Chapters 2-5 open with an Overview.Preface1. IntroductionGlobalization: World Religions in Everyone's HometownWhy Study World Religions?Our TaskUnderstanding Religious Experience and Its Formative ElementsThe Great Religious Stories of the WorldHistorical Overview: From Premodern to PostmodernThe Modern/Postmodern Transition: Colonialism, the Socialist Challenge, and the End of ModernityPostmodern Trends in a Postcolonial WorldConclusion: We Are All Heretics in the Postmodern SituationDiscussion QuestionsKey TermsNotes2. Indigenous ReligionsOrigins of Homo religiosus: PrehistoryReligion's Origins Among Hunter-GatherersIndigenous Religious Traditions: Soul Belief and AfterlifeShamans: "Technicians of the Sacred"Indigenous Religions TodayConclusionDiscussion QuestionsKey TermsSuggested ReadingsAdditional ResourcesNotes3. The Many Stories of Judaism: Sacred and SecularEncounter with Modernity: Modern Judaisms and the Challenge of Ultra-OrthodoxyPremodern Judaism: The Formative Era (2000 BCE-500 CE)Premodern Judaism: The Classical Era (500 CE-1729 CE)Judaism and ModernityJudaism and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World (1967-)ConclusionDiscussion QuestionsKey TermsSuggested ReadingsAdditional ResourcesNotes4. Christian Diversity and the Road to ModernityEncounter with Modernity: The Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy (1859-)Premodern Christianity: The Formative Era (31-451 CE)Premodern Christianity: The Classical Era (451-1517 CE)Christianity and Modernity (1517-1962)Christianity and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World (1962-)ConclusionDiscussion QuestionsKey TermsSuggested ReadingsAdditional Resources5. Islam: The Many Faces of the Muslim ExperienceEncounter with Modernity: The Challenge of Western ColonialismPremodern Islam: The Formative EraPremodern Islam: The Classical EraIslam and ModernityIslam and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial WorldIslam: Postmodern ChallengesConclusionDiscussion QuestionsKey TermsSuggested ReadingsNotes6. Globalization: From New to New Age ReligionsEncounter with Modernity: The Challenge of Global Diversity to the "Purity" of TraditionNew ReligionsNew Age ReligionsConclusion: The Postmodern ChallengeDiscussion QuestionsSuggested ReadingsAdditional ResourcesNotesGlossaryArt CreditsIndex.