The Atlas of Religion
Mapping Contemporary Challenges and Beliefs
Joanne O'Brien and Martin Palmer
Series: The Earthscan Atlas Series
(other books in this series)
New York Library Association 'Best of Reference'
The world's religions have emerged as one of the great geopolitical forces shaping our lives. Understanding these beliefs is crucial to understanding ethnic tension and the clash of cultures, as well as being fundamental to world peace.
Even where people have moved away from formal religious practices, the legacies of traditional beliefs continue to inform their sense of self, and their values and customs. This atlas maps the impact of major world religions, their divisions and contemporary challenges. It shows, country by country, how religions spread their influence through broadcasting, missionary work, education and banking; how they relate to governments; how they help to alleviate the effect of poverty; and the role they play in conflict.
The atlas covers a wide range of topics including * new religious movements * atheism and agnosticism * ethical investment * persecution and recovery * aid * sexual equality * the environment *
Plus: essential reference table on the fundamental beliefs of Buddhism, Christianity, Daoism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism.
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New York Library Association Best of Reference
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Joanne O'Brien and Martin Palmer are advisers for the International Consultancy on Religion, Education and Culture (ICOREC), based in Manchester, UK. They are consultants to WWF, The World Bank, the World Council of Churches, UNESCO and UNDP. ICOREC's environmental programme with religion is supported by The Ford Foundation, The Mott Foundation and The Getty Foundation.
Introduction * Part I: Beginnings * Popular Religions * Arrivals * Roots and Branches * Part II: Beliefs * Christianity * Islam * Hinduism * Buddhism * Judaism * Sikhism * Traditional Beliefs * Catholicism * New Religious Movements * New Departures * Non-Believers * Part III: Structures * State Attitude to Religion * Christian Finance * Religious Educations * Christian Missionaries * The Word * Christian Broadcasting * Aid and Development * Islamic Law * Part IV: Conflicts and Tensions * Faultlines * Emerging from Prosecution * Part V: Contemporary Challenges * Shared World * Equal Rites * Environmental Protection * Ethical Investment * The Future * Part VI: The Heartlands * Origins * Holy Nature * Fundamentals of the Faiths * Part VII: Social Context