Experiencing the World's Religions: Tradition, Challenge, and Change, 6/e
Michael Molloy,
University of Hawaii
ISBN: 0078038278 Copyright year: 2013
Feature Summary
Offering the essentials. What would a person seeking to be an informed world citizen want to know about the major religions? This book presents that essential content, but it also encourages further discovery by pointing to additional places, texts, and people of interest.
Providing clarity. Some years ago I heard this ironic axiom: When you see the spark of ambition, water it! I have learned that students come to a course in world religions eager to learn. But waves of details presented in overly academic language can easily drown their initial enthusiasm. I aim to present the essentials of each religion in the clearest language possible. Maps, photos, definitions, and timelines are incorporated into the text to provide additional clarity.
Showing the multidimensional nature of religions. A religion is not just a system of beliefs. It is also a combination of ways in which beliefs are expressed—in ceremony, food, clothing, art, architecture, pilgrimage, scripture, and music. This book tries to make the multifaceted expressions of religion clear, with photographs that have been carefully chosen to help achieve this goal.
Encouraging direct experience. Religions are better understood through firsthand experience. I hope to encourage students to imagine and seek out direct experience of religions both at home and abroad.
Blending scholarship and respect. This book necessarily presents religions from a somewhat academic point of view. At the same time, it tries to show its empathy for the thoughts and emotions of people who live within each religious tradition.
2013