CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

PART 1: STUDYING RELIGION
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTORY ISSUES IN THE STUDY OF RELIGION
CHAPTER 2: A BIASED CANON

PART 2: AFRICAN TRADITIONS
CHAPTER 3: AFRICAN RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS
CHAPTER 4: WITCHCRAFT AND SORCERY
CHAPTER 5: GOD IN ZULU RELIGION
CHAPTER 6: THE CASE OF ISAIAH SHEMBE

PART 3: THE YOGIC TRADITION
CHAPTER 7: THE ORIGINS OF YOGIC RELIGIONS
CHAPTER 8: THE RICHNESS OF THE HINDU TRADITION
CHAPTER 9: RETHINKING THE HINDU TRADITION
CHAPTER 10: GANDHI THE GREAT CONTRARIAN
CHAPTER 11: BUDDHISM
CHAPTER 12: THE DEVELOPMENT OF BUDDHIST BELIEF AND PRACTICE
CHAPTER 13: THE MORAL QUEST OF EDWARD CONZE
CHAPTER 14: OTHER YOGIC-TYPE TRADITIONS

PART 4: THE ABRAMIC TRADITION
CHAPTER 15: EARLY JUDAISM
CHAPTER 16: RABBINIC AND OTHER JUDAISMS
CHAPTER 17: JEWISH FAITH AND PRACTICE
CHAPTER 18: MARTIN BUBER’S ZIONIST SPIRITUALITY
CHAPTER 19: CHRISTIANITY
CHAPTER 20: CHRISTIAN HISTORY
CHAPTER 21: CHRISTIAN FAITH AND PRACTICE
CHAPTER 22: CHRISTIAN POLITICS ACCORDING TO ABRAHAM KUYPER
CHAPTER 23: THE CHALLENGE OF ISLAM
CHAPTER 24: MUSLIM BELIEFS AND PRACTICES
CHAPTER 25: MUSLIM PIETY
CHAPTER 26: SAYYID QUTB AND THE REBIRTH OF CONTEMPORARY ISLAM

CONCLUSION: WHITHER RELIGIOUS STUDIES?
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING
CREDITS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT THE PUBLISHER
INDEX

Globalization and high-speed communication put twenty-first century people in contact with adherents to a wide variety of world religions, but usually, valuable knowledge of these other traditions is limited at best. On the one hand, religious stereotypes abound, hampering a serious exploration of unfamiliar philosophies and practices. On the other hand, the popular idea that all religions lead to the same God or the same moral life fails to account for the distinctive origins and radically different teachings found across the world’s many religions. Understanding World Religions presents religion as a complex and intriguing matrix of history, philosophy, culture, beliefs, and practices. Hexham believes that a certain degree of objectivity and critique is inherent in the study of religion, and he guides readers in responsible ways of carrying this out. Of particular importance is Hexham’s decision to explore African religions, which have frequently been absent from major religion texts. He surveys these in addition to varieties of Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.