparing and contrasting the cultural, spiritual, and geographical underpinnings of five different religions. By developing a better understanding of the similarities and differences among religions of the world, readers gain a strong foothold in a dialogue that has continued for thousands of years. Combining hands-on activities with theology, history, geography, world cultures, art, and architecture, Comparative Religions encourages deeper understanding of the world’s religions. Entertaining graphic art, fascinating sidebars, and links to primary sources bring the topic to life, while key questions reaffirm foundational concepts. Activities include conducting an interview with a rabbi, comparing the story of Abraham and Isaac in three sacred texts, studying the architecture of the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, studying the Hindu practice of yoga and meditation, and examining how religious doctrines shape the behavior of believers.

Comparative Religion For Dummies

Comparative Religion For Dummies PDF Author: William P. Lazarus
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118052277
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 397

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Book Description
Understand the beliefs, customs, and rituals of each faith The fun and easy way to know the common elements of these widespread religions Want to know more about the faiths of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam? This plain-English guide traces their evolution from their commonorigin - Abraham - and explains their different, yet linked, beliefs.You'll see how each religion developed, endured setbacks, and became a fixture in modern society - and you'll learn how members havedeveloped similar approaches to worship. Discover: How the belief in one God originated The roots of Abraham's family tree The sacred texts of each faith Major similarities and differences How these religions influenced the world

Considering Comparison

Considering Comparison PDF Author: Oliver Freiberger
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019092912X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 315

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Book Description
The comparative method is an integral part of religious studies. All the technical terms that scholars of religion use on a daily basis, such as ritual, hagiography, shrine, authority, fundamentalism, hybridity, and, of course, religion, are comparative terms. Yet comparison has been subject to criticism, including postcolonialist and postmodernist critiques. Older approaches are said to have used comparison primarily to confirm preconceptions about religion. More recently, comparison has been criticized as an act of abstraction that does injustice to the particular, neglects differences, and establishes a mostly Western power of definition over the rest of the world. In this book, Oliver Freiberger takes a closer look at how comparison works. Revisiting critical debates and examining reflections in other disciplines, including comparative history, sociology, comparative theology, and anthropology, Freiberger proposes a model of comparison that is based on a thorough epistemological analysis and that takes both the scholar's situatedness and his or her agency seriously. Examining numerous examples of comparative studies, Considering Comparison develops a methodological framework for conducting and evaluating such studies. Freiberger suggests a comparative approach - which he calls discourse comparison - that confronts the omnipresent risks of decontextualization, essentialization, and universalization. This book makes a case for comparison, arguing that it is indispensable for a deeper analytical understanding of what we call religion. The book is intended to enrich the practice of both aspiring and seasoned comparativists, stimulate much-needed further discussions about comparative methodology, and encourage more scholars to produce responsible comparative studies.

Religious Worlds

Religious Worlds PDF Author: William E. Paden
Publisher: Beacon Press
ISBN: 0807012122
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 212

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Book Description
From Gods, to ritual observance to the language of myth and the distinction between the sacred and the profane, Religious Worlds explores the structures common to all spiritual traditions.

How to Do Comparative Theology

How to Do Comparative Theology PDF Author: Francis X. Clooney
Publisher: Fordham Univ Press
ISBN: 0823278425
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 351

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Book Description
For a generation and more, the contribution of Christian theology to interreligious understanding has been a subject of debate. Some think of theological perspectives are of themselves inherently too narrow to support interreligious learning, and argue for an approach that is neutral or, on a more popular level, grounded simply open-minded direct experience. In response, comparative theology argues that theology, as faith seeking understanding, offers a vital perspective and a way of advancing interreligious dialogue, aided rather than hindered by commitments; theological perspectives can both complement and step beyond the study of religions by methods detached and merely neutral. Thus comparative theology has been successful in persuading many that interreligious learning from one faith perspective to another is both possible and worthwhile, and so the work of comparative theology has become more recognized and established globally. With this success there has come to the fore new challenges regarding method: How does one do comparative theological work in a way that is theologically grounded, genuinely open to learning from the other, sophisticated in pursuing comparisons, and fruitful on both the academic and practical levels? How To Do Comparative Theology therefore contributes to the maturation of method in the field of comparative theological studies, learning across religious borders, by bringing together essays drawing on different Christian traditions of learning, Judaism and Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism, the wisdom of senior scholars, and also insights from a younger generation of scholars who have studied theology and religion in new ways, and are more attuned to the language of the “spiritual but not religious.” The essays in this volume show great diversity in method, and also—over and again and from many angles—coherence in intent, a commitment to one learning from the other, and a confidence that one’s home tradition benefits from fair and unhampered learning from other and very different spiritual and religious traditions. It therefore shows the diversity and coherence of comparative theology as an emerging discipline today.

World Religions and Cults Volume 1

World Religions and Cults Volume 1 PDF Author: Bodie Hodge
Publisher: New Leaf Publishing Group
ISBN: 1614584605
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 432

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Book Description
Religions in today’s culture seem to be multiplying. Have you ever wondered why certain religions believe and practice what they do? Or how they view the Bible? This volume delves into these and other engaging questions, such as: How can a Christian witness to people in these religions? Do these other religions believe in creation and a Creator? How do we deal with these religions from a biblical authority perspective? Many religions and cults discussed in this first volume openly affirm that the Bible is true, but then something gets in their way. And there is a common factor every time—man’s fallible opinions. In one way or another the Bible gets demoted, reinterpreted, or completely ignored. Man’s ideas are used to throw the Bible’s clear teaching out the window while false teachings are promoted. This book is a must for laymen, church leaders, teachers, and students to understand the trends in our culture and around the world where certain religions dominate, helping you discern truth and guard your faith. When you understand a religion’s origins and teachings, you are in a better position to know how to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ as you take the good news to those in false religions.

