Customer Reviews (2)

Excellent Resource
(A New Edition of this book is being released in October 2006)

Some books are known to have influenced a generation, or a generation of thinkers. This book has the potential to do it a second time. Baum has re-written the entire book, dropping whole chapters and adding new ones.

This book was first published in 1975 as Religion and Alienation: A Theological Reading of Sociology and was immediately recognized as the seminal book on the continuing discussion between religion and sociology. This new edition will challenge a new generation of readers, thinkers, and students of either religion or sociology. This book is designed to help people encounter the gospel as a message of hope and liberation - a guidebook to help set us free from the prisons we have walled ourselves into, or that we have allowed society to place us into.

UW's own Scott Kline and David Seljak, who both teach at St. Jerome's University (SJU), wrote the forward to this new edition and give the book high praise.

Baum takes us on a journey through a series of progressive thoughts and areas of study to draw us forward into the study of religion and alienation. Baum looks at religion as both the source of alienation and as a product of alienation. He examines how alienation is also a product of the industrial society. Baum tackles the ambiguity that religion creates, both from a biblical perspective and from the perspective of the social sciences. Then he brings into the discussion the psychologists, with both Freud's and Durkheim's perspectives on symbolism. Those are but the beginnings of Baum's work on this diverse topic.

This book will be an excellent addition to any religious thinker's library. It was thirty years in the making and time has only made it better. Even if you read only the last chapter on the five reasons that theologians should engage in dialogue with social thinkers, it will make the book worth the changes.

(First Published in Imprint 2006-09-13 as `Baum revisits religious discourse'.)

Excellent Resource
(A New Edition of this book is being released in October 2006)

Some books are known to have influenced a generation, or a generation of thinkers.This book has the potential to do it a second time. Baum has re-written the entire book, dropping whole chapters and adding new ones.

This book was first published in 1975 as Religion and Alienation: A Theological Reading of Sociology and was immediately recognized as the seminal book on the continuing discussion between religion and sociology. This new edition will challenge a new generation of readers, thinkers, and students of either religion or sociology. This book is designed to help people encounter the gospel as a message of hope and liberation - a guidebook to help set us free from the prisons we have walled ourselves into, or that we have allowed society to place us into.

UW's own Scott Kline and David Seljak, who both teach at St. Jerome's University(SJU), wrote the forward to this new edition and give the book high praise.

Baum takes us on a journey through a series of progressive thoughts and areas of study to draw us forward into the study of religion and alienation. Baum looks at religion as both the source of alienation and as a product of alienation. He examines how alienation is also a product of the industrial society. Baum tackles the ambiguity that religion creates, both from a biblical perspective and from the perspective of the social sciences.Then he brings into the discussion the psychologists, with both Freud's and Durkheim's perspectives on symbolism. Those are but the beginnings of Baum's work on this diverse topic.

This book will be an excellent addition to any religious thinker's library. It was thirty years in the making and time has only made it better. Even if you read only the last chapter on the five reasons that theologians should engage in dialogue with social thinkers, it will make the book worth the changes.

(First Published in Imprint 2006-09-13 as `Baum revisits religious discourse'.) ... Read more

Product Description
In recent years, there has been growing awareness across a range of academic disciplines of the value of exploring issues of religion and the sacred in relation to cultures of everyday life. ""Exploring Religion and the Sacred in a Media Age"" offers inter-disciplinary perspectives drawing from theology, religious studies, media studies, cultural studies, film studies, sociology and anthropology. Combining theoretical frameworks for the analysis of religion, media and popular culture, with focused international case studies of particular texts, practices, communities and audiences, the authors examine topics such as media rituals, marketing strategies, empirical investigations of audience testimony, and the influence of religion on music, reality television and the internet.Both academically rigorous and of interest to a wider readership, this book offers a wide range of fascinating explorations at the cutting edge of many contemporary debates in sociology, religion and media, including chapters on the way evangelical groups in America have made use of ""The Da Vinci Code"" and on the influences of religion on British club culture and electronic dance music. ... Read more

Product Description
Text discusses the sociology of religion; covering such topics as time and place, religion is socially learned, religion or cult?, social life affecting religion, religion affecting social life, and the matter of belief. Hardcover, softcover available. DLC: Religion and sociology. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Not Meant To Be a Scholary Work
A previous reviewer indicated that he felt this is a scholary work. I think this is misleading as it actually is a very easy to read book, and it is obviously meant for those who lack familiarity not only with the sociology of religion, but with the field of Sociology itself. It is a very short book in which only about 80 pages are spent discussing the actual subject matter. After a long introduction, a 17 page chapter is dedicated to telling the reader what the general field of Sociology is all about.

The rest of the book details several main topics. One chapter tells us that we follow a certain religion because of time and place. If we are born in Calcutta today we undoubtedly become a member of the Hindu faith. If we are born in America we might easily be born into a Christian family. And that's it. Nothing more profound than that.

The next chapter states that religion is socially learned. Your religious beliefs are a function of your social environment, e.g. family, school, peer groups, etc. People raised as Catholics tend to stay Catholic. Another whole chapter is spent defining the difference between a cult and a religion: a cult is usually a religious group that is too small, and of too recent an origin to become accepted as a religion. The author then explains how social life affects religion using an example of the disruption of a synagogue by dissident factions in the congregation.

Finally we have a chapter on how religion affects social life. The two examples used are how the black churches significantly helped the civil rights movement; secondly how religions affect sexual behavior.

That is the totality of this book. When discussing the churches' effect on civil rights in the south the author spends a lot of time summarizing the history of the times, something I would assume most people are aware of. Yes it's easy reading, but it goes into absolutely nothing in detail.

The author loves to include references as he writes (as many as 26 per page), but almost never quotes anything significant from these references. This is certainly a very basic introduction to the topic, and it is a shame that the author could not suggest additional readings to advance one's knowledge of the subject - he does have a 19 page bibliography for all the citations in the book, but most of these pertain to journal articles or books of narrow focus.

There is one thing that I found annoying in the book. Zuckerman gives the impression that psychologists seem to study religion from the standpoint of neuroscience, which is simply not true. I have several serious and empirical books on the Psychology of religion, and none of them even bring up the subject. Psychology (my field of interest) has better things to do than chase the tired concept of brains being "hard wired" for religion.

In summary it's an easy to read book that, sadly, won't take you very far into the topic. Unfortunately there aren't many books addressing the sociology of religion at this level, and it's a shame that this one didn't cover the topic better. As far as I can tell most, if not all, other books on the subject are either full sized textbooks, or books of rather sophisticated readings like The Blackwell Companion to the Sociology of Religion. One final comment: I think this book is outrageously priced when you consider that only about half of its 156 pages are devoted to the actual subject matter. Zuckerman's book will whet your appetite for more, but I do wish his book had been more of a meal instead of a light snack.

