Taking the same approach as the bestselling The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Bible, this book presents a balanced overview of the Koran, explaining not only the 'flow' of the Koran, but also what it has to say about Allah and humanity, virtue, justice, life on earth, the afterlife, women, love, unbelievers, faith, and tradition.
From its founding in pioneer times to the present day, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has been both mysterious and misunderstood - with some Protestant faiths not even recognizing the Mormons as Christians.
With Frassati's famous motto Verso l'alto (To the Heights), this book challenges you to rise to the occasion and live your Catholic faith with courageous action.
An essential volume spanning the theology, tradition, and practical considerations of altar guild ministryThis necessary and practical guide is designed to function as a theological, formational, and spiritual resource for any altar guild member.
Drawing on two years of ethnographic field research among the Navajos, this book explores a controversial Native American ritual and healthcare practice: ceremonial consumption of the psychedelic Peyote cactus in the context of an indigenous postcolonial healing movement called the Native American Church (NAC).
Temples for a Modern God is one of the first major studies of American religious architecture in the postwar period, and it reveals the diverse and complicated set of issues that emerged just as one of the nation's biggest building booms unfolded.
The authors argue that resorting to rules and categories cannot adequately address the pervasive problems of ambiguity, difference, and boundaries - that is to say, the challenge of pluralism in our world.
In this book, Frederique Apffel-Marglin draws on a lifetime of work with the indigenous peoples of Peru and India to support her argument that the beliefs, values, and practices of such traditional peoples are 'eco-metaphysically true.
Christmas: Its Origin and Associations (Illustrated Edition) is an antiquarian yet lively cultural history tracing the festival from its pre-Christian and early Christian antecedents through the customs, symbols, and social practices that shaped Victorian and Edwardian observance.
Winner of the Award for Excellence in Religion: Analytical-Descriptive Studies from the American Academy of ReligionAnna Fedele offers a sensitive ethnography of alternative pilgrimages to French Catholic shrines dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene.
The book of Genesis tells us that God made a covenant with Abraham, promising him a glorious posterity on the condition that he and all his male descendents must be circumcised.
In Sacred High City, Sacred Low City, Steven Heine argues that lived religion in Japan functions as an integral part of daily life; any apparent lack of interest masks a fundamental commitment to participating regularly in diverse, though diffused, religious practices.
Ritual has been long viewed as an undisputed and indisputable part of (especially religious) tradition, performed over and over in the same ways: stable in form, meaningless, preconcieved, and with the aim of creating harmony and enabling a tradition's survival.
In this book, Frederique Apffel-Marglin draws on a lifetime of work with the indigenous peoples of Peru and India to support her argument that the beliefs, values, and practices of such traditional peoples are 'eco-metaphysically true.
Sacrifice dominated the religious landscape of the ancient Mediterranean world for millennia, but its role and meaning changed dramatically in the fourth and fifth centuries with the rise of Christianity.
The discipline of religious studies has historically tended to focus on discrete ritual mistakes occurring in the context of individual performances as outlined in ethnographic or sociological studies; scholars have largely overlooked the extensive discussions of ritual mistakes that exist in the religious literature of indigenous traditions.
There is a great deal of interest in bringing a better appreciation of ritual into religious studies classes, but many teachers are uncertain how to go about doing this.
The book of Genesis tells us that God made a covenant with Abraham, promising him a glorious posterity on the condition that he and all his male descendents must be circumcised.
While Western Jain scholarship has focused on those texts and practices favoring male participation, the Jain community itself relies heavily on lay women's participation for religious education, the performance of key rituals, and the locus of religious knowledge.
The Tibetan district of Tsari with its sacred snow-covered peak of Pure Crystal Mountain has long been a place of symbolic and ritual significance for Tibetan peoples.
This book examines the ways in which two distinct biblical conceptions of impurity-"e;ritual"e; and "e;moral"e;-were interpreted in the Hebrew Bible, the Dead Sea Scrolls, rabbinic literature, and the New Testament.
Although most historical and contemporary religions are governed by men, there are, scattered throughout the world, a handful of well-documented religions led by women.
This well-researched and inspiring collection of ten essays by leading American and European scholars challenges the tendency among scholars of Greek religion to ignore what have traditionally been called "e;magical"e; practices in ancient Greece.
