REL 100: Intro to Religious Studies

The multi-volume Encyclopedia of Global Religion provides a comprehensive overview of the globalization of religious culture and society around the world in both its historical and contemporary aspects. The encyclopedia includes topics related to the diaspora of cultures and dispersions of peoples; the transitional aspects of religious ideas and practices; the cultural diversity of religious traditions; and the responses of religion--both negative and positive--to multicultural society.

Among Library Journal's selections of the most important reference works of the millennium - with the Encyclopedia Judaica and the New Catholic Encyclopedia - Mircea Eliade's Encyclopedia of Religion won the American Library Associations' Dartmouth Medal in 1988 and is widely regarded as the standard reference work in the field.

Comprising 91 A-Z entries, this encyclopedia provides a broad and comprehensive introduction to the topic of religion within film.

With a combination of essay-length and short entries written by a team of leading religious experts, the two-volume Encyclopedia of Eastern Orthodoxy offers the most comprehensive guide to the cultural and intellectual world of Eastern Orthodox Christianity available in English today.

Includes more than 21,000 entries on Jewish life, culture, history, and religion, written by Israeli, American and European subject specialists.

A reference work on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints. It aims to help readers understand the dynamic growth and vitality of the LDS community. Entries include complete biographies of the prophets and church leaders, as well as articles on practice, scripture and church organization.

The first edition of this reference work, called the Catholic Encyclopedia, was published around the turn of the 20th century, with the last revised edition appearing in 1967. This new edition includes the best of the previous entries - many completely revised and updated - as well as new entries, written by subject experts, covering the latest topics of interest. Many thousands of articles are biographical profiles of the people who make up the history of the Catholic Church.

A RUSA 2007 Outstanding Reference Title The Qur'an is the source of inspiration for one of the world's major religions, followed today by over a billion people. It plays a central role in Islam and ever since it appeared fourteen hundred years ago has been the subject of intense debate. Some of this has been carried out by Muslims and some by those hostile or indifferent to Islam, producing a very wide range of views.

This important new reference covers African and African-American religion in sub-Saharan Africa, North America, South America, and the Caribbean, and provides vital insights into its growing worldwide influence in Europe, Asia and the South Pacific. Entries encompass individuals, concepts, specific religions, religious movements and churches.

The Encyclopedia of Caribbean Religions is the definitive reference for Caribbean religious phenomena from a Caribbean perspective. Generously illustrated, this landmark project combines the breadth of a comparative approach to religion with the depth of understanding of Caribbean spirituality as an ever-changing and varied historical phenomenon. Organized alphabetically, entries examine how Caribbean religious experiences have been shaped by and have responded to the processes of colonialism and the challenges of the postcolonial world.

The Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America harvests the fruits of 25 years of scholarship on the history and current state of women's religious experience in North America. The encyclopedia is interreligious, interracial, and multicultural and is aimed at a broad general audience.

This encyclopedia consists of a groundbreaking collection of detailed scholarly articles that address a wide range of topics in American religious history and culture, all written by experts in their fields. It is not an amalgam of articles on the traditionally invoked topics that have directed thinking about religion in America. Rather, it is organized in a way that utilizes the most recent categories of scholarly research to identify the crucial themes, events, people, places, and ideas that have constituted the rich history of religion in America.

This engaging encyclopedia covers the religions and religious traditions of various Southeast Asian countries, including Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. In this unprecedented profile of the religions of Southeast Asia, scholars from around the world explore the faiths, spiritual practices, and theological dogmas of the region.

This essential student textbook consists of seventeen sections, all written by leading scholars in their different fields. They cover all the religious traditions of Southwest Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Tibet, and East Asia. The major traditions that are described and discussed are (from the Southwest) Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Islam, and (from the East) Taoism, Confucianism and Shinto.

New Religious Movements (NRMs) can involve vast numbers of followers and in many cases are radically changing the way people understand and practice religion and spirituality. Moreover, many are having a profound impact on the form and content of mainstream religion. The Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements provides uniquely global coverage of the phenomenon, with entries on over three-hundred movement from almost every country in the world.

More than 300 new entries cover recent phenomena, concepts, cults, personalities, organizations and publications in this updated work. Prominent individuals and personalities in the field are covered, and entries on particular countries trace the development of occultism and parapsychology in each. In certain controversial areas, the case both for and against has been indicated, with sources noted for further study. New features include an Internet resource index and a general bibliography. General and topical indexes are included to aid quick research.

Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion is a greatly expanded and updated reference work that builds on the foundation of the highly successful previous edition. The first to integrate psychology and religion in the context of modern social and behavioral sciences, Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion continues to offer a rich contribution to the development of human self-understanding.

The Encyclopedia of Science and Religion addresses the interactions, contradictions and tensions between science and religion, both historically and in contemporary life. The two-volume set examines technologies like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and continuing developments in neurophysiology against the backdrop of deeply-held religious beliefs.