Patterns of Religion

Authored by distinguished scholars of religion writing in their areas of specialty, PATTERNS OF RELIGION examines key religious traditions around the world, from the ancient origins of religion to contemporary religious movements. Expertly written and organized, this text offers unparalleled flexibility for instructors. Each chapter explores the history, beliefs, practices, and contemporary perspectives for a major religious tradition. This unified chapter structure helps to emphasize the patterns that link diverse religious traditions. The readings at the end of chapters include selections from scriptures and other important texts, eliminating the need for a separate scripture anthology. Now in full color, the supporting maps, photographs, chronologies, glossaries, and tables help contextualize each tradition and encourage further inquiry.

Roger Schmidt was most recently chair of the Department of Religious Studies at Hsi Lai University (Rosemead, Ca.), a university grounded in Buddhist traditions and values. He is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Claremont Graduate School. He taught philosophy and religion for thirty years at San Bernardino Valley College and Crafton College, retiring as a professor emeritus in 1993. A prolific scholar and researcher, he continues to explore religious traditions in Asia and beyond.

In addition to academic studies, Gene Sager brings to this text the experience of living as a scholar and translator in Japan. He has translated articles by Kyoto University's Keiji Nishitani and authored numerous articles on environmental issues and Asian religion. He received the faculty award for teaching excellence at Palomar College (May, 2001).

Gerald Carney is the Elliott Professor of Religion at Hampden-Sydney College. He received his Ph.D. in the history of religions from Fordham University, and has published widely on Vaishnava devotional traditions, religious aesthetics, interreligious dialogue, and on Baba Premananda Bharati, an early Bengali Vaishnava missionary to the West.

A. Charles Muller is a professor in the Faculty of Humanities at Toyo Gakuen University in Chiba, Japan. His primary field of study is Korean Buddhism, having received his Ph.D. from the Program in Korean Studies at SUNY Stony Brook. He is presently engaged in a number of other Buddhist translation projects, as well as in compiling web resources for teaching and research, most of which are housed at his web site, Resources for East Asian Language and Thought (www.acmuller.net).

Kenneth J. Zanca is professor of Religious Studies at Marymount College, Palos Verdes, California, He received his Ph.D. from Fordham University, where he studied systematic theology with a concentration in Christian Ethics. He has published widely, including a text book for Contemporary Moral Issues classes entitled How to Arrive at a Considered Opinion. His research passion is American Catholic History, and he has published extensively in this field to leading journals and magazines. In 2008, his most recent book was published, The Catholics and Mrs. Mary Surratt: How They Responded to the Trial and Execution of the Lincoln Conspirator.