Some basics and general overview of the Sociology of Religion
The Invitation to the Sociology of Religion is the book for those who are either social scientists, student of sociology or anyone simply interested in this particular topic of Sociology of Religion. The book is a scholarly work, written by Phil Zuckerman who is a scholar, and a sociologist of religion. It is an easy read even though it is a serious subject with a lot of important information and details. Phil Zuckerman is writing about subject that affects our lives on many fronts, even if some of us not religious at all. He has taken up a task of showing a dialectical relationship between the society and the institution of religion. Our existence in this dualism is not only an important factor to know and understand, it also crucial to see how both sides work in our world, maybe we will learn something about our ways as a society. Basically in short the book can be expressed by the following: the essence of society is present and affects religion and the essence of religion is present and affects society. Even though the book is relatively short, Zuckerman was able to convey his research and his main ideas effectively and persuasively.
As mentioned earlier the book is an easy read, but it is not to be confused with entertainment literature. It is a serious work based on years on research and study of dualism between society and religion. The book starts out simply by giving statistics on whom and where are people more religious or less, he gives some percentages where he states that industrial and post-industrial countries have less people who are devoutly religious as oppose to in low income countries. He makes a point by saying that some people cling to their faith due to ethnic backgrounds, and gives an example of his father who is Jewish/Atheists, who goes to synagogue to talk to Sam, while Sam is there to talk to god. Such occurrences are common among people whose religion defines their cultural and ethnic background.
Since, in many cases, religion defines people and their culture, it safe to assume that if lets say Zuckerman's father was born in Yemen in 1785 he 100% be Shiite Muslim, or if he was born in Ethiopia in 19th century he would most likely belong to Coptic Orthodox church. The argument here is the time and place is as important as sun to our survival. It would make great difference if the same person was born in different time and in different place, the notion that not just offends the "true" beliers but it angers them
Another important factor in the book is his mission to eliminate the myths and lies about cults and sects. The thesis here is that there is no really difference between the "official" religion and so-called cults and sects. By that he means that all three have a set of bylaws and/or holy scripture, all three have charismatic and powerful leader who they would obey no matter what. Whether it the Pope or David Koresh who was a leader of Branch Dravidians, the religion that did not go so well, because of the death church members in the siege of their house of worship in '93. The pint being is the Zuckerman broke down a lot of walls by this notion, where the "official" religion of 200 mil. People and the "cult" of 5 people, really have no organizational/structural or even doctrinal difference whatsoever.
Later in the book he moves on to his main objective which is to describe the dualistic or dialectical relationship between society and the institution of religion. First and forth most, the religion is socially learned, and Zuckerman goes into great detail about that. He names specific agents of socialization in defining out religiosity or lack of thereof. Mothers, father, aunts, uncles, the kind of education etc., all affect what our religion will be or won't be. He gives example of his daughter who believes in fairies because Judy and Stacy beloved in them, as she grew up there was no reinforcement of her believes, so she gave up believing in fairies. However, since some of our childhood believes still being reinforced, we still believe in that, whatever that might be. Such reinforcement leads to his next topic which is how society and religion affect each other.
In great detail he described how modern day feminists and liberal in Jewish synagogue clashed with conservatives over the wording in the prayers, which resulted in separated services for the two groups and eventually the conservatives moved to a different temple. Additionally Zuckerman provided example in vice versa, where the Mormon leaders rufused to admit Black men into the priesthood, and come civil rights its all began to change. The god "spoke" to one of the Mormon priests and said to him to begin to admit the black men into the clergy. With those two examples Zuckerman clearly demonstrated how the religion and society can change each other and define each other.
In general the book is very strong and the quality of research and writing is very commendable. For me some of the Zuckerman's ideas and thesis were very eye opining and refreshing. He draws upon his extensive work in field to make a very entertaining piece of scholarly work. Among his many strong central themes, the two stand out the most which re the notion of Time and Place and how religion affects society and vice versa, those toe I found to be very informative and meticulously researched. However, one point I did not agreed upon was the idea of brainwashing in the religious institution. He says that the preacher, the priest, the rabbi etc do not posses some special magic trick that makes the parishioners to be brainwashed or make them do what they would not have done. Even though he makes reference to manipulation and advertisement and promotion of some religious cause, I see it as no other as deliberate brainwashing. However, my disagreement does not make this book any weaker,
Other then that I would highly recommend the book to other sociology students who are interested in taking the course. The book has more strengths and very little weaknesses. I wish he would provide a little more information about Middle East and its relationship with religion. One more little weakness I found was that he did not expand on psychology of religion, other then that the book is very good source to elaborate on subject.

Fun to read -- and so provocative.
This is one of the best books I have ever read about religion. I am personally not religious but I have always wondered how so many people can be so religious and I have always had all these theories about religion -- many of which were confirmed in this book.Fundamentalists will probably hate this book -- and will surely be offended -- because the writer clearly thinks religion is not true, or at least a lot of the details. This is a very sociological approach (obvious from the title) and the author uses a lot of fascinating examples, especially a lot of stuff about Mormons. Other topics I liked were the discussion of religion and sexuality, religion and the Civil Rights Movement, and the last chapter about some kids believing in fairies and some in Jesus. The book is written in a very casual style, and has lots of anecdotes. But the theories arealso strong and serious. A great read. ... Read more

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Religion Matters: What Sociology Teaches Us About Religion in Our World is organized around the biggest questions that arrise in the field of sociology of religion.

This is a new text for the sociology of religion course.   Instead of surveying this field systematically, the text focuses on the major questions that generate the most discussion and debate in the sociology of religion field.

Customer Reviews (1)

Havent shipped my book yet And my class is starting soon... Will change waiting if delivered soon though
Havent shipped my book yet And my class is starting soon... Will change ratingif delivered soon though ... Read more

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Supernatural as Natural examines ways in which our religious beliefs and experiences are products of our biological make-up. This book takes as its fundamental starting point the insight that humans are animals whose primary means of adapting to the world is culture, including religion. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Required Reading
Excellent study of the relationships between shamanism, cognitive neuroscience, and religion.
Should be required reading for all advanced undergraduate and graduate anthropologists and archaeologists.
Well done. Bravo!

Alexander Paz
Excellent, our society really needs more of this type of information. Science, theology, and education should take the place of superstition and artificial mechanisms developed to facilitate survival . . .

supernatural as natural
This is a book I would like to have written if only I had the wealth of knowledge necessary.Brilliant blending of biology, anthropology, sociology, and religion.

Religion - a product of mammalian evolutionary adaptation?
Supernatural as Natural, A Biocultural Approach to Religion
by Dr. Michael Winkelman and Dr. John R. Baker., January 2009.

Religion - a product of mammalian evolutionary adaptation?

Michael Winkelman, PhD, and John Baker, PhD, reveal that the human capacity for ritual, and therefore religion, is a part of our biology that is imbedded in our evolutionary record.

By studying many cultures around the world we do not find any that do not have religion or altered states of consciousness. And if all cultures and peoples posses these characteristics, then what, other than outdated superstitious beliefs, could these functions hold to benefit human evolution? How about group cohesion and cooperation rather than egocentricity? Then the energy is focused to the group or tribe as a whole, which promotes the survival of the greater group.

There are startling theories in this book, many of which I had not really considered previously. And this book gives us pause to stop and really consider the impact that religions have on our species. And, as a process of natural selection, would human's ability for religiosity have developed across the globe, in every culture, unless there was a benefit to that selection?

We find from studying animals that they, too, have ritualistic behavior. Whether it's fishes mating, or wolves organizing their pack structures into alpha-male and female, or the chimpanzee rituals of grooming and screaming at the sky when it rains; animals too show a propensity toward rituals.

