This is a reference for understanding world religious societies in
their contemporary global diversity. Comprising 60 essays, the volume
focuses on communities rather than beliefs, symbols, or rites. It is
organized into six sections corresponding to the major living
religious traditions: the Indic cultural region, the
Buddhist/Confucian, the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim regions, and the
African cultural region. In each section an introductory essay
discusses the social development of that religious tradition
historically. The other essays cover the basic social factsthe
communitys size, location, organizational and pilgrimage centers,
authority figures, patterns of governance, major subgroups and
schismsas well as issues regarding boundary maintenance, political
involvement, role in providing cultural identity, and encounters with
modernity. Communities in the diaspora and at the periphery are
covered, as well as the central geographic regions of the religious
traditions. Thus, for example, Islamic communities in Asia and the
United States are included along with Islamic societies in the Middle
East. The contributors are leading scholars of world religions, many
of whom are also members of the communities they study. The essays are
written to be informative and accessible to the educated public, and
to be respectful of the viewpoints of the communities analyzed.
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780199727612
Publisert
2020
Utgave
1. utgave
Utgiver
Vendor
Oxford University Press
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter