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Print Price: $154.99

Format:
Paperback
608 pp.
7.5" x 9.25"

ISBN-13:
9780197537657

Copyright Year:
2022

Imprint: OUP US

World Religions Today

Seventh Edition

John Esposito

Revealing the significance of religion in contemporary life, World Religions Today, Seventh Edition, explores major religious traditions -- Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, South Asian religions, East Asian religions, indigenous religions, and new religions -- as dynamic, ongoing forces in the lives of individuals and in the collective experience of modern societies. This unique volume accomplishes two goals: it connects today's religions to their classical beliefs and practices and focuses on how these religions have both radically changed the modern world and been changed by it. The book is enhanced by numerous pedagogical aids -- text boxes, timelines, maps, illustrations, discussion questions, a comprehensive glossary of key terms, and suggestions for further reading -- and more than 200 photographs.

Readership : Introductory World Religion Students.

Reviews

"I would rate the overall quality of the book to be excellent. In this particular market, it is very hard to offer something different or innovative. The niche that Esposito et al. have carved out is the "Today" orientation of content. To their credit, they largely focus on religion as it currently resides in today's world. This is not typical of competing texts, which generally take a historical approach to discussing each religion, offering little space for showing students the contemporary relevance and influence of religion. This book's emphasis on the role of religion in the modern world is valuable. Another tremendous strength of the book is its inclusion of the many graphic elements: pictures, maps, charts, sidebars, quotes, terminology, etc. I find the writing style to be clear, engaging, and pitched at a level appropriate for all undergraduates, including introductory level students."
--Todd Tremlin, University of Central Michigan
"There is obvious attention to the art of communicating to undergraduate students who have no background in religious studies. The book certainly covers the key topics appropriate for a beginning undergraduate course."
--Charles Mabee, Oakland University

1. INTRODUCTION
2. INDIGENOUS RELIGIONS
3. THE MANY STORIES OF JUDAISM: SACRED AND SECULAR
4. CHRISTIAN DIVERSITY AND THE ROAD TO MODERNITY
5. ISLAM: THE MANY FACES OF THE MUSLIM EXPERIENCE
6. HINDUISM, JAINISM, AND SIKHISM: SOUTH ASIAN RELIGIONS
7. BUDDHISM: PATHS TOWARD NIRVANA
8. EAST ASIAN RELIGIONS: CONFUCIANISM, DAOISM, SHINTO, BUDDHISM
9. GLOBALIZATION: FROM NEW TO NEW AGE RELIGIONS

There are no Instructor/Student Resources available at this time.

John L. Esposito is University Professor of Religion and International Affairs, Professor of Islamic Studies, Founding Director of the Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, and Director of The Bridge: Protecting Pluralism -- Ending Islamophobia at Georgetown University. He serves as Editor-in-Chief of Oxford Islamic Studies Online and The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and is the author of What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam, Second Edition (2011), The Future of Islam (2010), and Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam (2002), and coauthor of Islam and Democracy after the Arab Spring (2015), all published by Oxford University Press.

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Special Features

· Connects today's religions to their classical beliefs and practices and highlights the tensions between historical religious traditions and their modern manifestations
· Offers an up-to-date view of how religions have responded to and been transformed by the modern world and how they impact and are impacted by globalization and international relations
· Highlights some of the most colorful, lively, and striking aspects of religion today through a wide variety of thematic and special-topic boxes that explore particular ideas or practices in some depth: o <"Ritual and Rites>" boxes examine rituals that have changed in practice or meaning over time o <"Gender Focus>" boxes highlight gender-specific customs within each faith o <"Teachings of Religious Wisdom>" boxes expose students to primary sources from various traditions o <"Contrasting Religious Visions>" boxes compare the beliefs of two significant adherents of a faith who each see the demands of their religion calling believers in very different directions in the modern age o <"Tales of Spiritual Transformation>" offer descriptions of religious experiences in the believers' own words
· Incorporates helpful pedagogical aids, including timelines, maps, illustrations, discussion questions, a comprehensive glossary, suggestions for further reading, and more than 200 photographs
· <"Tales of Spiritual Transformation>" offers descriptions of religious experiences in believers' own words. Some of these are classical voices and others contemporary.