Holy People of the World: A Cross-Cultural Encyclopedia (3 Volume Set) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1576073556 ISBN 13: 9781576073551

Publisher: ABC-CLIO, 2004

Synopsis

The first reference on the subject to span all the world's major religions, Holy People of the World: A Cross-Cultural Encyclopedia examines the impact of individuals who, through personal charisma and inspirational deeds, served both as glorious examples of human potential and as envoys for the divine.

Holy People of the World contains nearly 1,100 biographical sketches of venerated men and women. Written by religious studies experts and historians, each article focuses on the basic question: How did this person come to be regarded as holy? In addition, the encyclopedia features 20 survey articles on views of holy people in the major religious traditions such as Islam, Buddhism, and African religions, as well as 64 comparative articles on aspects of holiness and veneration across cultures such as awakening and conversion experiences, heredity, gender, asceticism, and persecution. Whether exploring by religion, culture, or historic period, this extensively cross-referenced resource offers a wealth of insights into one of the most revealing—and least explored—common denominators of spiritual traditions.

About this title

About the Author

Phyllis G. Jestice, PhD, is associate professor of history at the University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS. Her published works include ABC-CLIO's Encyclopedia of Irish Spirituality.

Reviews

The theme of this work "is that most effective intermediary between heaven and earth: the holy human being who has a foot in both realms." More than 1,000 of the 1,183 entries are biographical sketches of men and women from a variety of religious traditions, including African religions, Amerindian religions, Bahaism, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Shinto, and Sikhism. There are also survey articles that address aspects of holy people across religious traditions. For example, Attributes of holy people discusses special marks or signs various traditions have regarded as proof of an individual's holiness, while Intermediaries shows the place of the holy person as mediator between the divine and the rest of humankind. Other entries describe activities or lifestyles commonly associated with holy people (e.g., Meditation and holy people, Hermits). Still others treat the intersection of holy people with such topics as aesthetics, gender, politics, suffering, and violence. While it may be no surprise to find entries for various Christian saints or the current Dalai Lama, entries for Nelson Mandela and the last Romanovs demonstrate how different cultures approach holiness in different ways.

The alphabetically arranged entries were written by a team of international scholars, are signed, and conclude with see references and suggestions for further reading. The set contains some black-and-white illustrations.

The editor admits that the coverage of holy people among various religious traditions is uneven, explaining this in more detail in her preface. In the end, "what this encyclopedia offers is very much a sampler pack of holy folk from around the world," an admission that may well be instructive to libraries considering purchasing the work. Large academic or research libraries with rich reference collections in biography and religion will not find too much new here. Libraries lacking such resources and in need of biographical information in this area may find this sampler filling in many a gap. Christopher McConnell
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: ABC-CLIO
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1576073556
• ISBN 13: 9781576073551
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 1088
• Editor: Jestice Phyllis G.