Other religions and spiritual beliefs

Buddhists, Hindus, and Sikhs in America explores the challenges that Asian immigrants face when their religion--and consequently culture--is "e;remade in the U.

In this companion volume to Singing the Body of God (Oxford 2002), Steven P.

Even the most casual observer of Chinese society is aware of the tremendous significance of Confucianism as a linchpin of both ancient and modern Chinese identity.

Alchemists are generally held to be the quirky forefathers of science, blending occultism with metaphysical pursuits.

Dogen (1200-1253), the founder of the Soto Zen sect in Japan, is especially known for introducing to Japanese Buddhism many of the texts and practices that he discovered in China.

Since the emergence of religious studies and the social sciences as academic disciplines, the concept of "e;magic"e; has played a major role in defining religion and in mediating the relation of religion to science.

The Ramayana is one of India's foundational epics, and it demonstrates a continuing power to influence social, religious, cultural, and political life.

The devotional poems of Annamayya (15th century) are perhaps the most accessible and universal achievement of classical Telugu literature, one of the major literatures of pre-modern India.

Despite Chinese efforts to stop foreign countries from granting him visas, the Dalai Lama has become one of the most recognizable and best loved people on the planet, drawing enormous crowds wherever he goes.

This is the first book-length treatment of supplication, an important social practice in ancient Mediterranean civilizations.

Imagine yourself sitting on the cool damp earth, surrounded by deep night sky and fields full of fireflies, anticipating the ritual of initiation that you are about to undergo.

The Salem witch hunt of 1692 is among the most infamous events in early American history; however, it was not the only such episode to occur in New England that year.

Hsieh Liang-tso (c.

The annual festivals that are central to the south Indian religious tradition are among the largest religious gatherings found anywhere in the world.

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.

In this wide-ranging book Paul Christopher Johnson explores the changing, hidden face of the Afro-Brazilian indigenous religion of Candomble.

From the stories suggested by the great cave paintings of the Paleolithic period to the thought experiments of modern scientists, From Olympus to Camelot provides a sweeping history of the development of the rich and varied European mythological tradition.

Religious life in early America is often equated with the fire-and-brimstone Puritanism best embodied by the theology of Cotton Mather.

Norse Mythology explores the magical myths and legends of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Viking-Age Greenland and outlines the way the prehistoric tales and beliefs from these regions that have remained embedded in the imagination of the world.

The Mandaeans are a Gnostic sect that arose in the middle east around the same time as Christianity.

With the growing popularity of Zen Buddhism in the West, virtually everyone knows, or thinks they know, what a koan is: a brief and baffling question or statement that cannot be solved by the logical mind and which, after sustained concentration, can lead to sudden enlightenment.

This book chronicles the rise of goddess worship in the region of Bengal from the middle of the eighteenth century to the present.

Once an obscure group of outcasts from the ghettoes of West Kingston, Jamaica, the Rastafarians have transformed themselves into a vibrant movement, firmly grounded in Jamaican society and beyond.

The Tibetan Book of the Dead is one of the texts that, according to legend, Padma-Sambhava was compelled to hide during his visit to Tibet in the late 8th century.

"e;There is no doubt that the wealth of new data and ideas offered in this exquisite book provides the deepest insights yet into the contemporary religious world of Jain laity.

After more than a century of debate about the significance of imperial cults for the interpretation of Revelation, this is the first study to examine both the archaeological evidence and the Biblical text in depth.

In Mystics and Messiahs--the first full account of cults and anti-cult scares in American history--Philip Jenkins shows that, contrary to popular belief, cults were by no means an invention of the 1960s.

This is the first full-length study of the devotional poetry and poetics of the fourteenth-century poet-philosopher Vedantadesika, one of the most outstanding and influential figures in the Hindu tradition of Sri-Vaishnavism (the cult of Lord Vishnu).

Medusa, the Gorgon, who turns those who gaze upon her to stone, is one of the most popular and enduring figures of Greek mythology.

Greek Nymphs: Myths, Cult, Lore is the first comprehensive study of the nymph in the ancient Greek world.

Revered by Buddhists in the United States and China, Master Sheng-yen shares his wisdom and teachings in this first comprehensive English primer of Chan, the Chinese tradition of Buddhism that inspired Japanese Zen.

The Adi Granth ("e;original book"e;), the primary scripture of the Sikhs, comprises approximately 3,000 hymns.

In this sequel to his Morality, Politics, and Law, Michael Perry addresses the proper relation of moral convictions to the politics of a morally pluralistic society.

Tsongkhapa (1357-1419) is by any measure the single most influential philosopher in Tibetan history.

Tsongkhapa (1357-1419) is by any measure the single most influential philosopher in Tibetan history.

The first comprehensive book on alcohol in pre-modern India, An Unholy Brew: Alcohol in Indian History and Religions uses a wide range of sources from the Vedas to the Kamasutra to explore drinks and styles of drinking, as well as rationales for abstinence from the earliest Sanskrit written records through the second millennium CE.

The Politics of Identity in Greek Sicily and Southern Italy offers the first sustained analysis of the relationship between collective identity and politics in the Greek West during the period c.

The Politics of Identity in Greek Sicily and Southern Italy offers the first sustained analysis of the relationship between collective identity and politics in the Greek West during the period c.

For more than two thousand years, the writings of the Confucian philosopher Mengzi have been a source of guidance and inspiration for those set on doing something to improve the state of the world.

For more than two thousand years, the writings of the Confucian philosopher Mengzi have been a source of guidance and inspiration for those set on doing something to improve the state of the world.

This book offers an in-depth introduction to the philosophy and practice of Zen Buddhism.

This book offers an in-depth introduction to the philosophy and practice of Zen Buddhism.

A full-length study and new translation of the great Sanskrit poet Kalidasa's famed Meghaduta (literally "e;The Cloud Messenger,"e;) The Cloud of Longing focuses on the poem's interfacing of nature, feeling, figuration, and mythic memory.

A full-length study and new translation of the great Sanskrit poet Kalidasa's famed Meghaduta (literally "e;The Cloud Messenger,"e;) The Cloud of Longing focuses on the poem's interfacing of nature, feeling, figuration, and mythic memory.

For its extensive research and novel interpretations, Dasan's Noneo gogeum ju (Old and New Commentaries of the Analects) is considered in Korean Studies a crystallization of Dasan's study of the Confucian classics.

For its extensive research and novel interpretations, Dasan's Noneo gogeum ju (Old and New Commentaries of the Analects) is considered in Korean Studies a crystallization of Dasan's study of the Confucian classics.

On the 30th of March, 1699, the Sikh Guru Gobind Singh called together a special assembly at the Keshgarh Fort at Anandpur.

On the 30th of March, 1699, the Sikh Guru Gobind Singh called together a special assembly at the Keshgarh Fort at Anandpur.

Jeffrey L.

Jeffrey L.