Experiencing the World's Religions: Tradition, Challenge, and Change - Softcover

Molloy, Michael

3.77

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9781559344944: Experiencing the World's Religions: Tradition, Challenge, and Change

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1559344946 ISBN 13: 9781559344944

Publisher: Mayfield Publishing Co ,U.S., 1998

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An engaging introductory text for undergraduates, featuring many first-person narratives and an emphasis on religious arts, history, and practices. Explores each religion's contributions to local and world culture and to the emerging culture of the 21st century, with chapters on patterns among relig

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From the Publisher:

"First Encounter" sections introduce each religion through a visit to one of its holy sites. Among the depicted religious sites are the Western Wall in Jerusalem, St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, a volcano on the island of Hawaii, the Taj Mahal, and the bathing ghats of Benares.
A special focus on works of art, music, and architecture such as the theme of paradise in Islamic art, the development of Christian music, vocal treatments of the Mass, and Shinto shrine design reflects different religious beliefs, histories, and understandings.
A thorough integration of current scholarship provides careful portrayals of such major religious figures as Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha, Luther, and Gandhi.
Each religion's contributions to local and world culture are emphasized.
Pedagogy in each chapter includes a list of defined key terms, a pronunciation guide, and a section entitled "Religion beyond the Classroom," which provides suggestions for experiencing the religions at home and abroad.

About the Author:

Appreciation for religion was programmed into me when I was young--before I had any chance to resist its fascination. My grandmothers were my first teachers. When my mother's mother was 19 she went to Paris to study painting and to experience cultural life there. She stayed in Paris for two years, and it was a turning point in her life. She returned home to create paintings, which surrounded me as I grew up in Los Angeles. She also returned with hundreds of photographs of religious statues, paintings, and other objects, as well as a thirst to take her grandchildren to museums and churches. My other grandmother was a choir director, and I remember many hours spent in the choir loft, which vibrated from the pedal notes of the organ music. It was through art and music that I discovered the richness of religion. Early experiences like these led me to leave the country after college in order to see the world, and my travels made me recognize how much people and their cultures are shaped by religions. When I returned, I studied religion formally. My MA degree (at St. John's University) allowed me to study the images of darkness in Jewish and Christian mystical literature. I received a scholarship from the East-West Center in Hawai`i, and in Hawai`i my life began to be influenced by the thought of Asia. For my Ph.D. (at the University of Hawai`i) I wrote on the Hindu and Buddhist mysticism to be found in the writings of Aldous Huxley. I had the pleasure of meeting Huxley's wife Laura in Los Angeles, interviewing people who knew him, and reading his original manuscripts at UCLA. I did graduate work at Banaras Hindu University, and later studied traditional Japanese arts--including kendo, tea ceremony, ceramics, and calligraphy--in Kyoto. I have practiced meditation at Christian and Buddhist monasteries in Asia, Europe, and the United States. I am currently writing a book for McGraw-Hill on Christianity. I live in Honolulu.

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