And how do altered states of consciousness play a part of all of this? Winkelman and Baker argue that ASCs allow humans to shut off external stimuli to aid in healing and other functions such as seeing things from different, previously excluded, perspectives that would allow us to have an overall advantage over other groups. In fact, religion is a product of society (pg. 257).

But over the years as tribes grew into villages and villages became towns and cities and countries, and those groups started warring over natural resources and each group's gods, have we as a human species come to a point where we need to evolve the current religions into a new one? Or do we need to evolve ourselves away from religion, into a group that needs to learn to work together as a whole toward our own survival? Or is our end ever approaching. It does not appear that humans will stop believing in religion anytime soon.

Therefore, this is also a book about science and religion coming together and realizing the value in each other. Science needs religion, and religion needs science. And not just in their typically juxtaposed systems, but as enduring functions of each other - of the yin yang. And to anthropology, there is no difference between religious and scientific myth.

A collegiate and meaty read. This fascinating book, if correct, could have great implications on future studies of religion and human evolution.

5 Stars.
... Read more

Product Description
The variety and complexity of its traditions make African American religion among the most difficult topics in religious studies to teach to undergraduates. The sheer scope of the material to be covered is daunting to instructors, many of whom are not experts in African American religious traditions, but are called upon to include material on African American religion in courses on American Religious History or the History of Christianity. Also, the unfamiliarity of the subject matter to the vast majority of students makes it difficult to achieve any depth in the brief time allotted in the survey courses where it is usually first encountered. The essays in this volume will supply functional, innovative ways to teach African American religious traditions in a variety of settings. ... Read more

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Teaching African American Religions
Jones provides a very precise framework for effective teahing of AA religions.Her pedagogical suggestions, along with careful scholarship present a valuable directive to the subject matter. ... Read more

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Orientalism and Religion offers us a timely discussion of the implications of contemporary post-colonial theory for the study of religion. Richard King examines the way in which notions such as mysticism, religion, Hinduism and Buddhism are taken for granted. He shows us how religion needs to bereinterpreted along the lines of cultural studies. Drawing on a variety of post-structuralist and post-colonial thinkers, such as Foucault, Gadamer, Said, and Spivak, King provides us with a challenging series of reflections on the nature of Religious Studies and Indology. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Eurocentric Neo-Orientalism posing as deep understanding
Although this book is a mine of information on historical aspects of Neo-Hinduism and Neo-Buddhism it is a deeply misleading misrepresentation of Hindu-Buddhist understanding. King assumes his naive Western anti-essentialist Gadamerian social science ideology is superior to the phenomenological understanding of actual Hindus and Buddhists of the true nature of their traditions. The NeoHindu emphasis on Sankara is misleading as King notes but the NeoHindu understanding of Advaita (Nondualism) as the unifying philosophy behind the diverse traditions is correct as dualistic,theistic traditions are understood as based on incomplete mystic realisation failing to attain ego dissolution or the popular projection of anthropomorphic deities onto the Light of Godhead by the masses. The Upanishads themselves assert That Thou Art or I am Brahman (which imply Nondualistic Identity). King fails to appreciate that Sankara's Illusion Doctrine actually contradicts the Upanishadic teachings that Brahman is modified and the physical world is real(See Bowes' chapter in The Yogi and the Mystic)and Sankara's Rationalism appealed to Orientalists and Neo Hindus. Yogacara Buddhism influenced Sankara. In fact Nondualistic Kashmir Saivism's Doctrine of Vibration is far superior in regard to Creation but it is still Nondualism (Advaita).
King is totally wrong in dismissing NeoHindu claims that Buddhism and Brahmanism are deep down essentially the same citing the Middle Way which absolutely rejects a Ground of Being. Ninth Century Chinese Buddhist patriarch Tsung-Mi mocked those who think Nagarjuna's negative discourse is profound as they fail to actually realise the substantial reality of the Buddha Nature. Buddhist Alan Wallace questions if the Middle Way is incompatible with a Ground as the Dalai Lama's Dogzhen accepts a Universal Ground of Primordial Awareness and views Madhyamaka as compatible. King notes that D.T. Suzuki partially Vedanticized Zen and viewed Buddhism and Vedanta as compatible. American mathematician and mystic Franklin Merrell-Wolff argued that Sankara and Buddha's teachings should be compatible if deeper Insight were attained. Mathematical physicist and Sanskri/Pali literate mystic Micheal Whiteman asserted that the Buddha's teachings are essentially the same as the earlier Upanishads. The Yoga Sutras are written in Buddhist-hybrid-Sanskrit. Daniel Brown's study of Yoga Sutra, Vipassana and Mahamudra meditation phenomenology in Transformations of Consciousness show that all 3 follow essentially the same path to Basis Enlightenment (mystical union/ego dissolution). Finally, I have identified the physical correlate of the Divine Light of Pure Consciousness (Godhead, Atman, Buddha Nature, Al haqq etc.) with the brainwaves of the brainstem Reticular Activating System- this fits perfectly numerous pieces of authoritative Hindu and Buddhist knowledge of the Light from various traditions. Thus King's arguments are Neo-Orientalist views of naive Western postmodern sociologists thinking that they know better than actual Hindus and Buddhists! Anglo-Ceylonese A.K.Coomaraswamy (Hinduism and Buddhism)stated correctly that the deeper our understanding of Buddhism, the harder it is to tell aprt from the Brahmanism from which it originated. King is like Richard Rorty reducing mysticism to Freudian myths of sublimation of the sex drive to appear more masculine than warriors. Never heard of Hildegard, Mechthild etc. I suppose.
Sutapas Bhattacharya

Only a Summary of Existing Literature
I was disappointed in this book. I suggest it is only valuable if one needs a summary of the existing literature. It claims that "Hinduism" is not really a religion, but was constructed by Orientalists. Imperialists adapted Indian beliefs to fit a Western notion, and lumped together holy books, clergy, and religious doctrine and linked a common thread (which did not exist before) called Hinduism. The term Hinduism was never used by Indians until after British imperialism.

As a devout follower of Edward Said, I always enjoy others bouncing off his work (as Said intended). Unfortunately, King not only fails as critic of Orientalism, he fails as a critic of Edward Said. King describes what Orientalists did, but he never says what the true nature of polytheist Indian beliefs is. In other words, he'll point out what Hinduism isn't, but won't say then what Hinduism is. (Interestingly, he criticizes Said for doing the same thing.)

He also has a very good conclusion that native Indians (Gandhi, Roy, etc.) adopted this "Hindu religion" to develop a resistance movement which successfully pushed out the British. In other words, he takes Said to the next level. Not just how the West stereotypes the East, but how the East reacts to these stereotypes (and sometimes accepts them as true).

(P.S. The person with sloppy English who claims that this book needs to realize that Hinduism is a Western invention, and we need to go read so and so, has obviously neither read the book, not the summary. Ignore that review, the whole point of this book is that Hinduism is made in the West.)

One of the best available books on "Hinduism"
Richard King has written a very provocative and very useful book.In Orientalism and Religion, King argues that the term "Hinduism" does not represent any single ancient "religion."Rather, Hinduism is a construct of western scholars who, upon encountering Indian culture, created a religion along the lines of their own Christian conceptions of what a religion ought to be.These scholars of the nineteenth century sought out Indian equivalents of their own Christian culture (i.e. sacred texts and authority figures), and from these (largely the Vedas and the Brahmin caste, respectively) created the "religion" of the Hindus, or "Hinduism." This construction of a "world religion" abetted the colonial exploitation of Indians.King effectively argues the point through examinations of the works of early "Orientalist" scholars and works of more recent scholars who exhibit the same "essentializing" tendencies.

