Introduction to the world's major religions

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Title:

Introduction to the world's major religions

Author:

Bailey, Lee Worth.

ISBN:

9780313336348

9780313333279

9780313327247

9780313332517

9780313326837

9780313328466

9780313335907

Publication Information:

Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 2006.

Physical Description:

6 volumes : illustrations, map ; 24 cm

Abstract:

Each volume covers a major world religion, providing a detailed overview on the religion's history of foundation, text and major tenets, branches, practice worldwide, rituals and holidays, and major figures. The volumes include timelines, introductions, discussions of texts and tenets, branches, practice, rituals and holidays, and major figures, as well as bibliographies and glossaries.

Contents:

v. 1. Judaism / Emily Taitz -- v. 2. Confucianism and Taoism / Randall L. Nadeau -- v. 3. Buddhism / John M. Thompson -- v. 4. Christianity / Lee W. Bailey -- v. 5. Islam / Zayn R. Kassam -- v. 6. Hinduism / Steven J. Rosen.

Subject Term:

Religions.

Religions. (OCoLC)fst01093898

Added Author:

Bailey, Lee Worth.

Taitz, Emily.

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
Searching... Aurora Downtown	Reference Book	BL80.3 .I58 2006 V. 1	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable
Searching... Aurora Downtown	Reference Book	BL80.3 .I58 2006 V. 2	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable
Searching... Aurora Downtown	Reference Book	BL80.3 .I58 2006 V. 3	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable
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Searching... Aurora Downtown	Reference Book	BL80.3 .I58 2006 V. 5	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable
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Searching... Aurora Fox Valley	Reference Book	BL80.3 .I58 2006 V. 6	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable
Searching... Aurora Fox Valley	Reference Book	BL80.3 .I58 2006 V. 5	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable
Searching... Aurora Fox Valley	Reference Book	BL80.3 .I58 2006 V. 4	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable
Searching... Aurora Fox Valley	Reference Book	BL80.3 .I58 2006 V. 3	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable
Searching... Aurora Fox Valley	Reference Book	BL80.3 .I58 2006 V. 2	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable
Searching... Aurora Fox Valley	Reference Book	BL80.3 .I58 2006 V. 1	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable
Searching... Sugar Grove - Todd Library	Reference Book	BL80.3 .I58 2006 V. 1	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable
Searching... Sugar Grove - Todd Library	Reference Book	BL80.3 .I58 2006 V. 2	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable
Searching... Sugar Grove - Todd Library	Reference Book	BL80.3 .I58 2006 V. 3	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable
Searching... Sugar Grove - Todd Library	Reference Book	BL80.3 .I58 2006 V. 4	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable
Searching... Sugar Grove - Todd Library	Reference Book	BL80.3 .I58 2006 V. 5	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable
Searching... Sugar Grove - Todd Library	Reference Book	BL80.3 .I58 2006 V. 6	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

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Summary

World religions and religious diversity are increasingly being taught in schools. This trend reflects the changing religious landscape of the United States with significant new immigrant groups who worship outside the dominant Judeo-Christian traditions. The purpose of these six narrative volumes, each covering a major world religion, is to provide high school students on up and general readers with a clear, objective, detailed overview on the religion's history of foundation, text and major tenets, branches, practice worldwide, rituals and holidays, and major figures. The set fills a niche between the available sophisticated adult offerings and those for a middle school audience, and offers up-to-date information and perspectives. Little knowledge of the religion and only an intellectual interest in the subject are assumed.

The six titles in the set are:

; Judaism

; Confucianism and Taoism

; Buddhism

; Christianity

; Islam

; Hinduism

Each volume contains the following elements:

; Introduction

; Chronology

; Timeline

; Narrative chapters on history of foundation, texts and major tenets, branches, practice worldwide (including demographics), rituals and holidays, and major figures

; Glossary

; Bibliography

; Set index

; Illustrations .

