Preface CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION: UNDERSTANDING WORLD RELIGIONS IN GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE Why Study World Religions? Our Task Understanding Religious Experience and Its Formative Elements The Sacred Myth, Scripture, and Beliefs Ritual Community and Morality Religious Leaders/Experts The Great Religious Stories of the World Myths of Nature China and the Myths of Harmony India and the Myths of Liberation The Middle East and the Myths of History Religious Diversity and Historical Change: The Structure of this Book Historical Overview: From Premodern to Postmodern The Modern/Postmodern Transition: Colonialism, Socialism, and the End of Modernity Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World Conclusion: We Are All Heretics in Our Postmodern Situation CHAPTER 2. INDIGENOUS RELIGIONS Origins of Homo religiosus: Prehistory Religion''s Origins Among Hunter-Gatherers Fertility, Childbirth, and Survival Religion in Prehistory: The Secret of Early Cave Rituals Indigenous Religious Traditions: Soul Belief and Afterlife Totemism: Australian Aboriginal Religion Shamans: "Technicians of the Sacred" * Case Studies in Indigenous Religious Practices Today Bear Sacrifice: A Widespread Arctic and Pacific Rim Tradition Shamans Who Repair the World Indigenous Religions Today The Cataclysms of Colonialism Shamanism in Modern Asia: Division of Labor Within the World Religions Global Neo-Shamanism: Expropriation by "White Shamans" CHAPTER 3. THE MANY STORIES OF JUDAISM: SACRED AND SECULAR Encounter with Modernity: Modern Judaisms and the Challenge of Ultra-Orthodoxy The Conflict over Public Life: Religion and Politics in the State of Israel Premodern Judaism: The Formative Era (2000 BCE-500 CE) The Biblical Roots of Judaism The Historical Roots of Diversity Exodus and Exile: Story, History, and Modernity From Torah to Talmud Premodern Judaism: The Classical Era (500 CE-1729 CE) The Premodern Rabbinic World: God, Torah, and Israel The Medieval Journey of Judaism Two Great Medieval Scholars: Rashi and Maimonides Kabbalah--Jewish Mysticism Hasidism Judaism and Modernity (1729-1967 CE) The Emergence of Modern Religious Forms of Judaism The Emergence of Secular Forms of Judaism Judaism and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World (1967-) Challenges to Jewish Faith After the Holocaust Challenges to Jewish Existence After the Holocaust CHAPTER 4. CHRISTIAN DIVERSITY AND THE ROAD TO MODERNITY Overview: The Beliefs of Christians Encounter with Modernity: The Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy (1859-) The Protestant Confrontation with Modernity The Catholic Confrontation with Modernity Premodern Christianity: The Formative Era (31-451 CE) The New Testament and the Life of Jesus Apocalypse: The Book of Revelation Christianity''s Emergence from Judaism The Fall of the Temple The Origins of Christian Anti-Jewish Sentiment Jesus as Son of God Constantinianism: The Marriage of Christianity and Empire Augustine, Architect of Western Christianity * The Eastern Orthodox Churches Premodern Christianity: The Classical Era (451-1517 CE) The Medieval Worldview: Sacraments and Festivals The Two Cities Revisited The Promise and Threat of Christian Mysticism Christianity, Judaism, Islam: Crusades and Inquisition Christianity and Modernity (1517-1962) The Early Roots of Modernity Millennialism: History as Progress The Via Moderna and Devotio Moderna Devotio Moderna and the Protestant Reformation Calvin and the Protestant Ethic Other Reform Movements Religious Diversity: Church and State in War and Peace Enlightenment Rationalism and Christian Pietism Nineteenth-Century Romanticism and Existentialism From the Holocaust to Hiroshima: The Global Collapse of the Modern Myth of History as Progress Christianity and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World (1962-) From Colonial to Postcolonial Christianity Conclusion: The Challenge of Religious Pluralism CHAPTER 5. ISLAM: THE MANY FACES OF THE MUSLIM EXPERIENCE Encounter with Modernity: The Challenge of Western Colonialism The Islamic Resurgence Islam in the West Premodern Islam: The Formative Era Muhammad''s Early Life After the Hijra The Message of the Quran A Golden Age of Expansion, Conquest, and Creativity Diversity, Diversion, and Dissent The Origins of the Sunni-Shiah Split Premodern Islam: The Classical Era Law and Mysticism: The Exterior and Interior Paths to God The Five Pillars of Islam Women and Muslim Family Law The Interior Path of Love: Islamic Mysticism Islam and the State Islam and the West (Christendom): The Crusades Premodern Revivalist Movements Islam and Modernity Islamic Modernism Modern Islamic Revivalist Movements Radical Islam Islam and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World The Impact of the Islamic Resurgence Islam in Modern State and Society The Failure of Modernity and the Islamic Revival The Religious Worldview of Contemporary Islamic Activism From the Periphery to Mainstream Politics and Society The Road to 9/11 Globalization and Hijacking of Jihad Jihad as Armed Struggle Suicide Bombing: War of the Fatwas Post 9/11: Impact and Response * European Muslims * A Common Word Between Us and You Islam and the Arab Awakening: Between Authoritarianism and Pluralism Questions for Postmodern Times: Issues of Authority and Interpretation Islam in the West Islam: Postmodern Challenges Islamization of the Law Women and Minorities Islamic Reform CHAPTER 6. GLOBALIZATION: FROM NEW TO NEW AGE RELIGIONS Encounter with Modernity: The Challenge of Global Diversity to the "Purity" of Tradition New Religions Old Religions and New Religions in the History of Religions The New Age and New Age Religions Postmodernism and the New Age Theosophy, Christian Science, and the Unity School of Christianity Scientology The Baha''i Global Religious Vision Conclusion: The Postmodern Challenge--Can There Be a Global Ethic in a World of Religious Diversity? Beyond Atheism: The Challenge of Postmodern Secular Relativism "Passing Over": A Postmodern Spiritual Adventure That Responds to the Challenge of Globalization Tolstoy, Jesus, and "Saint Buddha": An Ancient Tale with a Thousand Faces The Children of Gandhi: An Experiment in Postmodern Global Ethics The Future of Religion in an Age of Globalization Glossary Art Credits Index.