King's account draws quite explicitly on the work of Michel Foucault and Edward Said, but King deals creatively with both Foucault and Said in generating his own unique approach to the study of the "West's" colonial encounter with India.King is not content with an account that denies the agency of native Indians.He thus focuses on how "native informants," often in reaction against colonial forces, ironically helped perpetuate, and indeed bring into being, the "Hinduism" created by Orientalist scholars.

This book should interest all students of religion, as it is part of a growing recognition that the use of the term "religion" when discussing non-western or ancient cultures is highly problematic.Indeed, a possible difficulty for King is his insistence that there were indigenous "religions" in India before the colonial encounter (as on p. 103). Orientalism and Religion should greatly impact specialists in Hinduism, but it is also accessible for the general reader willing to put forth a little extra effort.

An excellent, myth-smashing academic book
This is an excellent book that does much to dispel both the Eurocentric and mystifying Orientalist myths that have grown up around the relation of East and West.A truly impressive piece of post-colonial scholarship that refuses to cater to the prejudices of Hindu fundamentalists, convert Neo-Buddhists, or Euro-American boosters.

An excellent, pioneering work
This is a wonderful work of scholarship, which takes Said's 'Orientalism' to a new level, critiquing the weak points of Said's work and applying his insights to the Indian context. This book demonstrates very well how our modern notions of 'Hinduism' and 'Buddhism' have been contructed through a dialectical process of interaction between Western and Indian thinkers, and King uproots assumptions about certain scriptural sources and philosophies being the 'centre' or 'foundation' of these traditions. The author's style is also clear and engaging. I cannot recommend this book highly enough -- every student (and educated practioner) of Indian religions should read it. ... Read more

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The first book-length systematic examination of the relationship between religion and social capital and what effects religious social capital has on democratic life in the United States. ... Read more

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Is religion an obstacle to the values of modernity? Popular and scholarly opinion says that it is. In a world gripped in a clash of civilizations, religious absolutism seems to threaten the modern virtues of tolerance, reason, and freedom. This collection of historical essays argues that this popular view-religion versus modernity-is used by the politically powerful to construct the religious as irrational and antimodern. The authors study how nationalists, state officials, missionaries, and scholars in the West and in the colonized world defined and redefined the relationship between the political and the religious.

Part I of the book examines the political and scholarly stakes involved in defining religions-Buddhism, African traditional religion, and fundamentalist Judaism-as subjective and apolitical belief systems. Part II takes up the relationship between religious reform and nationalism, asking how the formalization of religious practices helped define nationalist ideologies in the nineteenth-century Ottoman Empire, Japan, and India. Part III turns to religious exhibits in Turkey and the southern United States, exploring how pilgrims and tourists convert museum displays into objects of religious veneration.

By treating religion as a contested social space, this book brings philosophy, theology, history, and political science together to show how struggles over the definition of the religious are bound up with colonial and national politics around the world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Wonderful Collection of Criticism
LOVED this book! Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of the "deployment" of religion, and the notes by the editors in the Introduction tie the work together very tightly (a rare thing for a compilation such as this.)With essays from various areas and circumstances, the text attemots to redefine the way scholarship looks analyzes faith, and its uses, in social science. ... Read more

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This book traces the religious life of the nation from the time of the Revolution to the deaths of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. In his portraits of Jefferson, Madison, Franklin, Washington, and Adams, Gaustad carefully considers the developing relationship between church and state in America. Gaustad also follows the trial of diverse religious ideas and communities, as well as chronicling the religious dimensions of daily life for ordinary Americans. ... Read more

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Our Godly heritage

The Faith of our Founders, so aptly described by the author, is a vital part of our heritage as a nation too many people, including many of our religious, government, and educational leaders today have either forgotten or consider irrelevant.Yet, it was the teachings of Christianity, so eloquently and repeatedly expressed in their statements and writings, that provided the foundation for the nation, its government, and democratic principles which the Founders established.The Founders, Washington, Adams, Franklin, Jefferson, Madison, and the others repeatedly emphasized that the morals, virtues, and values of Judeo-Christianity were absolutely essential to the prosperity and security of the democratic republic they were building.Today, many who hold to the ideology of secular-liberalism, seek to draw the nation away from its Judeo-Christian roots and the vision and values of our Founders.This is the greatest internal danger facing our nation. Washington said that no man should consider himself a patriot who would draw the nation away from its fundamental Christian heritage and roots.Illiteracy concerning our nation's founding, its Christian roots, and the beliefs of our Founders is common today because of the failure of our educational institutions to follow the advice of the Founders.Hopefully, more books like this will serve to awaken the people.If you liked this book, you will also like "Divine Love / Divine Intolerance" which gives clear perspective on the "tolerance" of secular liberalism, how its meaning has been corrupted today, and the corrosive effects of this corruption on Church, Government, Education, and SocietyDIVINE LOVE / DIVINE INTOLERANCE ... Read more

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Why do secular states pursue different policies toward religion? This book provides a generalizable argument about the impact of ideological struggles on the public policy making process, as well as a state-religion regimes index of 197 countries. More specifically, it analyzes why American state policies are largely tolerant of religion, whereas French and Turkish policies generally prohibit its public visibility, as seen in their bans on Muslim headscarves. In the United States, the dominant ideology is "passive secularism," which requires the state to play a passive role, by allowing public visibility of religion.Dominant ideology in France and Turkey is "assertive secularism," which demands that the state play an assertive role in excluding religion from the public sphere. Passive and assertive secularism became dominant in these cases through certain historical processes, particularly the presence or absence of an ancien régime based on the marriage between monarchy and hegemonic religion during state-building periods. ... Read more

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BACK COVER ENDORSEMENTS
Jose Casanova, Georgetown University: "This is a pathbreaking book that shifts the attention from contentious debates over secularism as a norm and over the model of the secular state to the more fruitful task of comparing varieties of secularism and understanding the complex struggles that led to the historical formation of each particular type of secular state. It provides that secularism is not just a doctrine of separation of church and state but is most importantly a mode of state regulation in society. Kuru has opened up a field of study that should include many other varieties of secularism: Indian, Chinese, Russian, Mexican, Indonesian, and so forth."

Joel Fetzer, Pepperdine University: "Secularism and State Policies toward Religion should be a cautionary tale for opportunistic religious leaders tempted to give their public blessing to whichever authoritarian government happens to be in power at the moment. At the same time, Professor Kuru demonstrates that true democracy does not require the state to be hostile to religious expression. This book deserves to be read and debated by citizens of predominantly Christian and majority-Muslim nations alike."

Alfred Stepan, Columbia University: "One of the most important and difficult tasks for a major book in comparative politics is to document distinctive, politically significant patterns among states, and then to demonstrate the causes and consequences of these distinctive patterns. Kuru brilliantly pulls off this triple feat in his analysis of the `separatist secularisms' of Turkey, France, and the United States."
... Read more

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Classic on the connectionbetween religious institutions and administration, bureaucracy. ... Read more

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"Objectivity" of Weber absent in his own work
Weber based most of his later works on his first theory of rise of capitalism in Protestant societies. Thus, writing about Indian and Chinese societies he was looking for the reasons for the absence of capitalism in those societies. He concluded that Asian religions are so irrational and other-worldly that they are simply incapable of producing industrial capitalism which is based on rational, secular and this-worldly social ethics.

