A History of the World's Religions

For courses in History of World Religions or Introduction to World Religions.

A History of the World's Religions gives students an accurate look at the religions of the world by including descriptive and interpretive details from the original source materials, and to bridge the interval between the founding of religions and their present state.

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.

A History of the World's Religions is widely regarded as the hallmark of scholarship, fairness, and accuracy in its field. Noss introduces you to the origins of world religions and shows you how they developed into the religions that impact the world we live in now. The depth, breadth, and clear organization of A History of the World s Religions provide information that is most useful for lively class discussions and in-depth assignments.

NEW TO THE TWELFTH EDITION!

• Updated coverage of Jewish scriptures in the Hellenistic and Roman periods, the Pharisaic Hebrew scriptures, the Septuagint, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the Samaritan Pentateuch.
• Updated coverage of the Religious Right, the change in popes, the ongoing re-examination of human sexuality in Christian communities, and developments in global Christianity.
• Coverage of the Shi ite and Baath Party rift in Iraq.
• Coverage of the religious background to conflict within Iran.
• Additional material on the impact of the gender gap on South Asian religious communities.
• New illustrations, including teaching pictures actually used in everyday devotional activity

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

• Offers the most detailed treatment of world religions available in a single-volume text.
• Demonstrates how the history of a religion influences the current religious, social, political, and ethical climate.
• Includes primary sources and places them within a context that maximizes understanding.
• Treats non-English terms with clarity and sensitivity.
• Discusses the varieties of fundamentalism found in religions today and why they emerged.
• Discusses the role of women and female divinities.
• Includes a complete chapter on Zoroastrianism.
• Organizes material in a way that makes information easy to locate.
• Highlights terms and keys them to chapter-end glossaries.
• Boxes brief quotations for added interest and easy reference.