Chapter 1, Understanding Religion

• New discussion on the problem of defining religion
• New section on The Study of Religion
• New section on Recent Theories
• Revised and condensed discussion of Key Critical Issues
• New Conflict in Religion box, "Religious Blends"
• New reading from mythologist Joseph Campbell, "Finding What Brings Joy"

Chapter 2, Indigenous Religions

• New Deeper Insights box, "Australian Aboriginal Religion"
• New reading, the Hawaiian chant "The Kumulipo," provided in Hawaiian with an accompanying English translation

Chapter 3, Hinduism

• New table on major Hindu gods
• New Personal Experience section, "A Party"
• New Contemporary Issues box, "The Chipko Movement"
• Added discussion on the growing women's movement in India
• New reading, "Finding Union with the Divine," from the Crest-Jewel of Discrimination

Chapter 4, Buddhism

• New First Encounter on visiting the Emerald Buddha and the Wat Po temple
• New Contemporary Issues box on Thich Nhat Hanh and his movement of "engaged Buddhism"
• New Contemporary Issues box on "environmental Buddhism"
• Added discussion on the changing attitudes toward women and women's roles in institutional Buddhism
• New reading from the poet Basho, "Life Is a Journey"

Chapter 5, Jainism and Sikhism

• New reading from Satish Kumar, "A Prayer for Peace"

Chapter 6, Daoism and Confucianism

• New First Encounter on the visit to a Daoist temple
• New Deeper Insights box, "Daoism and Nature"
• Added discussion on female imagery and themes and the role of women in Daoism
• New reading, "Holding onto Harmony," from the Daoist classic, The Zhuangzi

Chapter 7, Shinto

• New First Encounter on visiting a Shinto shrine in the city of Naha in Okinawa
• New Deeper Insights box, "Shinto and Nature," on Shinto roots in the natural world
• New reading, "Shinto Prayer for Peace"

Chapter 8, Judaism

• Revised and condensed section on Jewish Holy Days
• Added material on differing views on women's roles in Judaism
• New reading, "Tending the Garden," from the biblical story of creation

Chapter 9, Christianity

• Added material on women among Jesus's friends and followers, women and women's roles in the early Church, and women in the Protestant missionary movement
• Revised and condensed section on The Christian Year, with a diagram depicting the Christian year
• Revised section on The Challenges of Science and Secularism, including a new paragraph on "Prosperity Christianity"
• Revised section on Contemporary Influences and Developments, including a discussion of views on female equality, biblical interpretation, fundamentalism, and the spread of Christianity in Africa and Asia
• New reading from Julian of Norwich, "Revelations of Divine Love"

Chapter 10, Islam

• New section, Islam and the Roles of Women
• New Contemporary Issues box, "Islamic Ecology"
• Added discussion on the conservatism of al-Qaida
• Added discussion on the Arab Spring, particularly events in Egypt and Libya
• New reading from the Turkish writer Fazil bin Tahir Enderuni, "Beauty Leads to God"

Chapter 11, Alternative Paths

• New Rituals and Celebrations box, "The Contemporary Pagan Year," with an accompanying diagram of the year
• Revised Deeper Insights box, "Major Orishas of Santería"
• New Contemporary Issues box, "Ecology and the New Religious Movements"
• New reading, "Baha'i Prayer"

Chapter 12, The Modern Search

• New First Encounter on a conference of religious leaders and a discussion of the role of women in religion
• New Personal Experience, "A Picnic," a discussion of the good and bad effects of religion
• New reading, "A Starry Night," from Audrey Sutherland's Paddling My Own Canoe