A Short Introduction to World Religions

Christopher Partridge, Tim Dowley, Timothy Dowley

• Publisher: Fortress Press
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781506445953
• eBook ISBN: 9781506446028
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Comparative Religion

This leading textbook for world religions is now available in a more concise version. Many of the features of Introduction to World Religions are retained in this volume but with focus on the religious traditions themselves. The section on religions of antiquity has been removed and key content in each chapter streamlined to increase accessibility for students in their study and research of the world's religious traditions. Known and valued for its balanced approach, this book offers an arresting layout with rich illustrations. It continues to provide broad coverage of diverse religions, including indigenous religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, and Chinese, Korean, and Japanese religions.

The user-friendly content is enhanced by charts of religious festivals, historic timelines, updated maps of the world's religions, and a useful glossary. Both historical overviews and modern perspectives for each religion are included.

This edition includes several updates made to the new third edition, including a new design, a new section on women and religion, and a newly revised section on religions in today's world.

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Rapid Fact-Finder

This fact-finder was written by Angela Tilby and John-David Yule, revised and expanded by Christopher Partridge in 2005, and further revised and expanded for this new edition.

The terms include some that do not appear in this book. These are common terms included to give additional information to readers.

Words printed in small capitals indicate cross-reference.

A

‘Abbasid dynasty (750–1258 CE) The second great Islamic dynasty, and third caliphate, which ruled from Baghdad.

Abhidhamma Pitaka Theravada Buddhist scripture on techniques of mind-training. The aim is to eliminate the idea of the self.

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob The three patriarchs who are continually remembered in the Jewish liturgy as the original recipients of God’s promise and blessing.

Absolute, The Term for God or the divine often preferred by those who conceive of God predominantly in abstract or impersonal terms.

Abu Bakr Muhammad’s father-in-law and traditionally his earliest convert. He was elected caliph after the Prophet’s death and ruled for two years, fighting tribes who were trying to break away from the Islamic community.

Adi Granth Sacred book of Sikhism. It is regarded as the eternal Guru for the Sikh community. It is the central focus of the Sikh home and of the Gurdwara.

Adonai see Yhwh.

Advaita (‘non-dualism’) The monist (see monism) doctrine of Shankara, that all reality is fundamentally one and divine.

Æsir Plural of ‘as’, meaning ‘god’. The collective noun used in Norse literature for the pantheon of deities.

African Independent Churches African churches which have risen in the past 100 years and offer a synthesis of Christianity with traditional indigenous religions.

Afterlife Any form of conscious existence after the death of the body.

Agadah/Aggadah A moral or devotional Jewish teaching derived from the midrashic exposition of a Hebrew text (see Midrash).

Agape Greek word for ‘love’ that has come to express the Christian understanding of God’s love which does not depend on any worthiness or attractiveness of the object of his love.

Agni Indian fire god of Vedic times (see Vedas). As sacrificial fire, Agni mediates between gods and people and is especially concerned with order and ritual.

Ahimsa Indian virtue of non-violence. It usually applies to abstention from harming any living creature and hence to vegetarianism. The doctrine was developed in Jainism, Buddhism, and some Hindu sects.

Ahmadiyya sect Offshoot of Islam founded in India by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (died 1908), who is believed to be the Messiah, the Shi‘a Mahdi. The sect denies the authority of the ‘ulama‘, ijma‘, and jihad.

Ahriman see Angra Mainyu.

Ahura Mazda/Ahrmazd (‘wise lord’) Zoroaster’s name for God. He demands ethical and ritual purity and he judges human souls after death.

Akhenaten Name adopted by Amenophis IV, king of Egypt c. 1353–1335 BCE, in honour of Aten (‘the sun disc’), whose cult he promoted to the exclusion of all others in a short-lived reform of Egyptian religion.

Akiva, Rabbi (c. 50–135 CE) Jewish teacher who developed the Mishnah method of repetitive transmission of teachings.

Albigensians The Cathars of southern France who flourished in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries.

Alchemy Mystical science of chemical manipulation which seeks to change base metals into gold, find the universal cure for illness, and discover the secret of immortality. Its study passed from Hellenistic Egypt through the Arabs to medieval Europe.

