Comparing Religions is a next-generation textbook which expertly guides, inspires, and challenges those who wish to think seriously about religious pluralism in the modern world.
- A unique book teaching the art and practice of comparing religions
- Draws on a wide range of religious traditions to demonstrate the complexity and power of comparative practices
- Provides both a history and understanding of comparative practice and a series of thematic chapters showing how responsible practice is done
- A three part structure provides readers with a map and effective process through which to grasp this challenging but fascinating approach
- The author is a leading academic, writer, and exponent of comparative practice
- Contains numerous learning features, including chapter outlines, summaries, toolkits, discussion questions, a glossary, and many images
- Supported by a companion website (available on publication) at www.wiley.com/go/kripal, which includes information on individual religious traditions, links of other sites, an interview with the author, learning features, and much more
Jeffrey J. Kripal is the J. Newton Rayzor Professor of Religious Studies at Rice University. His most recent publications include Mutants and Mystics: Science Fiction, Superhero Comics, and the Paranormal (2011); Authors of the Impossible: The Paranormal and the Sacred (2010); Esalen: America and the Religion of No Religion (2007); and The Serpent's Gift: Gnostic Reflections on the Study of Religion (2007).
Autorentext
Jeffrey J. Kripal is the J. Newton Rayzor Professor of Religious Studies at Rice University. His most recent publications include Mutants and Mystics: Science Fiction, Superhero Comics, and the Paranormal (2011); Authors of the Impossible: The Paranormal and the Sacred (2010); Esalen: America and the Religion of No Religion (2007); and The Serpent's Gift: Gnostic Reflections on the Study of Religion (2007).
Klappentext
Comparing Religions is a next-generation textbook that teaches the art and practice of comparison as a vital skill in our modern globalizing world. Using a three-part "initiatory" structure, the book provides the reader with a map and an effective process through which to understand and practice the comparative analysis of religion.
The three-part structure leads readers through:
- an historical outline of comparative practices, both in world history and in the modern West, demonstrating that comparative forms of understanding religion are ancient and global
- six chapters focusing on classic comparativist themes, exploring and modeling the nature of responsible com parativist practice
- the exploration of a number of key strategies through which to understand, analyze, and re-read religion with a sense of accomplishment and closure
The result is a fascinating, wide-ranging, and genuinely exciting book that will inspire as well as guide readers who wish to think seriously about religious pluralism in the modern world. By embracing the last three decades of comparative work and critical theory, the book strikes a new balance and offers a positive vision of the field's most promising future. Throughout, the impact of comparativist practices on individuals is fully acknowledged and worked with. Toward this same end, the book contains numerous features to help students, professionals and interested readers understand this challenging but extraordinarily rich area of critique and wonder.
The supporting website features numerous additional resources, including information on individual religious traditions, images, a glossary, discussion questions, links to other sites, and an interview with the author. These resources are available at www.wiley.com/go/kripal.
Zusammenfassung
Comparing Religions is a next-generation textbook which expertly guides, inspires, and challenges those who wish to think seriously about religious pluralism in the modern world.
- A unique book teaching the art and practice of comparing religions
- Draws on a wide range of religious traditions to demonstrate the complexity and power of comparative practices
- Provides both a history and understanding of comparative practice and a series of thematic chapters showing how responsible practice is done
- A three part structure provides readers with a map and effective process through which to grasp this challenging but fascinating approach
- The author is a leading academic, writer, and exponent of comparative practice
- Contains numerous learning features, including chapter outlines, summaries, toolkits, discussion questions, a glossary, and many images
- Supported by a companion website (available on publication) at www.wiley.com/go/kripal, which includes information on individual religious traditions, links of other sites, an interview with the author, learning features, and much more
Inhalt
An Important Note to the Instructor xi
A Comment on the Cover Image and the Paintings xv
List of Illustrations xvi
Acknowledgments xx
Part I Prehistory, Preparation, and Perspective 1
Introduction: Beginnings 3
1 Comparative Practices in Global History: If Horses Had Hands 9
The Comparative Practices of Polytheism 11
The Comparative Practices of Monotheism: Early Judaism 16
The Comparative Practices of Monotheism: Early Christianity 20
The Comparative Practices of Monotheism: Early Islam 27
The Comparative Practices of Asia: Hinduism 33
The Comparative Practices of Asia: Sikhism 36
The Comparative Practices of Asia: Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism in China 38
The Tough Questions 39
2 Western Origins and History of the Modern Practice: From the Bible to Buddhism 43
Deep Upstream: Mystical Humanists, Protesters, Rationalists, and Romantics 44
Mid-Upstream: Not as Moses Said, or the Biblical Beginnings of Critical Theory 54
Just Upstream: Colonialism and the Modern Births of Spirituality and Fundamentalism 58
The Immediate Wake: Counterculture, Consciousness, Context, and Cosmopolitanism 67
The Tough Questions 73
3 The Skill of Reflexivity and Some Key Categories: The Terms of Our Time Travel 77
The History of Religions 79
Patterns of Initiation 82
The Humanities: Consciousness Studying Consciousness 85
Cultural Anthropology and Initiation Rites 88
Working Definitions and Their Histories 89
The Uncertainty Principle: The InsiderOutsider Problem (and Promise) 103
Religious Questions as Ultimate Concerns 105
The Tough Questions 106
Part II Comparative Acts 109
4 The Creative Functions of Myth and Ritual: Performing the World 111
Myth: Telling the Story Telling Us 113
Ritual: Acting Out the Story Acting Us 116
Patterns in Myth 120
Patterns in Ritual 125
Comparative Practice: The Awakened One and the Great Hero in Ancient India 133
Beginning a Toolkit 138
The Tough Questions 139
5 Religion, Nature, and Science: The Super Natural 143
Religion and Contemporary Science 145
The Paradox of the Super Natural 146
Food and Purity Codes: You Are What You Eat 149
New Directions: Space Exploration, Dark Green Religion, and Popular Culture 154
Comparative Practice: The Human Plant 164
The Toolkit…