This conclusion itself has problems vis-?-vis Weber's "objectivity of the social scientist." Successful capitalism in "traditional" Shinto and Buddhist Japan and many other ASEAN countries seem to have already disproved Weber's conclusions that capitalism can arise only in Protestant societies.

My point is not to highlight the capitalist successes of Asia, but just that the purely objective research has its own problems. If we apply Weber's advocacy of "objectivity" in his own writings, we clearly see that his own subjective Western background has influenced his observations and conclusions.

In his zeal to prove Asian religions as other-worldly and mystic, he ignores the great materialistic pursuits of Asia in ancient and medieval times.

On the one hand, Weber argues that intellectual life should relate to some human interest, but on the other hand it should be "objective" rather than mere ideology.So the objectivity is always relative to some particular interest or project that scholars might have. Weber prescribes his grand vision to researchers but does not seem to practice himself accurately. He is unable to be truly objective because of the subtle political presuppositions he makes about Asian religions.

Amazing understanding and insight
This book is a part of gThe economical ethics of the world religions,h which consists mainly of three parts; others are gThe Confucian and the Taoismh and gThe Ancient Judaism.hIt also includes two important short briefs.
This article tries to reveal the relation between the social behaviors and religious ideas of the Hinduism and Buddhism derived from the ancient India.Its analysis is founded on the fundamental question why the Capitalism hasnft developed under these religions.The conclusion is that both disturbs the economical rationalization; the caste system of the Hinduism inhibits the free market of workers, while the ideal of the Buddhism isnft the success of business, but the liberation from the inner world.Both ideas of the salvation have nothing to do with the economy.The content of this analysis begins from the religious idea and ends with its influence on the economical behavior.
We canft help amazing his understanding of these religions and insight to the impact on common people.If anything should be added to his analysis of the Buddhism, its original preaching has never legitimated the caste system, but tried to overcome its temptation to keep the peaceful state of mind.
If you are concerned about the modern India and the South East Asia where these religions have lived now, this book will be useful to understand their style of life. ... Read more

Product Description

Religion has played a crucial role in American immigration history as an institutional resource for migrants' social adaptation, as a map of meaning for interpreting immigration experiences, and as a continuous force for expanding the national ideal of pluralism. To explain these processes the editors of this volume brought together the perspectives of leading scholars of migration and religion. The resulting essays present salient patterns in American immigrants' religious lives, past and present. In comparing the religious experiences of Mexicans and Italians, Japanese and Koreans, Eastern European Jews and Arab Muslims, and African Americans and Haitians, the book clarifies how such processes as incorporation into existing religions, introduction of new faiths, conversion, and diversification have contributed to America's extraordinary religious diversity and add a comprehensive religious dimension to our understanding of America as a nation of immigrants.

Product Description
In this provocative and engaging book, Lee Kirkpatrick establishes a broad, comprehensive framework for approaching the psychology of religion from an evolutionary perspective. Within this framework, attachment theory provides a powerful lens through which to reconceptualize diverse aspects of religious belief and behavior. Rejecting the notion that humans possess religion-specific instincts or adaptations, Kirkpatrick argues that religion instead is a collection of byproducts of numerous psychological mechanisms and systems that evolved for other functions. This integrative work will spark discussion, debate, and future research among anyone interested in the psychology of religion, attachment theory, and evolutionary psychology, as well as religious studies. It will also serve as a text in advanced undergraduate- and graduate-level courses.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Very Interesting
Although I have read other theories with which I agree more (evolutionary theories elaborated upon by Atran and Boyer), the Attachment Theory perspective is a very interesting point of view on how people form and maintain relationships with supernatural beings. The book as a whole makes some pretty persuasive arguments for the Attachment Theory and does it with humor and facts combined. For a subject that has great potential to be dry and boring, Kirkpatrick leads the reader through the points in a very fluid and entertaining way. Again, I really enjoyed this book, both as a Psych major and as a Philosophy & Religion major.

An eminently readable and balanced approach to the psychology of religion
I began reading this book in the library of the college where I teach psychology, and after finishing Kirpatrick's introduction I knew I had to purchase the book for myself.

Kirpatrick provides a rigorously scientific approach to the psychology of religion.Couching religious belief, or at least parts of our religious belief, in the context of attachment theory is both intuitively appealing and empirically supported.Wrapping the whole in the metatheoretical framework of evolutionary psychology is the final piece that puts everything together, and Kirkpatrick does just that, in an eminently readable way.

Certainly there is much more research to be done in this area before we can even begin to provide potential answers to all questions about religious belief, but Kirkpatrick does an excellent job summarizing the state of the research at present, and drawing reasonable--and interesting--interpretations.

Finally, I was impressed by the intellectually balanced approach Kirkpatrick provides.There is no hint of an agenda or an axe to grind; theist and atheist alike can read this book and learn from it without having their sensibilities offended.I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I highly recommend it.

an intelligent look at religion
Kirkpatrick has given us a scholarly, comprehensive and comprehendable discussion of an extremly important part of human experience.This work is well and carefully documented for the scholar and clearly written for the casual (but curious) reader.It's too bad Dennett didn't read this before he wrote "Breaking the Spell."He could have saved hinself a couple of years and sent us to read "Attachment, Evolution, and the Psychology of Religion."

a marginal contribution, at best, to religious studies
My excitement upon purchasing this book did not last long.Kirkpatrick argues that a person's "attachment" style, shaped at an early age by his relationship with his primary caregiver, plays a role in his subsequent relationships with peers, lovers, spouses, and even God.I find the theory and evidence marshalled in support of this argument unpersuasive.

Suppose a mother is cold and avoidant in her relationship with her infant.According to Kirkpatrick, this environmental stimulus leads the infant to form an internal model of social interaction in which ALL agents are seen as cold and avoidant.Having learned not to trust or depend on others, the infant grows up to become a cold and avoidant himself.He doesn't hug his parents, he doesn't buy his wife flowers, he doesn't warm to the idea of a benevolent God.

I don't buy it.Some of the studies Kirkpatrick describes in support of his thesis are interesting, but most are so profoundly confounded with hereditary factors that they cannot possibly support the conclusions that Kirkpatrick forces upon them.The evidence from behavioral genetics shows that, typically, fifty percent of the variance in stable behavioral treats is caused by genetic variation in the population.Moreover, many behavioral geneticists now accept that NONE of the variance is attributable the environment that siblings in a household share (which assuredly includes parental childrearing style).With this data in hand, we see that the dogma of attachment theory dissolves.Yes, nurturant parents produce children who grow up to become nurturant adults.Yes, mean parents produce children who grow up to become mean adults.Yes, clingy parents produce children who grow up to become clingy adults.But this is all because children inherit the genes for these traits from their parents.Adopted children, who are objects of the same parental "attachment style" as the other children in their household, grow up to become as different from their adoptive siblings as can be.The theoretical arguments against attachment theory, based on evolutionary grounds, are also powerful; but in this case data suffices to cast it thoroughly in doubt.

