Comprehensive, informative and authoritative, The Penguin Handbook of the World's Living Religions is compiled by a team of leading international scholars, and is the definitive guide to the religious belief systems and practices of the world today. This in-depth survey of active religions has now been fully updated to include modern developments and the most recent scholarship. It explains the sources and history of the world's religions, includes material on the phenomenon of Black African and Asian diaspora religions around the world and explores the role of gender in modern religion.

This practical guide summarizes the principles of working with dying patients and their families as influenced by the commoner world religions and secular philosophies. It also outlines the main legal requirements to be followed by those who care for the dying following the death of the patient. The first part of the book provides a reflective introduction to the general influences of world religions on matters to do with dying, death and grief. It considers the sometimes conflicting relationships between ethics, religion, culture and personal philosophies and how these differences impact on individual cases of dying, death and loss. The second part describes the general customs and beliefs of the major religions that are encountered in hospitals, hospices, care homes and home care settings. It also includes discussion of non-religious spirituality, humanism, agnosticism and atheism. The final part outlines key socio-legal aspects of death across the UK. Death, Religion and Law provides key knowledge, discussion and reflection for dealing with the diversity of the everyday care of dying and death in different religious, secular and cultural contexts. It is an important reference for practitioners working with dying patients, their families and the bereaved.

This book chronologically documents the rise and fall of the major religions of the world and explores the role that various cultural factors such as dance, trance, music, song, and language have played in this evolution. The role that leaders play in the evolution of religion is also discussed. Starting from the primitive religions of hunter-gatherer societies in which religion was not part of any institution, the next stages of human life from the agricultural revolution to the modern religions of today are discussed. Among the modern religions discussed are Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Scientology, and numerous others. The reader is further provided with a unique perspective on the potential good and evil aspects of religion and the very reality of the existence of a God or gods, and the possible downfalls of the religious belief system.

'Spirituality' is a word that is used increasingly these days yet it is often ill-defined. What exactly is spirituality? Is it distinct from religion and can we separate it from beliefs and traditions? Does spirituality mainly focus on spiritual experiences and practices or is it something more? This book suggests that, while there may be common features in the use of the word, 'spirituality' is not a single reality. Different 'spiritualities' reflect particular religious or philosophical viewpoints, as well as the cultural contexts in which they arise and develop. Spirituality: A Guide for the Perplexed provides students and general readers with a reliable and comprehensive guide to 'spirituality' as an area of study, religiously, historically, philosophically and in the social sciences. It explores the tools that are used to study the subject and to interpret spiritual classics (whether these are written texts or other forms such as art) from different times and cultures. Attention is paid to spirituality in a variety of religious and non-religious forms in their own terms and comparatively. However, for the sake of simplicity greatest attention is given to the study of spirituality within a religious perspective with illustrations drawn from texts, personalities and themes associated with five major world religions, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. The book concludes with an exploration of spirituality in contemporary perspective - in particular how spirituality is currently employed in areas such as health-care, education and business among other examples.

In Teaching Interreligious Encounters, Marc A. Pugliese and Alexander Y. Hwang have gathered together a multidisciplinary and international group of scholar-teachers to explore the pedagogical issues that occur at the intersection of different religious traditions. This volume is a theoretical and practical guide for new teachers as well as seasoned scholars. It breaks the pedagogy of interreligious encounters down into five distinct components. In the first part, essays explore the theory of teaching these encounters; in the second, essays discuss course design. The parts that follow engage practical ideas for teaching textual analysis, practice, and real-world application. Despite their disciplinary, contextual, and methodological diversity, these essays share a common vision for the learning goals and outcomes of teaching interreligious encounters. This is a much-needed resource for any teacher participating in these conversations in our age of globalization and migration, with its attendant hopes and fears.

Many forms of present-day Western spirituality contribute to people’s well-being, whereas others have raised criticism. The study of these different forms is, however, complicated by their continuously diverging practices and ideas. By bringing to bear a multidisciplinary approach, the ten specialists of this volume are able to analyze diverse new instances of spirituality, e.g. in religious contexts (Buddhism, Christianity), popular use, organizations and enterprises, (alternative) health service, and works of art. Most contributions also discuss methods and theories. In their editorial chapters, Elisabeth Hense, Frans Jespers and Peter Nissen show the remarkable overlaps in the approaches, definitions and evaluations of the contributions in this volume and provide a theoretical framework. Both the fresh analyses and the theoretical reflections in this volume point the way to new approaches in this field of study. Contributors include: Jerry Biberman, Mark Elliott, Miguel Farias, Johan Goud, Paul Heelas, Elisabeth Hense, Frans Jespers, Hubert Knoblauch, Peter Nissen, Paul van der Velde

"The sources and history of the world's religions, from Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism, to regional studies in Africa, China and Japan; their teaching, practices and popular traditions; diaspora religions in the Western world, in the USA, Canada, Australia and Britain, including a new section on these religious migrations in a comparative international perspective; gender and spirituality and the Black African diaspora; developments that have taken place in the twentieth century; recent scholarship, including new material on China; and public festivals and private devotions." "With charts and diagrams to illustrate and clarify the text, The New Handbook of Living Religions is the definitive guide to understanding the belief systems of the world today."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

The indispensable guidebook to help the well - meaning guest when visiting other people's religious ceremonies - updated and revised. New edition We North Americans live in a remarkably diverse society, and it's increasingly common to be invited to a wedding, funeral or other religious service of a friend, relative or coworker whose faith is dif...