PREFACE
INTRODUCTION/OVERVIEW
A Definition of Religion
The Universality of Religion
Theories of the Origin of Religions
Animistic Theories • The Nature-Worship Theory •
The Theory of Original Monotheism • The Magic Theory •
Theories of Religion as Projections of Human Needs
Types of Religions
Basic Religions • Religions Originating in India •
Religions Originating in China and Japan •
Religions Originating in the Middle East
Study Questions
BASIC RELIGIONS
1 Characteristics of Basic Religions
Sources of Information Concerning Basic Religions
Prehistoric Beginnings of Basic Religions
Neanderthal Religion • Cro-Magnon Religion •
Neolithic Religion
Common Features of Basic Religions
Animism • Magic • Divination
Taboo • Totems • Sacrifice • Myth
Rituals • Rites of Passage • Ancestor Veneration
Study Questions
Suggested Reading
2 Native American Religions
The Spirit World
Animism
Contacts with the Spirit World
Sacrifice • Taboos • Ceremonies and Rituals •
The Vision Quest • Religious Leadership •
Other Means of Contact with the Spirit World
Death and Life After Death
Native American Religions Today
Study Questions
Suggested Reading
Source Material
Native American Myths • Sioux Legend of the Buffalo Maiden •
Wooing Wohpe
3 African Religions
Native Religions
The High God • The Lesser Spirits • Ancestors •
Sacrifice • Rites of Passage • Religious Leaders
Non-native African Religions
African Religions Today
Study Questions
Suggested Reading
Source Material
An African Divine King • An African Creation Story
RELIGIONS ORIGINATING IN INDIA
4 Hinduism
The Origins of Hinduism
Pre—Aryan India • The Coming of the Aryans • Aryan Religion
The Vedic Era
The Vedas • The Upanishads • The Law of Manu •
Jainism and Buddhism • Bhagavad Gita
Postclassical Hinduism
Devotion to Three Major Gods • Devotion to Knowledge
Muslim Influences in India
Modern Hinduism
Hindu Holy Days
Holi • Divali • Dasehra
Hinduism Today
Study Questions
Suggested Reading
Source Material
Selections from the Rig-Veda • Varunda and Indra • “What God
Shall We Adore with Our Oblation?” • Selections from Upanishads •
Selections from the Law of Manu • Selections from the Bhagavad Gita •
Shankara on the Nature of the Brahman
5 JAINISM
The Life of Mahavira
The Teachings of Jainism
Jain Sects
Jain Festivals
Paijusana • Divali
Jainism Today
Study Questions
Suggested Reading
Source Material
A Jain Parable: The Man in the Well • Jain Respect for Life
6 BUDDHISM
The Life of Gautama
The Teachings of the Buddha
The Development of Buddhism
Theravada Buddhism
Mahayana Buddhism
The Principles of Mahayana • The Spread of Mahayana Buddhism
Mahayanist Sects • Tibetan Buddhism
Buddhist Festivals and Holy Days
New Year • Buddha’s Birthday •
The Festival of Souls (Ullambana) • The Robe Offering
Buddhism Today
Study Questions
Suggested Reading
Source Material
Gautama Speaks of His Ascetic Practices • The Buddha Explains
the Eightfold Path • The Infinite Compassion of the Bodhisattva •
The Importance of Sitting
7 SIKHISM
The Life of Nanak
The Teachings of Nanak
The Historical Development of Sikhism
Divisions within Sikhism
Sikh Religious Life
Sikh Holy Days
Sikhism Today
Study Questions
Suggested Reading
Source Material
The Japji
RELIGIONS ORIGINATING IN CHINA AND JAPAN
8 Chinese Religions
Basic Chinese Religious Concepts
Recognition of Multiple Gods and Spirits • Yin and Yang
Filial Piety and Ancestor Worship • Divination
Development of Belief in the Shang Ti • Decline of the Feudal System
Taoism
The Life of Lao—tzu • The Tao Tê Ching •
Teachings of the Taoist Philosophers •
Schools that Rivaled the Early Taoists • Later Development of Taoism
Confucianism
The Life of Confucius • The Teachings of Confucius
The Development of Confucianism
Traditional Chinese Holidays
Chinese New Year • Pure and Bright Festival •
The Dragon Boat Festival • All Soul’s Day •
Autumn Harvest Festival • Winter Holidays
Taoism and Confucianism Today
Study Questions
Suggested Reading
Source Material
Selections from Sacred Chinese Literature • Tao Tê Ching
The Analects of Confucius • The Meaning and Value of Rituals
9 SHINTO
Japanese Mythology
The History of Shinto
Shinto Prior to C.E. • Chinese Influence on Shinto
The Revival of Shinto • The Modern Era
Three Forms of Shinto
State Shinto • Sectarian Shinto • Domestic Shinto
Japanese Festivals
New Year (Shogatsu) • Buddha’s Birthday
All Soul’s Day (Ullambana) • Autumn Festival (Niiname—sai)
Shinto Today
Study Questions
