Living Religions: A Brief Introduction - Softcover

Fisher, Mary Pat

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0130618098 ISBN 13: 9780130618092

Publisher: Pearson College Div, 2001

Synopsis

This concise edition provides a sympathetic approach to what is living and significant in the religions of the modern world. Highly readable and stimulating, this brief survey explores the historical development and teachings of traditional faiths, indigenous religions and new religious movements, and considers how each of these has evolved into contemporary beliefs and practices. Unlike other world religion texts, Living Religions: A Brief Introduction attempts to see each religion from the inside as its own practitioners experience and live by their faith. Each chapter focuses on a different religion, looking first at its historical development and teachings, and then exploring how these traditions have evolved into contemporary beliefs and practices. Also included are first-person interviews with followers of each faith; Religion in Public Life boxes, including boxes on Winona LaDuke, Dr. Karan Singh, Dalai Lama, Janice Perlman, Desmond Tutu, Farid Esack and Baba Virsa Singh; enhanced coverage of women, with new sections on women in the chapters on Buddhism, Judaism and Christianity; and coverage of the religions of Eastern Europe plus the contemporary condition of religions in the former Soviet Union.

About this title

From the Back Cover

Living Religions: A Brief Introduction is a brief edition of Living Religions, fourth edition. It presents a stimulating survey of today's religious world. Exploring the historical developments and teachings of traditional faiths, indigenous religions, and new religious movements, this brief edition considers how each of these traditions has evolved into contemporary beliefs and practices. It examines the changing nature of each religion, the spread of religious pluralism, and the movement toward interfaith dialogue.

With the help of a team of specialist consultants in each faith, and drawing on a wealth of scholarly research and firsthand source material, Mary Pat Fisher gives a fresh and challenging insight into how believers of today's faiths perceive their religion and its role in the changing world in which they live.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Seven feature boxes on religious figures in public life.
• Quotes from contemporary teachers and practitioners of each faith.
• Coverage of the role of women in each tradition.
• Coverage of the socio-political context of contemporary religious practice.
• Map and timeline providing the geographical and historical context for each religion.

Edition details

• Publisher: Pearson College Div
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0130618098
• ISBN 13: 9780130618092
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 319