Al-Ghazali (1058–1111 CE) Orthodox Muslim legal expert who renounced his post and became a Sufi (see Sufism). He attacked the incursions of Greek thought into Islam and defended the teaching of the Qur’an.

Al-Hallaj (died 922 CE) Sufi mystic who was crucified because of his confession ‘I am the real,’ which was taken as a claim to divinity.

‘Ali Cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad. Sunni Muslims claim he was elected fourth caliph in 656 CE; Shias that he was the first Imam, and that he and his descendants are Muhammad’s rightful successors.

Allah The Muslim name for God. Allah is one; there are no other gods.

All-India Muslim League Organization founded in 1906 CE to promote the interests and political aspirations of Indian Muslims.

Almsgiving The giving of free gifts, usually of money, to the poor. In Islam it is obligatory (see zakah). In Theravada Buddhism the lay community is linked to the sangha by their provision of food for the monks, which is collected on a daily almsround.

Alternative spiritualities One of the more significant developments in particularly Western religious adherence has been the emergence of private, non-institutional forms of belief and practice known as ‘alternative spiritualities’.

Amida see Amitabha.

Amidah (‘standing’) The principal Jewish daily prayer, also known as the Eighteen Benedictions, recited standing.

Amitabha (‘infinite light’) Celestial Buddha worshipped in China and Japan (where his name is Amida). He is believed to live in a ‘pure land’ in the far west where those faithful to him go after death (see Jodo Shinshu; Nembutsu; Pure Land Buddhism).

Amritsar Site of the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine of the Sikh religion, completed by Arjan, the fifth Guru.

Analects One of the four books of the so-called Confucian canon. It contains the essence of Confucius’s teaching.

Ananda One of the most prominent members of the Buddha’s sangha. Traditionally he was the Buddha’s cousin and many of the sayings are addressed to him, including the words of comfort shortly before the Buddha’s death.

Anatta/Anatman Meaning ‘not-self’, a Buddhist term indicating that there is no permanent self or ego. Anatta is one of the three characteristics of existence.

Ancestor veneration The practice in indigenous religions of making offerings to the spirits of the dead and expecting to communicate with them through dreams.

Angels Spiritual beings who in Judaism and Christianity act as the messengers of God. They have two primary functions: to worship God, and to support and encourage human beings.

Anglican churches Worldwide groupings of churches which recognize the primacy among equals of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Angra Mainyu/Ahriman The chief spirit who is opposed to Ahura Mazda in Zoroastrian belief. His nature is violent and destructive.

Anicca/Anitya Buddhist term for the impermanence and changeability which characterizes all existence.

Animism A term formerly used to describe pre-literary religions.

Anthroposophy Spiritual system invented by Rudolf Steiner. It stresses the threefold nature of humanity as physical, etheric, and astral body.

Anu The sky god of ancient Sumerian religion and high god of the Sumerian pantheon. He had little to do with human affairs and delegated his authority to Enlil.

Anubis Jackal-headed god of ancient Egypt who conducted souls to judgment and weighed them in the great balance.

Aphrodite Greek goddess of love and patroness of beauty and sexual attractiveness. Her cult was imported from the Near East.

Apocalyptic Genre of writing in Christianity and Judaism, concerned with hidden truths, pointing to the ultimate triumph of faith and the judgment of nations. Daniel and Revelation are examples in the Bible.

Apocrypha Historical and wisdom writings found in the Greek version of the Hebrew scriptures but excluded from the canon of the ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Table Of Contents
• Consulting Editors
• Contributors
• List of Maps
• List of Time Charts
• List of Festival Charts
• List of Illustrations
• Preface
• UNDERSTANDING RELIGION
• INDIGENOUS RELIGIONS
• HINDUISM
• BUDDHISM
• CHINESE, KOREAN, AND JAPANESE RELIGIONS
• JAINISM
• JUDAISM
• CHRISTIANITY
• ISLAM
• SIKHISM
• RELIGIONS IN TODAY’S WORLD
• Rapid Fact-Finder
• Index
• Picture Acknowledgments