ABSTRACT

Religious Ways of Experiencing Life: A Global and Narrative Approach surveys world religions, using the narratives and discourses of each tradition to describe it in its own terms. Carl Olson examines each tradition’s practices, teachings, material culture, roles of women, and path to salvation, as well as the experiences of its followers. The exploration of lived experience draws out and emphasizes the plural nature of religious traditions. The volume includes chapters on all current major world religions, as well as material on ancient religions of the Mediterranean, indigenous North American and African spiritual traditions, and New Age and new religious movements. Featuring timelines and suggestions for further reading, this text will be of interest to undergraduate students seeking a broad introduction to World Religion or Lived Religion.

chapter 1|38 pages

Introduction

chapter 2|34 pages

Ancient Mediterranean Religions

chapter 3|31 pages

Native American Traditions

chapter 4|28 pages

African Religious Traditions

chapter 5|39 pages

Hinduism

chapter 6|27 pages

Jainism

chapter 7|42 pages

Buddhism

chapter 8|29 pages

Sikhism

chapter 9|41 pages

Chinese Traditions

chapter 10|36 pages

Japanese Traditions

chapter 11|23 pages

Zoroastrianism

chapter 12|32 pages

Judaism

chapter 13|51 pages

Christianity

chapter 14|43 pages

Islam

chapter 15|28 pages

New Age and New Religious Movements