Thomas Riggs (ed.) "Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices (3 vol. set) "
In 1,800 pages across 3 volumes, Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices provides information on current religious practices around the world with an emphasis on how religions impact the daily lives of their followers. Volume 1, Religions of the World, contains 20-to-25-page entries on 13 major religions, such as Christianity and Islam, and 3-to-5 page entries on 28 religious subgroups, such as Shi'ites or Baptists. Volumes 2 and 3 focus on the significant religions in 193 countries; entries range from 3-8 pages.

Using the standardized rubric format of the Worldmark series, the entries provide for easy access to information and encourage comparisons across different religions, religious groups, and countries.

Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices features more than 500 illustrations, including comparative tables, membership maps, drawings, and photographs; key-fact boxes; primary document excerpts and quotations; a glossary of terms; and a comprehensive subject and name index.

One of the sad and tragic effects of 9/11 was the misperception that terrorism has divine approval in Islam. Islam Denounces Terrorism thoroughly debunks this notion by looking at both the Qur’an and the historical record. With extensive color illustrations, the book covers such timely topics as Islamic morality, how the Qur’an views war, the real face of the terrorists who act in the name of religions, and much more.

New Political Religions, or an Analysis of Modern Terrorism

In New Political Religions, or an Analysis of Modern Terrorism, Barry Cooper applies the insights of Eric Voegelin to the phenomenon of modern terrorism. Cooper points out that the chief omission from most contemporary studies of terrorism is an analysis of the "spiritual motivation" that is central to the actions of terrorists today. When spiritual elements are discussed in conventional literature, they are grouped under the opaque term religion. A more conceptually adequate approach is provided by Voegelin's political science and, in particular, by his Shellingian term pneumopathology-a disease of the spirit.

"Virtually alone within the flood of volumes on September 11 and its aftermath, this study brings us inside the terrorist mind-set. It does this by taking seriously what terrorists say as a guide to the motivations for their horrendously inexplicable actions. Where most of the instant scholarship that has appeared is still floundering to find the appropriate mode of analysis, Cooper has identified the new terrorism as a form of apocalyptic political religion."--David Walsh