Suggested Reading
Source Material
Shinto Myths • Myths Regarding the Plain of High Heaven
RELIGIONS ORIGINATING IN THE MIDDLE EAST
10 Zoroastrianism
Pre—Zoroastrian Persian Religion
The Life of Zoroaster
The Teachings of Zoroaster
The Nature of God • The God of Evil •
The Nature of Humankind • The Destiny of Humankind •
Zoroastrian Ethics • Zoroastrian Worship
Historical Development of Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrian Holy Days
The Jasans • New Year’s Day (N R z)
Seasonal Feasts (Gahambars) • All Souls’ Day (Muktad)
Zoroastrianism Today
Study Questions
Suggested Reading
Source Material
Zoroastrian Eschatology • Zoroastrian Dualism
11 JUDAISM
Biblical Patriarchs
Exodus
Sinai and the Law
Post-Sinai Religious Institutions
Religion in the Time of the Hebrew Monarchy
The Temple • The Prophetic Movement
Exile and Return
Diaspora
The Synagogue • The Mishnah • The Talmud
Medieval Judaism
Judaism and Islam • Judaism in Spain • Judaism in Other
European Nations • The Crusades • The Kabbalah
Judaism and the Modern World
Responses to Modernity
Shabbatai Zevi • Mendelssohn • Baal Shem Tov
Reform Judaism • Zionism • The Holocaust
The State of Israel • Current Variations in Judaism
Jewish Festivals and Holy Days
Sabbath (Shabbat) • Passover (Pesach) •
The Feast of Weeks (Shavuot) • New Year (Rosh Hashanah)
The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) • The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot)
The Feast of Dedication (Chanukah) • The Feast of Lots (Purim)
The Son of the Commandment (Bar Mitzvah)
Judaism Today
Study Questions
Suggested Reading
Source Material
Selections from Hebrew Scriptures • Deuteronomy
The Psalms Book I • Micah •
The Mishnah: Pesahim (The Feast of Passover)
12 CHRISTIANITY
The World of the First Century C.E.
The Life and Teachings of Jesus
Early Christianity
The Jerusalem Church • The Life of Paul •
The Worship of the Early Church • Leadership in the Early Church •
The Production of the New Testament • Early Theological Controversies
Growth of the Church of Rome
Emergence of Christianity as the Religion of the Roman Empire
Augustine • The Monastic Movement
Medieval Christianity
Division Between Eastern and Western Christianity •
The Medieval Papacy • Thomas Aquinas
The Protestant Reformation
Early Reform Movements • Martin Luther • Ulrich Zwingli •
John Calvin • Other Reformation Leaders and Movements
Modern Christianity
The Catholic Counter-Reformation •
Catholic Dogmas Since the Counter-Reformation • Vatican II
Modern Movements
Modern Protestant Movements • The Missionary Movement •
The Ecumenical Movement
The Christian Calendar and Holy Days
Sunday • Advent Christmas and Epiphany •
Easter • Pentecost
Christianity Today
Study Questions
Suggested Reading
Source Material
Selections from the New Testament
Sermon on the Mount • Romans • I Corinthians •
Revelations • The Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicitas
13 ISLAM
Pre-Islamic Arab Religion
The Life of Muhammad
The Qur’an
The Nature of God • Predestination • Eschatology
Religious Institutions
The Mosque • The Five Pillars • Islam and Women •
Islamic Taboos • Jihad
The Spread of Islam
The Caliphate
Variations Within Islam
The Sunnis • The Shi’ites • The Mystical Element
Islam in the Modern World
Muslim Calendar and Holy Days
Feast of Fast-Breaking (`Id al-Fitr) • Feast of Sacrifice (`Id al-Adha)
New Year • Birthday of the Prophet Muhammad (Mawlid an-Nabi)
Islam Today
Study Questions
Suggested Reading
Source Material
The Muslim Vision of Allah • The Prescriptions of Islam •
On the Day of Judgment
14 BAHA’I
Origin and Development of Baha’i
The Teachings of Baha’i
Baha’i Practices
Baha’i Calendar and Holy Days
Baha’i Today
Study Questions
Suggested Reading
Source Material
Selections from the Writings of Bahaullah
GLOSSARY
CREDITS
INDEX
Mark Woodward is Associate Professor of religions in Southeast Asia, with special interest in religion and modernization. A Fullbright-Hays and Smithsonian Institution scholar, he has conducted extensive ethnographic research in Indonesia and Burma.
“Hopfe did an incredible job of making the material readable and flow in a logical fashion…Even with a recent flood of introductory-level texts dealing with the subject, it remains the best introductory text dealing with religions of the world.”-Michael Krogman, Chattanooga State Technical College
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