Living Religions presents a highly readable and stimulating survey of the modern religious world though an emphasis on the personal consciousness of believers and their own accounts of their religion and relevance in contemporary life.
"Religion is not a museum piece. Religion is a vibrant force in the lives of many people around the world, and many religions are presently experiencing a renaissance." - Mary Pat Fisher, Preface to Living Religions
Along with a team of specialist consultants in each faith, and drawing on a wealth of scholarly research and firsthand source material, Mary Pat Fisher provides a fresh and challenging insight into the historical development and teachings of traditional faiths, indigenous religions, and new religious movements. She considers how the contemporary beliefs and practices of each of these traditions have evolved, and explores the changing nature of each religion; particularly the role of women, and the issues and controversies such as fundamentalism, violence, globalization, and interfaith initiatives.
Mary Pat Fisher writes about all religions, not only from academic research, but also from her experiences with religions around the world. Much of her knowledge comes from the unique interfaith community in India, Gobind Sadan, where she has lived since 1991. In addition to eight editions of Living Religions, she has written other textbooks about religions and also about art.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:
"In order to try to understand each religion from the inside, I have traveled for many years to study and worship with devotees and teachers of all faiths, and to interview them about their experience of their tradition. People of all religions also come to the Gobind Sadan Institute for Advanced Studies in Comparative Religions, in New Delhi, where it is my good fortune to meet and speak with them about their spiritual experiences and beliefs.
In preparing this book, I have worked directly with consultants who are authorities in specific traditions and who have offered detailed suggestions and resources. For breadth of scholarship, I have engaged the help of a new group of consultants..."
EIGHTH EDITION CONSULTANTS:
JOSEPH ADLER Kenyon College
AFE ADOGAME University of Edinburgh
ROBIN RINEHART Lafayette College
KARMA LEKSHE TSOMO University of San Diego
WANG MINQING Cornell University and Hunan University, China
VANESSA OCHS University of Virginia
AMY DEROGATIS Michigan State University
ALI IHSAN YITIK Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir, Turkey
DR. MOHINDER SINGH Bhai Vir Singh Sahitya Sadan, New Delhi
CHRISTINE GUDORF Florida International University
ARVIND SHARMA McGill University, Montreal