What is left of Kirkpatrick's book?The last hundred pages are useful in overviewing the theory of religion as spandrel that has been developed in recent years, but they fail to redeem the whole.The same ground has been already covered by Pascal Boyer and Scott Atran in much greater detail.In any case, Kirkpatrick is not a particularly compelling writer.

Individual differences in religiosity is a gold mine waiting to be tapped, but Kirkpatrick's approach is a dead end in my view.Save your money and pass on this one.

Recommended instead:THE NURTURE ASSUMPTION by Judith Rich Harris, RELIGION EXPLAINED by Pascal Boyer, THE BLANK SLATE by Steven Pinker, IN GODS WE TRUST by Scott Atran ... Read more

Product Description

Huston Smith, the author of the classic bestseller The World's Religions, delivers a passionate, timely message: The human spirit is being suffocated by the dominant materialistic worldview of our times. Smith champions a society in which religion is once again treasured and authentically practiced as the vital source of human wisdom.

Customer Reviews (49)

required for a class
This is one of the hardest to read books ever! If I didn't have to read it for a class I would have thrown it out.

Refreshing and Insightful
In a few words: genuine, iconoclastic, erudite, personal, poignant, effective. Huston Smith, the well-known leader in world religions, has written a book so timely as to be uncanny. He uses anecdotes (both personal and otherwise) to reify a rather abstract point, and it works time and time again. This age, or epoch, since the Enlightenment, has been driven by a goal to subdue the universe to our understanding and utilization, both in science and technology. The ramifications of this are widespread, and the goal now is to bring ourselves out of this tunnel of scientism, as expressed in many different ways: media, law, education, etc.

The point he makes again and again is for the case of a spiritual worldview, one which is open to the immaterial side of life, just as actual, substantial, and capable of being experienced as the material one. In Smith's words, one of the main differences is that materialists will see the world as the more coming from the less, whereas spiritualists will see it as the less coming from the more. This is manifest in so many ways, and Smith illuminates and elucidates them all brilliantly.

An excellent critique of scientism and its corrosive effects on self and society
With Why Religion Matters Huston Smith, a lifelong eminent scholar of religion issues a manifesto for the continuing relevance of traditional religious beliefs, arguing that the broad outlines of traditional religious worldviews are superior to the worldview of scientism, which has become modernity's reigning dogma.Both confirmed secularhumanists and and religious fundamentalists especially should read this book, as it harbors surprises for both.Smith punctures the shibboleths of each of these types, while showing that the latest scientific findings in physics tend to support traditional spiritual beliefs more than the obsolete worldview of scientism.

Smith is not anti-science.He believes science can exist compatibly with religion.But he eschews scientism, which is the belief that science is the most reliable way to determine the ultimate truth of things.He defines scientism as follows: the belief that "the scientific method is, if not the only reliable method of getting at truth, then at least the most reliable method; and second, that the things science deals with--material entities--are the most fundamental things that exist."

Smith's problem is not with science but with our collectively having turned it into a pseudo-sacred Idol, and the lamentable consequences of that transformation.His concern is with scientism's effect on our collective psyche; and he shares Bryan Appleyard's position, delineated in Understanding the Present: Science and the Soul of Modern Man, that scientism is "spiritually corrosive," due to its "separating our values from our knowledge of the world."But lest we fall into the facile stereotype that the issue between religion and science is between facts and values, and that the "mature" thing to do would be to leave factual matters to science and value questions to religion, Smith asserts authoritatively that while the "facts vs. values" optic does arise, "the fundamental issue is about facts, period---the entire panoply of facts as gestalted by worldviews.Specifically, . . . it is about the standing of values in the objective world, the world that is there whether human beings exist or not.Are values as deeply ingrained in that world as are its natural laws, or are they added to it as epiphenomenal gloss when life enters the picture?"

Among the books's more interesting aspects is Smith's account of the famous Scopes Trial in Tennessee in the 1920s, involving the legality of the teaching of evolution vs. teaching creationism in public schools.The ACLU had taken on the case of the biology teacher, Scopes, to challenge the teaching of creationism in school.Smith discusses the infamous film, Inherit the Wind, which was about this trial, and highlights its numerous distortions of truth.He writes that at every turn the film caricatures defenders of the religious view, casting them as bigoted ignorant throwbacks, against the heroic Clarence Darrow, representing Enlightened Science, coming to the rescue of civilization.The truth, writes Smith, was quite different from the cartoon version depicted in the film.

The film presents the attorney for the state, William Jennings Bryan, as a dyed-in-the-wool biblical literalist who believes in the six-day creation, despite the fact that he was a passionate humanitarian who read the six-day creation allegorically.He was an irrepressible evangelist for social reform during a time when social Darwinism was in its heyday.He had seen the survival-of-the-fittest dogma used to defend America's Robber Barons as well as the brutal militarism in Germany that led to WW I.The film presents Darrow arriving in town to a hostile citizenry lining the sidewalks, with a girl who screams at him, "Fiend!" and mobs chanting "We'll hang John Scopes...." In contrast to the oppressive bigoted atmosphere of the town presented in the film, in reality it was a friendly, tolerant town.

Smith then goes on to deconstruct the Darwinian theory of evolution.He argues essentially that it is perhaps more a myth than science, since it is a long way from being proven.None of the fossils of the so-called "missing links" that would prove, for example, how dinosaurs evolved into birds, have been discovered; so what we have is an interesting theory that has plausibility in terms of microevolution, but then leaps from that to macroevolution, without having any evidence to back the latter up.We know, for example, that species that adapt to changes in their environments are more adaptable and advantageous to survival than those that do not.However, it is Darwin's thesis that such traits happen through random mutation.This emphasis on randomness is pure speculation and has become essentially sanctioned dogma within the scientific community.Further, we cannot extrapolate from the findings that support microevolution to the belief in macroevolution.

The discussion of Darwinism and the media's coverage of the issue is some of the most astonishing information in the book, for what it reveals about the media's reflexive anti-religious bias.He cites the case of the Kansas Board of Education's 1999 decision regarding evolution, which the SF Chronicle editorialized was "A Vote for Ignorance."In contrast to the impression given by the media, the Kansas decision actually increased the public schools' emphasis on evolution by increasing the textbook material from 70 words to 390.The board adopted verbatim the Kansas Science Education Standards writing Committee. Indeed, the Board adopted verbatim the committee's summary of Darwin's theory, as well as mandating that students be tested on it.So what was so bad about Kansas?What made its Board of Education so "ignorant"?They refused to adopt two of the proposals that its science committee would have liked to have included, including requiring students to understand that microevolution leads to macroevolution--the origin of new structures and new groups of organisms.Secondly, the Board did not require students to elevate biological evolution into a "unifying concept" of science, on a par with such concepts as "evidence" and "form and function." But, as Smith correctly observes, it is hard to regard these refusals as signs of ignorance when professional biologists do not even agree on these points.(Cf Icons of Evolution, Jonathan Wells).

