Spiritual Leaders Who Changed the World : The Essential Handbook to the Past Century of Religion

Who Were the Most Innovative Spiritual Leaders of the Past Century?

Fascinating profiles of the most important spiritual leaders of the past one hundred years. An invaluable reference of twentieth-century religion and an inspiring resource for spiritual challenge today.

Black Elk, H. H. the Dalai Lama, Mary Baker Eddy, Abraham Joshua Heschel, J. Krishnamurti, C. S. Lewis, Thomas Merton, Elijah Muhammad, Meher Baba, Joseph Campbell, Simone Weil, Pope John XXIII, Shunryu Suzuki, Aimee Semple McPherson, Billy Graham, Dorothy Day, Thich Nhat Hanh, Martin Luther King, Jr. … these are just some of the spiritual leaders who have changed our world.

The result of a nationwide survey of experts in leading universities and seminaries, as well as leading representatives of dozens of religious traditions and spiritual persuasions, this authoritative list of seventy-five includes martyrs and mystics, intellectuals and charismatics from East and West. Their lives and wisdom are now easily accessible in this inspiring volume.

A celebration of the human spirit, ideal for both seekers and believers, the curious and the passionate, thinkers and doers, this book is an authoritative guide to the most creative spiritual ideas and actions of the past century―a challenge for us today.

Ira Rifkin is an award-winning journalist, author and educator specializing in religion issues, particularly relating to culture and globalization. A columnist for GetReligion.org, he is author of Spiritual Perspectives on Globalization: Making Sense of Economic and Cultural Upheaval and editor of Spiritual Leaders Who Changed the World: The Essential Handbook to the Past Century of Religion (both SkyLight Paths). He has taught at the University of Maryland, College Park; American University; and the State University of New York at New Paltz; and has lectured widely at universities, conference centers, houses of worship and elsewhere around the United States.

Dr. Robert Coles was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his five-volume Children of Crisis series. He is professor of Psychiatry and Medical Humanities at Harvard Medical School and James Agee Professor of Social Ethics at Harvard University. Winner of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, our highest civilian honor, he is also the author of many books.