Table of Contents

List of Maps xii


Preface to the Third Edition xiii


Acknowledgments xiv


1 Purpose and Method 1


2 Indigenous Religions 13


3 Hinduism 31


4 Jainism 67


5 Buddhism 77


6 Chinese Religion 105


7 Shintoism 131


8 Zoroastrianism 153


9 Judaism 163


10 Christianity 191


11 Islam 213


12 Sikhism 237


13 Emerging Religions 261


14 Secular Humanism 273


Worldwide Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-2006 302


Annotated Bibliography 304


Credits 313


Index 325

About the Author

Ian S. Markham is the Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary. He is the author or editor of numerous books, including: the two-volume The Blackwell Companion to the Theologians (2009), Understanding Christian Doctrine (2007), Do Morals Matter? (2006), A Theology of Engagement (2004), and Encountering Religion (1998), all published by Wiley-Blackwell. Christy Lohr's scholarly research focuses on the theology of religions debate and inter-religious dialogue. She is the Associate Editor of the quarterly journal Reviews in Religion & Theology and a contributor to The Blackwell Companion to the Theologians (2009). She has served on the board of directors of the North American Interfaith Network and worked with the World Council of Churches where she coordinated its 2005 "Interfaith Education Project."

Reviews

"This new edition of the World Religions Reader expands an already
useful textbook - making it an improved resource for introducing
world religions. By presenting excerpts from sacred texts and
voices from within the traditions, this book provides more than
mere facts about various beliefs; it allows insight into the
worldviews and ethical concerns of adherents, making it the most
valuable Reader on World Religions to date to any student or
teacher that seeks to study or teach the religious traditions of
the world." S. Wesley Ariarjah, Drew University


"An accessible and sympathetic introduction to the world's
religions as understood by their adherents." Ingrid Mattson,
Hartford Seminary, USA




?This is the Reader I have long been looking for. It will
enhance and enliven any standard textbook by enabling students not
just to understand but to feel, not just to study but to pass over
to, what these religious communities have been and what they offer
our contemporary world.? Paul F. Knitter, Union
Theological Seminary, New York (of a previous edition)