Smith's book is a thorough examination of the marginalization of religion in America.Liberals and secularists especially should read it, for it challenges their stereotypical views of religious people in the U.S. as basically a bunch of superstitious evangelicals determined to thwart rational progress by teaching creationism in the schools, banning abortion and birth control, and having state-sanctioned prayers and other religious observances. There is some truth in this stereotype; however, there is a larger truth, elucidated by Smith, and it involves the hostility toward religion expressed in the media and academia, and the marginalization of religion due to the unexamined adoption of Scientism as the defacto "religion" in America.

Evangelicals who claim that God and religion are being shut out of every aspect of contemporary public life are generally correct in this observation.I might disagree with many of the proposals I have heard coming from them to redress this (e.g., public displays of the Ten Commandments, school-sanctioned prayer meetings, etc.) situation, but the situation does merit acknowledgment and attention as to its consequences for society.It is to this issue that Smith's book is addressed.

Two Books in One
This book is divided into parts one and two.Part one insightfully reminds us of the inadequacy of "science" to answer ultimate questions about the human condition. I give part one a 5 rating. Part two however, is largely an academic apology and disappoints.I give part two a 1 rating.

It's not what you expect, and that's a GREAT thing
Most of the book deals with things we already know yet never learn.

-- Huston Smith

This is perhaps one of the most enlightening books I've ever read, and yet I feel like I've only grasped a small bit of its meaning.It is with that warning that I attempt this review.

I should add at the outset that this is one of those books where no matter what you expect it to be, after reading it, you will find that it wasn't what you expected.

I heartily recommend it to everyone, from the devoutly religious to the devoutly atheistic.

Science and Scientism

Smith begins with a discussion of science and scientism.He is a forceful defender of science and of the work of scientists in general.But he is careful to separate science from scientism.Paraphrased, he defines scientism as the belief that science is the only (or the best) route to truth about everything.He points out that, through no explicit fault of scientists, scientism has become so ingrained in our modern psyche that even theologians have started thinking in terms of it.

Yet there are some pretty glaring flaws in scientism, particularly where it comes to matters of philosophy, conscience, meaning, and religion.Smith argues that the foundation of science is the controlled experiment and logical inferences derived from it.He then proceeds to make strong case that it is not possible for humans to set up a controlled experiment to either prove or disprove the existence of something "more" than our material world -- a transcendence, a metaphysical reality, a spirit, a God.We, with our existence trapped in this finite world, cannot possibly hope to capture and control something so much more than us in every way: intelligence, versatility, and "finiteness".Thus science can't even address the question.

That hasn't stopped people from claiming that religion is just a helpful delusion, for instance, despite not being able to prove whether it is in fact a delusion or reality.

Worldviews

Smith then asks us to indulge a moment in considering two different worldviews: one the "science-only" worldview so common these days, and the other a more traditional religious worldview with a rightful place for science.He defers supporting evidence for each for later chapters.

The science-only worldview is pretty familiar to many, and I have even heard parts of it articulated in comments left on this blog.It goes roughly like this: The universe is x billions of years old.It is, so far as we presently know, a vast expanse with mostly dead matter.Earth is the only exception, which contains some living organisms and even sentient beings, though these make up a small fraction of even the earth.This life arrived by accident through physical and biological processes, some of which are well-understood and some aren't.In the end, the universe will again become entirely dead, as our planet will be incinerated when our sun goes nova.Or, in any case, the entire universe will eventually expire in one of various ways.This worldview suggests that it is an accident that we are here and that we have consciousness, and that our actions have no ultimate meaning because the earth will eventually be incinerated anyhow.

The traditional worldview holds the opposite: that instead of having our origins in the tiniest and simplest of building blocks, and eventually improving over time, we should more properly think of ourselves as being derived from something greater than ourselves.That greater something is part of our world, but something much bigger than it too.It does not rule out science, but neither is it something that science can ever explain.It suggests that our lives have a purpose, that our work has meaning, and that there are ultimate ends to seek.

Smith is a scholar of world religions, and draws on his considerable experience to point out that virtually all world religions, before the Enlightenment, drew essentially the same picture of our world and the "more".He reminds us -- though perhaps less effectively than Marcus Borg -- that there are other ways of knowing truth besides science, and suggests that we pay attention to what the vast majority of humanity had to say about the nature of existence before a human invention started to squelch the story.

The Stories

The book is filled with personal stories (Smith spent at least a decade each researching and practicing at least four different religions), quotes, and insights.I consider it the most enlightening book on religion I have yet read.Smith has more than a passing familiarity with physics, and the physicists in the crowd will probably be delighted at his discussions of quantum mechanics and the claim that "nonlocality provides us with the first level platform since modern science arose on which scientists and theologians can continue their discussions."

One passage reads like this:

Again I will let Henry Stapp say it: "Everything we [now:] know about Nature is in accord with the idea that the fundamental process of Nature lies outside space-time, but generates events that can be located in space-time." Stapp does not mention matter, but his phrase "space-time" implies it, for physics locks the three together.

He says that quantum theory of course can't prove that there is a God, but that recent research seems to disprove the old notion that, given enough time, all questions will be answerable by science.

Even if you disagree with every one of Smith's conclusions, you'll be along for a fascinating ride through physics, biology, philosophy, and innumerable religions.One of my favorite anecdotes concerns noted physicist David Bohm (who studied under Oppenheimer and worked with Einstein, among others).He gave a lecture at one point, apparently touching on his hidden variable theories to a great extent.At its conclusion, a senior physics professor asked derivisely, "What does all this philosophy have to do with physics?"Bohm replied, "I do not make that distinction."

How's that for something to ponder?

The Writing

The book is fun to read, and the stories make it all the moreso.

However, it is not a light read.Houston Smith wrote this near the beginning, without any hint of irony:

The first of these differences is that Gass's is an aristocratic book, written for the literary elite, whereas mine is as plebeian as I can render its not always simple arguments.

I can think of a few simpler ways to express that thought.In any case, it isn't light reading, but it is accessible even if you, like me, have little formal training in philosophy, theology, or quantum physics.

Conclusion

I would do such a poor job trying to paraphrase Smith's main points that I haven't even really attempted to do so here.Get the book -- you'll be in for a treat.

Incidentally, I had been thinking of buying the book for awhile.What finally made me do so was an NPR story about how he helped preserve the sound of the Gyuto Monks Tantric Choir back in 1964, when he (of course) was sleeping in a monastery in the Himalayas and awoke to investigate "something transcendent" -- the "holiest sound I have ever heard."

