Patterns of Transcendence: Religion, Death, and Dying

by David Chidester

This cross-cultural book examines social, religious, and cultural approaches to death and dying across Eastern and Western cultures and religious traditions. Organization of the book begins with an examination of death and dying among non-literate peoples in different parts of the world, then covers Hindu, Buddhist, Chinese, and Japanese approaches, Western patterns of transcendence (ancient Middle East, Judaic, Christian, and Islamic), and concludes with a chapter on death and dying in contemporary America. It discusses four patterns of transcendence: ancestral, experiential, cultural, and mythic.

Genres: Religion

276 pages, Paperback

First published August 3, 1989

About the author

David Chidester is a Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Cape Town.

Reviews

[Andrea]

Densely worded explanations of an already difficult topic made this incredibly tough to go through.