Seeing Through Religion

Seeing Through Religion is a cutting-edge textbook designed to help students in their study and research of the world's religious traditions. Providing the tools to learn this valuable subject theoretically, McGovern argues that religion isn’t a thing out there in the world; it’s the glasses on your face through which you see the world, shaped by Western history and, in particular, Christianity. By exploring the major religious traditions and comparing stereotypes about them to reality, this textbook establishes how the lens of “religion” systematically distorts our perception of the world. Topics covered include:

• What Is Religion?
• Colonialism and the Two Faces of Orientalism
• Islam: Does Fear Imply Difference?
• Buddhism: A Philosophy or a Religion?
• Hinduism: A Polytheistic or a Monotheistic Religion?
• Chinese Religion: What Is It, and Where Can We Find It?
• Indian Religions: How Can One Religion “Include” Another?
• Tibetan Buddhism: Is It Still Buddhism?
• Judaism: A Religion or an Ethnicity?
• Indigenous Traditions: What Gets Counted as a Religion?
• Secularism: Can We Put Religion in a Box?
• How is the way we think about religion influenced by the theology of Martin Luther?
• How does the Christian paradigm of religion distort our perception of Christianity itself?

This textbook not only provides a survey of important religious traditions but also guides the reader on how to study religion in a methodologically sophisticated way. This innovative volume is essential reading for those who want a contemporary and engaging approach to the study of world religions.

Nathan McGovern is Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, USA.