A History of the World's Religions - Softcover

Noss, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0130991651 ISBN 13: 9780130991652

Publisher: Routledge, 2003

Synopsis

This book is the most thorough, yet concise history of world religions available in a single volume, discussing many subjects largely neglected in other book. A four-part organization covers: Some Primal and Bygone Religions, The Religions of South Asia, The Religions of East Asia, and The Religions of the Middle East. For individuals interested in bridging the gap between the foundings of religions and their present state?and their role in today's word of international conflicts.

About this title

From the Back Cover

Refined by over forty years of dialogue and correspondence with religious experts and practitioners around the world, Noss's 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. The book's depth, breadth, and, organization free instructors from having to "cover" everything in lectures, enabling them to select specific assignments and use class time for questions, discussion, and their own favorite materials.

NEW TO THE ELEVENTH EDITION!

• Updated coverage on Islam—In central Africa, Iran, Indonesia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Southeast Asia.
• New material on quasi-religious movements—Includes the Wahhabi-derived agencies of terrorism in the Islamic world; the Falun Gong in China; and "spirituality" on the American scene.
• Enhanced interior design, including new categories of illustrations and generous, color-highlighted primary source materials throughout—integrates a wealth of original short passages quoted from sacred texts and accompanied by explanatory comments.

STANDARD CONTENT AND PEDAGOGIC FEATURES OF A HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S RELIGIONS

• Comprehensive, in-depth coverage in concise presentation, offering the most detailed treatment of world religions available in a single-volume text.
• Demonstrates historical influences of religions on social, political, and ethical arenas.
• Updates material on the contemporary relevance of world religions.
• Attention to differing varieties of Islamic fundamentalism.
• Appropriate attention to female divinities and the role of women.
• Includes complete chapter on Zoroastrianism, often absent in other texts.
• Detailed table of contents and extensive subheads.
• In-text highlighted terms which are keyed to chapter-end glossaries.
• Brief boxed quotations.
• Special color inserts to highlight key quotations.
• Comprehensive index and current list of further readings.

FROM THE PREFACE:

"My elder brother, John B. Noss, spent ten years preparing the first edition of this book (published in 1949). His preface to the first edition spoke of two special needs to be met: to include descriptive and interpretative details from the original source materials, and to bridge the interval between the founding of religions and their present state ....The study of world religions needs to encompass the immediate and the existential as well as the rational; the empathic as well as the analytical. Serving as the editor of John's book has been, on the one hand, a challenge to emend each inaccuracy and enhance each strength, but also a profound experience of what it is like to look out on the world through the eyes of a wise person."

— DAVID S. NOSS

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Just as the Nazi Holocaust incinerated naive assumptions about human nature and historical progress, so the flaming collapse of the World Trade Center in 2001 shattered assumptions about status quo, religion, and peace.

Those of us who inquire into the history of the world's religions soon become aware that from the perspective of some of the religions the study of history is bound to be fruitless. Religions are about "what matters most" and to some that means transcending the temporal and in effect abandoning the search for meaning in the historical scene. Picking up a book like this may signify a desire to confirm that view, but it is more likely to signify a kind of bias, an underlying hope that the transcendent/immanent may indeed manifest itself in historical events—that the study of any religion should include its historical influence in social/political arenas as, for example, ethical policy in regard to the earth's resources and the degree to which all of humankind is in its purview. Given our biases, our best course is to try to present the views of others fairly. Will knowledgeable believers find our characterizations accurate?

My elder brother, John B. Noss, spent ten years preparing the first (1949) edition of this book. At that time he found that most publications in the field tended to focus on the biographies of the founders and then jumped to comparing and evaluating the religions' contemporary practices. His preface to the first edition spoke of two special needs to be met: the first was to include "descriptive and interpretative details from the original source materials" and second "to bridge the interval between the founding of religions and their present state" (italics mine).

Those who have used successive editions will recognize an increasing attentiveness to those needs. Primary source materials are not spliced in as undigested chunks but carefully embedded in interpretative commentary. Now color-highlighted, and sometimes further emphasized in color-framed quotations, the sources gain even more of the prominence they deserve. Illustrations have come to play a larger part: in addition to classic art and architecture, there are now depictions of ceremonial realia and explanations of ritual practices. Extended teaching captions go beyond the perfunctory identifications of the subjects.

Resisting trends toward the abbreviating and "dumbing down" of college textbooks to accommodate diminished reading skills, this edition maintains a standard of thoroughness. Instead of abridgement, it offers enhancements: highlighted terms keyed to chapter-end glossaries, reinforcement of key ideas in color-framed quotations, line drawings to relieve solid columns of text, and the inclusion of some novels and light reading suggestions in the bibliography.

Many teachers find a kind of liberation in putting a thorough text in the hands of students. This ensures a ready and reliable reference, relieves the pressure on the instructor to "cover" everything in lectures, and frees up the class time for questions and discussions on topics of immediate interest.

The author is grateful for editorial assistance and expertise in ancient intellectual history generously contributed by David J. Noss of Washington, D.C. Special thanks are also due to Ross Miller, Carla Worrier, and Louise Rothman of Prentice Hall and to Lee Shenkman and Janet Stone of Victory Productions.

David S. Noss
dnoss@heidelberg.edu

Edition details

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0130991651
• ISBN 13: 9780130991652
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 644