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Religion and Globalization: World Religions in Historical Perspective
The twenty-first century is witnessing a resurgence and globalization of religion. Around the world, religion has become an increasingly more vital and pervasive force in both personal and public life. Revealing the significance of religion in the contemporary world, Religion and Globalization: World Religions in Historical Perspective explores seven major religious traditions as dynamic, ongoing forces in the lives of individuals and in the collective experience of modern societies.
Written by three highly respected scholars--the authors of World Religions Today, Second Edition--this text covers Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, East Asian Religions, and new religious movements. Taking a fresh approach, it uses historical coverage of the religious traditions as a framework to help students understand how faiths have evolved to the present day and continue to have an impact on belief, politics, and society. The book connects today's religions to their classical beliefs and practices but also shows how they have been transformed by globalization and by their contact with one another. The authors examine how the global changes that began with the Scientific Revolution influence the ways that religions are practiced today. They reflect not only on how ancient traditions have been modified in order to accommodate current realities but also on how the global synergy of these traditions is changing current social and political realities. To help students
grasp what might be "new" about the emerging era of religious life in the twenty-first century, each discussion opens with a contemporary scenario of religious experience that illustrates the tension between pre-modern views and modernity.
Ideal for courses on religion and globalization, religion and politics, and comparative religion, Religion and Globalization features sixteen custom maps, key terms at the end of each chapter, a glossary, and timelines of major events in each tradition.
Written by three highly respected scholars--the authors of World Religions Today, Second Edition--this text covers Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, East Asian Religions, and new religious movements. Taking a fresh approach, it uses historical coverage of the religious traditions as a framework to help students understand how faiths have evolved to the present day and continue to have an impact on belief, politics, and society. The book connects today's religions to their classical beliefs and practices but also shows how they have been transformed by globalization and by their contact with one another. The authors examine how the global changes that began with the Scientific Revolution influence the ways that religions are practiced today. They reflect not only on how ancient traditions have been modified in order to accommodate current realities but also on how the global synergy of these traditions is changing current social and political realities. To help students
grasp what might be "new" about the emerging era of religious life in the twenty-first century, each discussion opens with a contemporary scenario of religious experience that illustrates the tension between pre-modern views and modernity.
Ideal for courses on religion and globalization, religion and politics, and comparative religion, Religion and Globalization features sixteen custom maps, key terms at the end of each chapter, a glossary, and timelines of major events in each tradition.
- GenresReligion
609 pages, Paperback
First published December 31, 2007
55 people want to read
About the author
John L. Esposito
102 books153 followersHe is a professor of International Affairs and Islamic Studies at Georgetown University. He is also the director of the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal center for Muslim-Christian understanding at Georgetown University.
Esposito was raised a Roman Catholic in an Italian neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York City, and spent a decade in a Catholic monastery. After taking his first degree he worked as a management consultant and high-school teacher. He then studied and received a masters in theology at St. John's University. He earned a PhD at Temple University, Pennsylvania in 1974, studying Islam and held post doc appointments at Harvard and Oxford. He is well-known as a promoter of strong ties between Muslims and Christians and has challenged the Vatican to make greater efforts to encourage such ties.
A specialist in Islam, political Islam, and the impact of Islamic movements from North Africa to Southeast Asia, Dr. Esposito serves as a consultant to the Department of State as well as multinational corporations, governments, universities, and the media worldwide. In 2005, Professor Esposito won the American Academy of Religion's prestigious Martin E. Marty Award for the Public Understanding of Religion. This award honors a scholar who has been exemplary in promoting the public understanding of religion. A prolific writer, Professor Esposito is the author of over 25 books, including What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam, The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality?, and Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World, The Oxford History of Islam, and The Oxford Dictionary of Islam.
Esposito was raised a Roman Catholic in an Italian neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York City, and spent a decade in a Catholic monastery. After taking his first degree he worked as a management consultant and high-school teacher. He then studied and received a masters in theology at St. John's University. He earned a PhD at Temple University, Pennsylvania in 1974, studying Islam and held post doc appointments at Harvard and Oxford. He is well-known as a promoter of strong ties between Muslims and Christians and has challenged the Vatican to make greater efforts to encourage such ties.
A specialist in Islam, political Islam, and the impact of Islamic movements from North Africa to Southeast Asia, Dr. Esposito serves as a consultant to the Department of State as well as multinational corporations, governments, universities, and the media worldwide. In 2005, Professor Esposito won the American Academy of Religion's prestigious Martin E. Marty Award for the Public Understanding of Religion. This award honors a scholar who has been exemplary in promoting the public understanding of religion. A prolific writer, Professor Esposito is the author of over 25 books, including What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam, The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality?, and Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World, The Oxford History of Islam, and The Oxford Dictionary of Islam.
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May 8, 2010
Obviously any attempt to discuss the history of "world religions" in approximately 600 pages means that the result is going to feel compressed and hurried. This is an overview book, a glimpse of the tip of an iceberg. In many ways, reading this book is a good start to giving the reader a sense of how much MORE there is to learn and know. One can spend lifetimes studying the world's religions; one short book can't begin to convey all there is to know.
But within the very limited confines of what this book aims to do--discuss the history and globalization of the world's major religions with particular attention to the pressures of modernity and the challenges of postmodernity--this is an excellent, excellent book. For example, the history of Christianity is covered in 70 pages and includes boxed highlights on Pope John XXIII, the Nicene Creed, Orthodox Christianity, the seven sacraments and the lifecycle, holy week, women in premodern Christianity, the contrasting religious visions of MLK, Jr. and Michael Bray, and women in the modern church. Also included are maps of Palestine at the time of Jesus and Europe after the Peace of Westphalia. The chapter ends with discussion questions, key terms, and a list of suggested reading to go further in-depth. There is also a glossary and timeline specific to Christianity at the back of the book.
Similar attention is given in chapters devoted to Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, East Asian Religions (Confucianism, Taoism, and Shinto), and a short final chapter on "new" and "new age" religions.
If reading this kind of overview is just going to make you angry about what is left out, then don't do it. This isn't the book for you. But if you are looking for a timely and sophisticated look at the pressures and challenges facing the world's major religions today, then this book is an excellent starting point.
But within the very limited confines of what this book aims to do--discuss the history and globalization of the world's major religions with particular attention to the pressures of modernity and the challenges of postmodernity--this is an excellent, excellent book. For example, the history of Christianity is covered in 70 pages and includes boxed highlights on Pope John XXIII, the Nicene Creed, Orthodox Christianity, the seven sacraments and the lifecycle, holy week, women in premodern Christianity, the contrasting religious visions of MLK, Jr. and Michael Bray, and women in the modern church. Also included are maps of Palestine at the time of Jesus and Europe after the Peace of Westphalia. The chapter ends with discussion questions, key terms, and a list of suggested reading to go further in-depth. There is also a glossary and timeline specific to Christianity at the back of the book.
Similar attention is given in chapters devoted to Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, East Asian Religions (Confucianism, Taoism, and Shinto), and a short final chapter on "new" and "new age" religions.
If reading this kind of overview is just going to make you angry about what is left out, then don't do it. This isn't the book for you. But if you are looking for a timely and sophisticated look at the pressures and challenges facing the world's major religions today, then this book is an excellent starting point.
Displaying 1 of 1 review