Comparative Religion

Comparative Religion PDF Author: Kedar Nath Tiwari
Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass
ISBN: 8120802942
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 359

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Book Description
It provides a study of the prevailing religions of the world. By 'prevailing', it means 'living' and 'living religions', we mean such religions which are still observed and followed by a considerable number of people. Such religions include Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Sikhism. Some may have doubts in accepting Zoroastrianism as a living religion and their doubts may not be taken as totally unfounded. For, hardly a few people, and those also mostly in a corner of India, observe this religion at present. But still there is justification for taking this religion as living, at least, on the following two grounds „ (1) It is still being observed as a religion by some people, howsoever small their number may be, and (2) As a religion it exhibits certain such important features which are worth considering and which have exerted considerable influence upon some of the great living religions like Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Towards the end (in the Appendix), the author has also included for our brief study of some of the ancient Asian religions like Taoism, Confucianism etc. These religions cannot, of course, be regarded as living religions, but still, in our opinion, they merit at least some of our attention due to the respect and regard they once commanded and the indelible impression they have left upon the minds of the people of the countries in which they once flourished. The subject of Comparative Religion as a scientific study of the various features of the different religions of the world in a comparative perspective is relatively a late development. It is hardly for a hundred years or so that the name Comparative Religion has gained currency and studies in this direction have been taken up in right earnest. Such a study requires an impartial, neutral and tolerant outlook and if at all there is any leaning or sympathy for any religion, it must be for religions other than one is own. Here the whole question regarding the methodology of a comparative study of religions may come up. We may see that at least two things seem necessary (though not sufficient) for collecting relevant materials which will make our study faithful and authentic: (1) A thorough study of the basic text or texts, along with the related works, belonging to a particular religion, and (2) An extensive dialogue with the followers of a particular religion along with a personal survey, both intensive and extensive, of the various religious practices carried on by them. The first one is easy to carry out. Perhaps most of the writers on comparative religion adopt this way. But adopting the second one in a serious and sincere spirit is not an easy task and therefore very few or hardly any adopt this method for studying religions. The aim of a study like this is partly to acquaint readers with the main aspects and features of the living religions of the world and partly to suggest the points of agreement and difference among the different religions.

Comparing Religions

Comparing Religions PDF Author: Jeffrey J. Kripal
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118281322
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 557

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Book Description
Comparing Religions is a next-generation textbook which expertly guides, inspires, and challenges those who wish to think seriously about religious pluralism in the modern world. A unique book teaching the art and practice of comparing religions Draws on a wide range of religious traditions to demonstrate the complexity and power of comparative practices Provides both a history and understanding of comparative practice and a series of thematic chapters showing how responsible practice is done A three part structure provides readers with a map and effective process through which to grasp this challenging but fascinating approach The author is a leading academic, writer, and exponent of comparative practice Contains numerous learning features, including chapter outlines, summaries, toolkits, discussion questions, a glossary, and many images Supported by a companion website (available on publication) at www.wiley.com/go/kripal, which includes information on individual religious traditions, links of other sites, an interview with the author, learning features, and much more

New Patterns for Comparative Religion

New Patterns for Comparative Religion PDF Author: William E. Paden
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1474252125
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 265

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Book Description
The cross-cultural study of religion has always gone hand in hand with the worldview, sciences, or intellectual frameworks of the time. These frames, whether focused on psychology or politics, gender or colonialism, bring out perspectives for understanding religious behavior. Today one of our common civic worldviews is represented in the shift from scriptural to evolutionary history. This volume brings together in one place key essays by professor emeritus William Paden, showing a progression of steps he has taken in exploring bridgeworks between comparative religion and evolutionary models of religious behavior. One of the leading scholars in religious studies, Paden shows ways that religion can be contextualized as part of the natural world and thus seen as reflecting the ingrained sociality and world-making drive of the human species. Paden argues that although comparativism has been challenged as too culture-bound, too western, or too gendered, cross-over categories and concepts between religious traditions cannot be avoided. Arguing that there are recurrent patterns of human behavior common to our species and that thereby underlie all cultures, he proposes that the missing link in the Religion Evolution debate is comparative religion, a global, cross-cultural perspective on religious behaviours throughout time. Each article is contextualized within this overall trajectory of thought within Paden's work and the history of the discipline as a whole.

God is Not One

God is Not One PDF Author: Stephen Prothero
Publisher: Black Inc.
ISBN: 1921866381
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 402

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Book Description
A fascinating guide to religion and its place in the world today. In God Is Not One, bestselling author Stephen Prothero makes a fresh and provocative argument that, contrary to popular understanding, all religions are not simply “different paths to the same God.” Instead, he shows that the differences between the major religions are far greater than we think: they each ask different questions, tackle different problems, and aim at different goals. God Is Not One highlights the unique aspects of the world’s major religions, with chapters on Islam, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Yoruba religion, Judaism, Daoism and atheism. Lucid and compelling, God Is Not One offers a new understanding of religion for the twenty-first century.