"African religion has increasingly captured the attention of social scientists, philosophers, and humanists as new ethical and moral issues have expanded the desire for a science of cultural knowledge capable of advancing a multidimensional portrait of humanityA s responses to environment, relationships, and uncertainty. Involving numerous theoretical and methodological approaches to the emergence of ethical, moral, and ritual ideas, the field of African religion has tended toward a unification of thought which could best be seen through comparative lenses. Exposition of the activities and concepts of the divine, the nature of humanity, the end of life, the conquest of fear, and the quest for the attainment of harmony with nature and other humans are at the center of the process of the scholarly study of African religion. " "Note that the audiences for this volume consist of undergraduates, graduate students, and the informed lay public in the United States and other parts of the world. The volume is conceived as a work that will be in every major library and many museums in the world.At the present time, there is no comparable encyclopedia, and ours should be well received in fields such as religion, Africana Studies, religion, sociology, and philosophy. "
An English translation of Colloquium of the Seven about Secrets of the Sublime, originally written in Latin in the sixteenth-century by Jean Bodin. Structured as a series of discussions on religion and philosophy. Includes introduction, translation, and annotations.
Most Sociology of Religion texts are decidedly staid and uninteresting, covering "contemporary" developments which are contemporary only if viewed from a disciplinary perspective. They are not contemporary if viewed from the perspective of the religion's practioners (in religious and non-religious settings) and students. The textbooks that attempt to be interesting to undergraduate students often fall short because they either try to cover too much in an encyclopedic format, or sacrifice a sociological perspective for a personal one. Many use real-life examples only superficially to illustrate concepts. Lundskow's approach is the opposite-students will learn the facts of religion in its great diversity, all the most interesting and compelling beliefs and practices, and then learn relevant concepts that can be used to explain empirical observations. The book thus follows the logic of actual research-investigate and then analyze-rather than approaching concepts with no real bearing on how religion is experienced in society. This approach, using provocative examples and with an eye toward the historical and theoretical, not to mention global experience of religion, will make this book a success in the classroom. The author envisions a substantive approach that examines religion as it actually exists in all its forms, including belief, ritual, daily living, identity, institutions, social movements, social control, and social change. Within these broad categories, the book will devote particular chapters to important historical moments and movements, leaders, and various individual religions that have shaped the contemporary form and effect of religion in the world today.
Religion and Law in Colonial Rhode Island, 1638-1750
John Clarke and His Legacies is the first full-length biography of John Clarke (1609–76), a principal founder of colonial Rhode Island. Although Roger Williams usually gets most of the attention, Sydney James shows that Clarke made a lasting contribution to the colony—perhaps more so than Williams. Williams was the first ......
