This encyclopedia includes features such as: more than 3,500 entries on religious movements and concepts, historical and legendary figures, divinities, religious sites and ceremonies; more than 600 images that show sacred places, vestments, rituals, objects, and texts; 32 pages of full-colour artwork and maps; easy-to-use A-Z format; information on the pronunciation and origins of religious terms; and, thousands of cross-references for research and browsing.
Ranging over foodways and folksongs, quiltmaking and computer lore, Pecos Bill, Butch Cassidy, and Elvis sightings, more than 500 articles spotlight folk literature, music, and crafts; sports and holidays; tall tales and legendary figures; genres and forms; scholarly approaches and theories; regions and ethnic groups; performers and collectors; writers and scholars; religious beliefs and practices. The alphabetically arranged entries vary from concise definitions to detailed surveys, each accompanied by a brief, up-to-date bibliography.
Religion in World History: The Persistence of Imperial Communion
Added by: evren85 | Karma: 163.59 | Other | 17 May 2008
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In Religion and World History, distinguished authors John C. Super and Briane K. Turley examine the value of religion for interpreting the human experience in the past and present. They explore the elements of religion which best connect it to the cultural and political dynamics that have influenced history. Working within this framework, Super and Turley present three unifying themes: the relationship between formal and informal religious beliefs, how these change through time, and how they are reflected in different cultures; the relationship between church and state, from theocracies to the repression of religion; and the ongoing search for spiritual certainty, and the consequent splintering of core religious beliefs and the development of new ones. One of the few recent books to examine religion's role in geo-political affairs, its unique approach enables the reader to grasp the many and complex ways in which religion acts upon and reacts to broader global processes.
In a society overrun by commercial clutter, religion has become yet another product sold in the consumer marketplace, and faiths of all kinds must compete with a myriad of more entertaining and more convenient leisure activities. Brands of Faith argues that in order to compete effectively, faiths have had to become brands - easily recognizable symbols and spokespeople with whom religious prospects can make immediate connections.
Mara Einstein shows how religious branding has expanded over the past twenty years to create a blended world of commerce and faith, where the sacred becomes secular and the secular sacred. In a series of fascinating case studies of faith brands, she explores the significance of branded church courses, such as Alpha and The Purpose Driven Life, mega-churches, and the popularity of the televangelist Joel Olsteen and television presenter Oprah Winfrey, as well as the rise of Kaballah. She asks what the consequences of this religious marketing will be, and outlines the possible results of religious commercialism - good and bad. Repackaging religion - updating music, creating teen-targeted bibles - is justifiable and necessary. However, when the content becomes obscured, religion may lose its unique selling proposition - the very ability to raise us above the market.
TTC - War, Peace, and Power: Diplomatic History of Europe, 1500–2000 Taught by Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius Course No. 8820 36 lectures, 30 minutes/lecture
For much of the past five centuries, the history of the European continent has been a history of chaos, its civilization thrown into turmoil by ferocious wars or bitter religious conflicts—sometimes in combination—that have made and remade borders, created and eliminated entire nations, and left a legacy that is still influencing our world.
TTC - War, Peace, and Power: Diplomatic History of Europe, 1500–2000