Reviews (3)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 9 Up-The volumes include a time line, an introduction, discussions of texts and tenets, branches, practice, rituals and holidays, and major figures, as well as a bibliography and a glossary. Judaism is clearly written, whether describing a holiday or parsing the branches of the faith. Confucianism and Taoism are defined as world religions, using sociological criteria. This challenging, but lucid exposition introduces readers to Chinese language and culture and describes the impact of Confucianism on Japanese and Korean societies as well. The annotated chapter bibliographies are worth the price of the volume. Christianity is poorly organized and lacks historical clarity. The writing is wooden and riddled with errors of expression, and confusion is rampant. There are also errors of fact or implication. Buddhism is refreshingly fluent and accessible, as well as authoritative. It is particularly helpful in explaining the more abstruse aspects of the religion, and in distinguishing Buddhist from Hindu goals. Clearly written, it enables readers to sort out the South Asian, Chinese, Japanese, and Tibetan varieties of Buddhism. Islam is equally thorough and its chronology is helpful in following the political and sectarian developments in Islam over the centuries. Hinduism is as much a cultural history as an introduction to the religions of India. The author has a lot of complex theology to deal with and manages to convey its depth and variety without overwhelming readers. Unfortunately, the proofreading of this book was a bit lax. These volumes are more detailed but less lively than Peter Occhiogrosso's The Joy of Sects (Doubleday, 1997) and Huston Smith's The World's Religions (Peter Smith, 1992), and the small black-and-white photos look outdated. A cumulative index is in each volume.-Patricia D. Lothrop, St. George's School, Newport, RI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

Booklist Review

Describing a major world religion in one volume of less than 200 pages of text (not counting fore and end matter) is a daunting task, nobly achieved by the six authors of this set. According to its publicity material and set preface, the set is intended for high-school students and the general reader, and it is true to its audience. The text is fluid, fluent, and as uncomplicated as possible. Each volume contains an introduction by the author, time line, and narrative chapters on the history, texts and tenets, branches, practice worldwide (including demographics), rituals and holidays, and major figures. The end matter consists of a glossary, bibliography, and index to the set. The introductions vary in length, from a few pages (in the Christianity0 volume) to many pages (in Confucianism and Taoism0 ) that discuss what make them religions. The volume on Islam also tackles the topic of religious extremism. The profiles of major figures vary in length from a paragraph to a page or more depending on the number of people profiled. The glossaries have no pronunciation guides, which would have been helpful for the intended audience. The bibliographies contain a plethora of great Internet sites as well as books and journal articles. The few photographs are small and in black and white. Each volume reflects its author's spirituality and understanding of the religion being explained. There is no author profile to give the reader an idea of either the expertise or the personal religious beliefs of the writer; however, the text has enough personality to lead the reader to accept the accuracy of the information. The authors obviously respect the various differences of the branches of each religion and present all views objectively. Most school and public libraries will find this set very useful for locating the important information students and the general public are looking for when studying religions. The volumes are straightforward and well structured to help locate the answers to most questions asked about beliefs, practices, holidays, and definitions of the major religions people encounter. --Robin Hoelle Copyright 2006 Booklist

Choice Review

This set is designed to provide a basic reference for high school and lower-division undergraduate students. Each volume covers one religion and is divided into the following sections: "Timeline," "History of Foundation," "Text and Major Tenets," "Branches," "Practice Worldwide" (includes demographic statistics and weekly worship traditions), "Rituals and Holidays," "Major Figures," "Glossary," and "Bibliography." An index for the entire set is provided. The structure is essentially sound, but the inclusion of weekly worship in "Practice Worldwide" rather than in "Rituals and Holidays" does seem a bit strange. The time lines serve as convenient ready-reference tools, and the text provides a general overview without assuming previous knowledge. Many other encyclopedias of religion use more academic language and thus can be off-putting to lower-level readers. The biggest problem with this set is its selective coverage; e.g., volume 4 covers Christianity but omits all mention of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) and Jehovah's Witnesses. Perhaps they were omitted on the basis of relatively small membership; however, according to the LDS Web site , there are more than 12 million Mormons worldwide; and according to Watchtower , there are more than 6 million Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide. Yet the encyclopedia includes discussion of much smaller groups, such as the Mennonites and Quakers. Libraries that purchase this work should supplement it with other, more complete reference works. Summing Up: Optional. Lower-level undergraduates and high school students. A. C. Barnhart University of California, Santa Barbara