Table of Contents
Introduction: Religion and Religions of the World
Understanding Religion in the Context of Pluralism
Developing a Cross-Cultural Model of Religion:
Religious Needs and Satisfactions
The Structure of Religion
How to Read This Book
PART I. PRIMAL RELIGIONS AND RELIGIONS OF ANTIQUITY
1. The Diversity and Vitality of Primal Religions
An Approach to Primal Religions
Australian Aboriginal Religions
North American Religious Traditions
African Religions
2. Religions of Antiquity
Egyptian Religion
Mesopotamia: Power Conflicts and Order
Zoroastrianism: The Battle between Good and Evil
The Greek Heritage
Roman Society and Religion
Northern European Mythologies
PART II. RELIGIONS OF INDIA
3. The Earliest Forms of Hinduism
The Indus Civilization
The Religion of the Vedas
4. Classical Hinduism: The Way of Action
5. Classical Hinduism: The Way of Knowledge
6. Classical Hinduism: The Way of Devotion
7. Modern Hinduism
8. Jainism and Sikhism
PART III. BUDDHISM
9. The Rise of Buddhism
The Life of the Buddha
The Teachings of the Buddha: The Dharma
The Early Buddhist Community: The Sangha
Early Buddhism and the "New Society"
10. The Development of Buddhism in India
Buddhist Expansion and the Development of Sanskrit Culture
The Apogee and Decline of Indian Buddhism
11. Buddhism as a World Religion
Buddhism in "Greater India"
Buddhism in Central Asia, China, and Japan
Buddhism in Tibet
Buddhism in the Modern Era
PART IV. RELIGIONS OF CHINA AND JAPAN
12. Roots of Religion in China
The Unity of Chinese Religions
China's Early Religious History
The Age of the Hundred Philosophers
13. Three Visions of Harmony: Confucian, Daoist, Buddhist
14. Neo-Confucianism: From the Classical Era to Modern Times
China in a Period of Revolutionary Change
15. Japan's Religions: From Prehistory to Modern Times
The Shinto Substratum of Japanese Religiosity
Religion and Society in Early Japan
The Medieval Period
The Modern Period
PART V. JUDAISM
16. God, Torah, and Israel: The Beginnings
Hebrew Beginnings (c. 2000-1000 B.C.E.)
Monarchy, Exile, and the Restoration of Judah (c. 1000-200 B.C.E.)
The Foundations of Judaism
17. From the Hellenistic Age to the Dawn of Modernity: Diaspora
The Hellenistic Age
Developments in Judea
The New Babylonian Diaspora
Rabbinic Judaism: The Religion of Torah
Judaism's Encounter with Islam
Kabbalah: Jewish Mysticism
European Communities of the Diaspora
The Varieties of Medieval Judaism
18. Modern Times: Persecution, Divisions, New Worlds
PART VI. CHRISTIANITY
19. The Formation of the Church
Christian Origins
The Early Church
The Imperial Church
20. The Vision of Christendom
Early Middle Ages
Late Middle Ages
21. The Splintering of the Vision
Reformation Movements
The Age of Absolutism
22. Christianity in the Modern World
PART VII. ISLAM
23. The Beginning: The World of Muhammad
Arabia on the Eve of Islam
Muhammad's Life and Message
The Muslim Community
The Quran and the Five Pillars of Islam
24. Islam's Classical Period: Religious Law, Theology, and Mysticism
The Early Expansion: Arabia to Spain
Religious Law (Fiqh)
A System of Theology (Kal_m)
The Mystical Path
25. Shiism, Regional Developments, and the Modern Period
The Shiite Alternatives
The Mughul and Ottoman Empires
Islam and the Modern World
Glossary
Bibliography
