An introduction to Eastern Religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, and East Asian Religions (Ancient Chinese, Confucian, Daoist, and Shinto), with Quick Facts pages for Jainism and Sikhism. Each chapter covers History, Beliefs, Structure, and Practices. Richly illustrated with colourful photos, illustrations, maps and charts, as well as audio files and a selection of relevant ancient texts. This eBOOK provides a solid, jargon-free introduction to eastern religious traditions for college-level classes or for any reader seeking a neutral presentation of these religions by an author who has taught extensively in the field of religion for over three decades.

Committee: S.R. Zug, John Herr, G.N. Falkenstein, J.G. Francis and D.C. Reber.

The Blackwell Companion to Sociology of Religion is presented in three comprehensive parts. Written by a range of outstanding academics, the volume explores the current status of the sociology of religion, and how it might look in future. Explores the current status of the sociology of religion, and how it might look at the beginning of the next millennium. Traces the boundaries between sociology and other closely related disciplines, such as theology and social anthropology. Edited by one of the best known and most widely respected sociologists of religion Accessibly presented in three comprehensive parts.

This is the first book to treat the impact of religious, philosophical and psychological traditions of the East on Western intellectuals, artists, travellers and spiritual seekers in the twentieth century. Addressed to both general readers and scholars of religion, it is especially valuable for its penetrating and inter-religious analysis of two of the most compelling themes now facing the world: the emergence of cross-cultural religious understanding of the natural order and ecological crisis and the metaphysical basis for both the formal diversity and essential unity of religious traditions of both East and West. The West has long romanticized the "mysterious" East, but it has, also, judged its traditions as "uncivilized." Our notions about Eastern spirituality have been formed by a succession of travellers, scientists, artists, intellectuals, poets, philosophers and missionaries, as well as by Eastern travellers who have spent time in the West. This book helps us to recognize the influence of Eastern ideas upon modern Western thought by tracing the history of engagements between East and West up until the present day. It concludes with a section that helps us to perceive the timeless value of the many Eastern contributions to the West's current intellectual and spiritual state.