I pressed the Buy button for the Kindle edition a few minutes later. ... Read more

Product Description
Princeton Readings in Religions is a new series of anthologies on the religions of the world, representing the significant advances that have been made in the study of religions in the last thirty years. This volume brings together the introductions to the first five volumes of this acclaimed series: Religions of India in Practice (1995), Buddhism in Practice (1995), Religions of China in Practice (1996), Religions of Tibet in Practice (1997), and Religions of Japan in Practice (1999). The introductions to these volumes have been widely praised for their accessible, clear and concise overviews of the religions of Asia, providing both historical context and insightful analysis of Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shinto, and Bon, as well as many local traditions. The authors of the chapters are leading scholars of Asian religions: Richard Davis (India), Stephen Teiser (China), George Tanabe (Japan), and Donald Lopez (Buddhism and Tibet). They bring together the best and most current research on their topics, while series editor Donald Lopez provides an introduction to the volume as a whole. In addition to providing a wealth of detail on the history, doctrine, and practice of the religions of Asia, the five chapters offer an opportunity for sustained discussions of the category of "religion." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

An adequate overview with lingering problems
The following was written as a sort of "after the discussion of the book response" to the professor.Through seeing what responses I had, and the issues I picked up on especially you can gain a better understanding of the book.In general, it's good point is that it covers a lot of ground, and it covers "practice" not "philosophy" or "history".It's low points... the Japan chapter was particularly poorly synthesized, the two chapters by Lopez ignored Korea (and it's major contribution to Buddhism), the typographical errors, and the short length for such a major topic.It's about "Asian" religions, but entirely focused on Indian religions, almost entirely Mahayana Buddhism, no mention of SE Asian religiosity or changes to practices there, no mention of newer religions in for example Vietnam or the interesting interpretation of Islam in Indonesia.To improve, rewrite the Japan chapter, fix the typos, add a chapter on Korea and a chapter on Vietnam, and SE Asian Buddhism and SE Asian Islam.On the other hand, this book is a collection of the introductory essays for five other books, and you can just buy the five and get lots more details, I'm sure.

In fact, I felt disappointed by this book.Throughout the book, Lopez, the primary author, neglects the impact of Korea on Buddhism, and the books seems to imply that in Korean religions; in shamanism, Buddhism and Korea's interpretation of Zhu Xi Neo-Confucianism there is nothing new to say, or original or different.The message of the book is that yet again, if you know China and Japan, you've got Korean covered.Perhaps just on an emotional level is makes me angry to no end when Korea is unreasonably ignored, and I felt like a scholar of Lopez's repute should never have done so.Furthermore, as I own his "Buddhism in Practice" and am waiting for the delivery of "Tibetan Religions", I sure hope that his other books exhibit more attention to typographical errors than this one.I find it extremely unprofessional and generally disappointing to find words where letters have been reversed or a letter is missing from the beginning of the word and so on.

I found issue with the repeated use of the term "syncretic". Even now, as I check the dictionary definition of the word to see if I am understanding it correctly (Syncretic:Reconciliation or fusion of differing systems of belief, as in philosophy or religion, especially when success is partial or the result is heterogeneous.)I don't like what it says, I don't like the idea of "success is partial or the result is heterogeneous".This means that by calling a religion syncretic you are calling it something less than whole, complete, perfected.Whether you call Sikkhism or Sufism which I have no real emotional attachment to, or Tibetan Buddhism, which I do, syncretic I can't help but find this word coming from a western scholar to be at least slightly derogatory.Though I can certainly see the point in talking about syncretism in the period of foundation of a religion, once that religion can stand on its own, this term should be used only to refer to history.Interestingly on one internet website discussing "Religious Syncretism" they listed Caodai, Rastafari and Konkokyo as syncretic religions but the only mention of the ones given that appellation in the book was as religions that were syncretized into religions like Caodai (in the case of Buddhism, certainly).Perhaps I am mincing words here and should abandon this entire argument before I offend the entire history of scholarship in religious studies with my strange semantic bullheadedness.(Last gasp, my MS Word spell check thinks syncretic is a misspelling, but Sufism is not.)

One of the things that I was interested in was the idea of the incarnate lamas of Tibet.To be straight here, of course I believe in incarnate lamas.I believe that the Dalai Lama has been around fourteen times.I believe in souls that have more knowledge of how to live than I myself do.I truly do believe that the entire concept of incarnate lamas is a natural outgrowth of the belief in reincarnation, that they must be the physical representation of the bodhisattvas that stay to help the rest of us attain a higher level of understanding and that it's stranger to wonder why other Buddhist traditions did not develop a concept of a succession of lamas in the way the Tibetans did.A non-believer may find the idea of incarnate lamas unbelievable, and pass it off with musings such as it being a form of succession or that Tibetan Buddhism is corrupt `lamaism' but I don't feel that way myself.To me, it just seems natural.

I have a particular interest in nationalism and national identity, perhaps because in Korean studies it has been such a widely discussed topic.Naturally I've looked at the issue from many different sides, and overall the aspect of national identity that is most interesting to me is the ways in which people actively seek to form national identity around specific images and stories.We've seen that in Korea with Dangun, and in the book they related a story about a specific politician creating a patriotic feeling around Ganesh.This may say much more about politicians and the pragmatic value in uniting people under one banner than it does the truth in the myths surrounding either Dangun or Ganesh (in this sense I am also taking Dangun as a religious leader, as he has been even sometimes is perceived in this way, but was resurrected from relative obscurity to show national origins independent of China (Ganesh showing Indianness separated from Britain).I suppose it's not worth going into much detail here, but I wished that the book has actually explored the theme of how religions in Asia are often used for political purposes, and as a political platform almost.

Despite being in general unimpressed with this book, I enjoyed the section of this book that gave an overview of the religions of India.India-understanding the historical time period that gave birth to Buddhism-is important for any student of Buddhism.However, I still feel that my knowledge in this respect is somewhat spotty.This chapter of the book did a really great job explaining the intertwined religions of the Indian subcontinent so that at least their relationships to each other and their similarities became rather clearer than before I read the book.

Though I could continue on and on, the last salient point I would like to make is that reading the book I was struck, yet again, with what an enlightening effect Buddhism had on East Asia.Buddhism spurred literacy, printing and amazing artistic and architectural endeavors.No matter the religion of the people in the region today, they must acknowledge the tremendous debt that their ancestors have to the intellectual awakening which Buddhism brought.

The best textbook out there...
This book surpasses all others currently available in terms of accuracy, subtlety, and complexity-a remarkable achievement, given the vastness of the task. An excellent introduction to Asian religions for college-level students, superbly supplemented by essays in the volumes from which these essays were excerpted.

OK.... but
This text is a good overview of the belief systems covered, but, it lends, at times, to information that appears deceiving to the unexperienced reader. In other words, to gain a greater understanding of what these various belief systems are, I would suggest trying other texts at first and then maybe think about getting this one. One great book on this subject would be "The Sacred East" by Littleton.

Take Care, Aireon ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Does women's liberation lie in the same book?
The Christian Bible depicts women as subservient to man, and at times treated as property - but at the same time, does women's liberation lie in the same book? "Violence Against Women In Contemporary World Religion: Roots and Cures" believes so and that it applies to many other world religions as well, be it Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism or others. The large group of scholarly collaborators come together and join up to discuss the issue to find both its cause and its remedy, all while staying true to their faith. "Violence Against Women in Contemporary World Religion: Roots and Cures" is highly recommended to both people with interests of women's studies and religion- and any community library collection catering to either. ... Read more

Product Description
Is New York a post-secular city? Massive immigration and cultural changes have created an increasingly complex social landscape in which religious life plays a dynamic role. Yet the magnitude of religion's impact on New York's social life has gone unacknowledged.

New York Glory gathers together for the first time the best research on religion in contemporary New York City. It includes contributors from every major research project on religion in New York to provide a comprehensive look at the current state of religion in the city. Moving beyond broad surveys into specific case studies of communities and institutions, it provides a window onto the diversity of religious life in New York.

From Italian Catholics, Mormons, Muslims, and Russian Jews to Zen Buddhists, Rastafarians, and Pentecostal Latinas, New York Glory both captures the richness of religious life in New York City and provides an important foundation for our understanding of the current and future shape of religion in America. ... Read more