The World's Religions

<p></p> <h2>Brief Table of Contents</h2> <h3>Part 1. Introduction</h3> <ol> <li>An Introduction to Religions and the Study of Religion</li> </ol> <h3>Part 2. The World's Religions—Histories and Worldviews</h3> <ol> <li>Indigenous Religions—Quest for Harmony</li> <li>Hinduism—Many Paths to the Summit</li> <li>Theravada Buddhism—The Middle Way</li> <li>Jainism—The Way of Noninjury</li> <li>Daoism—The Way of Nature</li> <li>Confucianism—The Way of Virtue</li> <li>Mahayana Buddhism (The Great Vehicle) and Vajrayana Buddhism (The Thunderbolt Vehicle)</li> <li>Shinto—The Way of Kami</li> <li>Judaism—The Way of Torah</li> <li>Christianity—The Way of Jesus Christ</li> <li>Islam—The Way of Submission to Allah</li> <li>Sikhism—The Way of the Guru</li> <li>The New Religious Movements—Renewal and Innovation</li> </ol> <h3>Part 3. The World's Religions and Contemporary Ethical Issues</h3> <ol> <li>The Ecological and Economic Crises—Humans and Resources</li> <li>War and Capital Punishment—Society and Violence</li> <li>Abortion and Euthanasia—Life and Death</li> <li>Gender and Sexual Orientation—Roles and Identity</li> </ol> <h3>Part 4. Conclusion</h3> <ol> <li>The Future of the World's Religions</li> </ol> <p></p> <p></p> <h2>Detailed Table of Contents.</h2> <h3>Part 1. Introduction</h3> <ol> <li><strong>An Introduction to Religions and the Study of Religion</strong> <ul> <li>What Is Religion?</li> <li>Why Are People Religious?</li> <li>Why So Many Religions?</li> <li>Why Is the Study of Religion So Important in the Twenty-First Century?</li> <li>What Is the Relationship Between Science and Religion?</li> <li>How Might Religion Be Studied?</li> <li>How Will We Study the World's Religions?</li> <li>Looking Ahead. An Overview of the Rest of the Text</li> </ul></li> </ol> <h3>Part 2. The World's Religions—Histories and Worldviews</h3> <ol> <li><strong>Indigenous Religions—Quest for Harmony</strong> <ul> <li>An Orientation to Indigenous Peoples and Their Religions</li> <li>The Yoruba of West Africa</li> <li>The Oglala Lakota (Souix) of the Great Plains of North America</li> <li>The Continuing Impact of Indigenous Religions in the Twnty-First Century</li> </ul></li> <li><strong>Hinduism—Many Paths to the Summit</strong> <ul> <li>An Orientation to South and Southeast Asia</li> <li>Stages of Development and Sacred Texts</li> <li>The Hindu Worldview</li> <li>Hinduism in the Twenty-First Century</li> </ul></li> <li><strong>Theravada Buddhism—The Middle Way</strong> <ul> <li>Stages of Development and Sacred Texts</li> <li>The Theravada Buddhist Worldview</li> <li>Theravada Buddhism in the Twenty-First Century</li> </ul></li> <li><strong>Jainism—The Way of Noninjury</strong> <ul> <li>Stages of Development and Sacred Texts</li> <li>The Jain Worldview</li> <li>Jainism in the Twenty-First Century</li> </ul></li> <li><strong>Daoism—The Way of Nature</strong> <ul> <li>An Orientation to East Asia</li> <li>Daoism. The Way of Nature</li> </ul></li> <li><strong>Confucianism—The Way of Virtue</strong> <ul> <li>Stages of Development and Sacred Texts</li> <li>The Confucian Worldview</li> <li>Confucianism and Other Religions in the People's Republic of China</li> </ul></li> <li><strong>Mahayana Buddhism (The Great Vehicle) and Vajrayana Buddhism (The Thunderbolt Vehicle)</strong> <ul> <li>A Brief History of Korea and Japan</li> <li>Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism in East Asia</li> <li>Mahayana, Vajrayana, and Theravada Buddhism Contrasted</li> <li>Major Mahayana Schools in East Asia</li> <li>Vajrayana Buddhism in Tibet</li> <li>Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism in the Twenty-First Century</li> </ul></li> <li><strong>Shinto—The Way of Kami</strong> <ul> <li>Stages of Development and Sacred Texts</li> <li>The Shinto Worldview</li> <li>Religion in Twenty-First-Century Japan and Korea</li> </ul></li> <li><strong>Judaism—The Way of Torah</strong> <ul> <li>An Orientation to the Middle East</li> <li>Judaism. The Way of Torah</li> </ul></li> <li><strong>Christianity—The Way of Jesus Christ</strong> <ul> <li>Stages of Development and Sacred Texts</li> <li>The Christian Worldview</li> <li>Christianity in the Twenty-First Century</li> </ul></li> <li><strong>Islam—The Way of Submission to Allah</strong> <ul> <li>Stages of Development and Sacred Texts</li> <li>The Islamic Worldview</li> <li>Islam in the Twenty-First Century</li> </ul></li> <li><strong>Sikhism—The Way of the Guru</strong> <ul> <li>Stages of Development and Sacred Texts</li> <li>The Sikh Worldview</li> <li>Sikhism in the Twenty-First Century</li> </ul></li> <li><strong>The New Religious Movements—Renewal and Innovation</strong> <ul> <li>Preparing for the End: Apocalyptic New Religious Movements</li> <li>Faith and Spirit: New Religious Movements of Healing and Awareness</li> <li>Reviving the Church: Christian New Religious Movements of Renewal</li> <li>Nature and Spirit: Earth-Based and Ecological New Religious Movements</li> <li>Liberation and Enlightenment: New Religious Movements with Asian Roots</li> <li>African-American and Afro-Caribbean New Religious Movements</li> <li>Native American New Religious Movements</li> <li>Focusing on the Human and the Natural: Secular New Religious Movements</li> <li>The Quest for Unity: Universalist New Religious Movements</li> </ul></li> </ol> <h3>Part 3. The World's Religions and Contemporary Ethical Issues</h3> <ol> <li><strong>The Ecological and Economic Crises—Humans and Resources</strong> <ul> <li>The Ecological Crisis: Is the Balance of Life on Planet Earth in Jeopardy?</li> <li>The Economic Crisis: Why Hunger and Abject Poverty in a World of Plenty?</li> </ul></li> <li><strong>War and Capital Punishment—Society and Violence</strong> <ul> <li>War: When, If Ever is War Justified</li> <li>Capital Punishement: When May the State Take a Criminal's Life?</li> </ul></li> <li><strong>Abortion and Euthanasia—Life and Death</strong> <ul> <li>Abortion: Right to Life or Right to Choose?</li> <li>Euthanasia: A "Good Death" or "Playing God"?</li> </ul></li> <li><strong>Gender and Sexual Orientation—Roles and Identity</strong> <ul> <li>The Changing Roles of Women: Liberation or Confusion?</li> <li>Homosexuality: Orientation, Preference, or Perversion?</li> </ul></li> </ol> <h3>Part 4. Conclusion</h3> <ol> <li><strong>The Future of the World's Religions</strong> <ul> <li>How the World's Religions Will Relate to One Another: Three Possible Futures</li> <li>The Search for Common Ground: The Ecological Crisis</li> <li>The World's Religions after September 11, 2001</li> </ul></li> </ol> <p></p>