A History of the World’s Religions 14th Edition by David S. Noss, ISBN-13: 978-1138211698

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A History of the World’s Religions 14th Edition by David S. Noss, ISBN-13: 978-1138211698

[PDF eBook eTextbook]

• Publisher: ‎ Routledge; 14th edition (December 26, 2017)
• Language: ‎ English
• ‎658 pages
• ISBN-10: ‎ 1138211699
• ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1138211698

A History of the World’s Religions bridges the interval between the founding of religions and their present state, and gives students an accurate look at the religions of the world by including descriptive and interpretive details from original source materials. Refined by over forty years of dialogue and correspondence with religious experts and practitioners around the world, A History of the World’s Religions is widely regarded as the hallmark of scholarship, fairness, and accuracy in its field. It is also the most thorough yet manageable history of world religion available in a single volume. A History of the World’s Religions examines the following topics:

• Some Primal and Bygone Religions
• The Religions of South Asia
• The Religions of East Asia
• The Religions of the Middle East

This fourteenth edition is fully updated throughout with new images and inset text boxes to help guide students and instructors. Complete with figures, timelines and maps, this is an ideal resource for anyone wanting an accessible and comprehensive introduction to the world’s religions.

Table of Contents:

Map ii

Preface xvii

Timeline xviii

P A R T 1 Some Primal and Bygone Religions 1

1 Religion in Prehistoric and Primal Cultures 2

I. Beginnings: Religion in Prehistoric Cultures 2

II. Basic Terminology: Characteristics of Religion in Primal Cultures 8

III. Case Study: The Dieri of Southeast Australia 18

IV. Case Study: The BaVenda of South Africa 24

V. Case Study: The Cherokees of the Southeastern Woodlands 26

Glossary 35

2 Bygone Religions That Have Left Their Mark

on the West 38

I. Mesopotamia 38

II. Greece 46

III. Rome 58

IV. Europe Beyond the Alps 65

V. Mesoamerica: The Maya 71

Glossary 77

P A R T 2 The Religions of South Asia 81

3 Early Hinduism: The Passage from Ritual

Sacrifice to Mystical Union 82

I. The Religion of the Vedic Age 83

II. Brahmanism, Caste, and Ceremonial Life 93

Glossary 106

4 Later Hinduism: Religion as the Determinant

of Social Behavior 109

I. Changes in Brahmanism: The Four Goals and the Three Ways 110

II. The Three Ways of Salvation 112

III. The Devotional Life 137

IV. Issues and Problems of the Present 141

Glossary 150

5 Jainism: A Study in Asceticism 153

I. Mahavira’s Manner of Life 155

II. Philosophy and Ethics of Jainism 158

III. Mahavira’s Followers 162

Glossary 164

6 Buddhism in Its First Phase: Moderation

in World Renunciation 166

I. Life of the Founder 167

II. The Teachings of the Buddha 176

Glossary 186

7 The Religious Development of Buddhism:

Diversity in Paths to Nirvana 189

I. The Spread of Buddhism in India and Southeast Asia 191

II. The Rise of the Mahayana in India 199

III. The Spread of Buddhism in Northern Lands 200

IV. The Help-of-Others Message of the Mahayana 205

V. The Mahayana Philosophies of Religion 208

VI. Mahayana Schools of Thought in China and Japan 214

VII. Buddhism in Tibet 225

VIII. Buddhism Today 232

Glossary 238

8 Sikhism: A Study in Syncretism 243

I. The Life and Work of Nanak 244

II. Nanak’s Teaching 247

III. The Political History of Sikhism 249

Glossary 253

P A R T 3 The Religions of East Asia 255

9 Native Chinese Religion and Daoism 256

I. The Basic Elements of Chinese Religion 256

II. Daoism as a Philosophy ( Dao-Jia ) 268

III. Daoism as Magic and Religion ( Dao-Jiao ) 279

Glossary 290

10 Confucius and Confucianism: A Study

in Optimistic Humanism 293

I. The Man Confucius 294

II. The Teachings of Confucius 296

III. The Confucian School: Its Rivals and Champions 309

IV. Neo-Confucianism 323

V. The State Cult of Confucius 327

VI. Religion in China in the Modern Period 329

Glossary 332

11 Shinto: The Native Contribution to

Japanese Religion 337

I. The Background of Shinto 338

II. The Shinto Myth 340

III. Shinto in Medieval and More Recent Times 343

IV. State Shinto to 1945 348

V. Shinto and the Warrior 353

VI. Shrine Shinto Today 357

VII. Domestic and Sectarian Shinto 359

Glossary 362

P A R T 4 The Religions of the Middle East 365

12 Zoroastrianism: A Religion Based

on Ethical Dualism 366

I. Iranian Religion before Zoroaster 367

II. The Life and Teachings of Zoroaster 369

III. The Religion of the Later Avesta 375

IV. The Zoroastrians of the Present Day 381

Glossary 386

13 Judaism in Its Early Phases: From

Hebrew Origins to the Exile 388

I. The Religion of the Pre-Mosaic Hebrews 389

II. Moses and the Covenant with Yahweh (about 1250 BCE ) 392

III. Entering Canaan and Confronting the Baals 398

IV. Prophetic Protest and Reform 402

V. The Babylonian Exile 416

Glossary 423

14 The Religious Development of Judaism 426

I. The Rise of Judaism in the Restoration Period 426

II. New Trends of Thought in the Greek and Maccabean

Periods 432

III. The Roman Period to 70 CE 437

IV. The Great Dispersion 439

V. The Making of the Talmud 442

VI. The Jews in the Middle Ages 445

VII. Judaism in the Modern World 452

Glossary 460

15 Christianity in Its Opening Phase: The Words and

Work of Jesus in Apostolic Perspective 462

I. The World into Which Jesus Came 464

II. The Life of Jesus: The First Phase 466

III. The Themes of Jesus’s Teaching 470

IV. The Climactic Events 476

V. The Apostolic Age 480

VI. The Early Church (50–150 CE ) 486

Glossary 492

16 The Religious Development of Christianity 494

I. The Ancient Catholic Church (150–1054 CE ) 494

II. The Eastern Orthodox Churches 507

III. The Roman Catholic Church in the Middle Ages 510

IV. The Protestant Reformation 521

V. The Catholic Reformation 530

VI. Crosscurrents in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries 532

VII. Eastern Orthodoxy in the Modern World 536

VIII. Catholicism in the Modern World 537

IX. Protestantism in the Modern World 541

X. Recent Theological Trends 548

Glossary 552

17 Islam: The Religion of Submission

to God: Beginnings 555

I. Arabian Beliefs and Practices Before Muhammad 556

II. The Prophet Muhammad 560

III. The Faith and Practice of Islam 567

IV. The Spread of Islam 576

V. The First Five Centuries of Muslim Thought 580

Glossary 591

18 The Shı-‘ah Alternative and Regional Developments 595

I. The Party (Shı-‘ah) of ‘Alı- 595

II. Further Developments 601

III. Islam and Culture 604

IV. Issues in the Modern Period 607

V. Regional Developments 610

VI. Movements toward Innovation and Syncretism 621

Glossary 624

Index 627

David S. Noss taught in the Religion and Philosophy Department of Heidelberg College from 1950 until his retirement in 1989, although he continued teaching students and advising faculty until his passing in 2010.

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