Religion Religions Religious

In an era of hardening religious attitudes and explosive religious violence, this book offers a welcome antidote. Richard Holloway retells the entire history of religion - from the dawn of religious belief to the 21st century - with deepest respect and a keen commitment to accuracy. Writing for those with faith and those without, and especially for young listeners, he encourages curiosity and tolerance, accentuates nuance and mystery and calmly restores a sense of the value of faith.

Religious Appeals in Power Politics examines how states use, or attempt to use, confessional appeals to religious belief and conscience to advance political strategies and objectives. Through case studies of the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Russia, Peter S. Henne demonstrates that religion, although not as high profile or well-funded a tool as economic sanctions or threats of military force, remains a potent weapon in international relations.

This landmark work by William James remains one of the most insightful books on psychology and spirituality. James considers the feelings, actions, and experiences of individuals, insofar as they understand themselves to be in a relationship with the divine. It examines the religion of everyday life and has nothing to do with doctrine or dogma.

A single purpose lies at the heart of all the great religious traditions: awakening to the astonishing reality of the true nature of ourselves and the universe. At the same time, through centuries of cultural accretion and focus on myth and ritual as ends in themselves, this core insight has become obscured. Here Ken Wilber provides a path for reenvisioning a religion of the future that acknowledges the evolution of humanity in every realm while remaining faithful to that original spiritual vision.

If you’re interested in learning about world religions, this book is the place to start. Packed with informative fact sheets and answers to common questions, this beginner’s guide fills you in on the most important aspects of each religion. You’ll learn about fascinating histories, rituals, and festivals as you grow to better understand the belief systems that offer meaning and purpose to billions of people around the globe.

The Rational Male® - Religion is an exploration of human intersexual dynamics and their influence on spiritual belief, religion, and social values. In this fourth book of the Rational Male series author, Rollo Tomassi, connects the dots between human beings' evolved mating imperatives and the spiritual beliefs spawned by them that still influence society in the data age. It is a Red Pill look under the hood at the roots of men and women's "need to believe" in love, God and the metaphysical to solve our mating imperatives.

For half of the 20th century, Huston Smith covered the world seeking answers to the supreme questions in life: Why are we here? What do we really want? What does it all mean? From humble village temples to glinting mosques and towering cathedrals, Smith has uncovered the spiritual treasures...

Stephen Mansfield, the acclaimed New York Times best-selling author, has highlighted the growing popularity of Mormonism—a belief system with cultic roots—and the implications of its critical rise. Mormons are moving into the spotlight in pop culture, politics, sports, and entertainment via presidential candidates like Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman, media personality Glenn Beck, mega-bestselling Twilight author Stephenie Meyer, and The Book of Mormon, the hottest show on Broadway.

I have tried to show in this audiobook that as God is one, necessary for all of us, so religion is one, necessary and universal. Only the roads to it may differ in some respects at the beginning. As a matter of fact, it is ludicrous to say that there are two religions, when there is but one God. There may be two denominations or sects, but there is only one religion. What we now call different religions should be known as different denominations or sects under that one universal religion.

The Religions Book clearly explains the key concepts behind the earliest religious beliefs right up to the world's newest faiths, getting to the heart of what it means to believe with jargon-free descriptions that encapsulate every aspect of religious thinking. Examine major historical developments and ideas with a universal timeline, providing a global perspective on the origins and major events that have contributed to the growth and spread of religion and spirituality. 

The Latter Rain Movement of the late 1940s and 1950s created a new breed of Pentecostalism that dramatically impacted Christianity in the United States, as well as many other countries around the world. Initially viewed as a movement by God, a number of well-respected men and women participated in the movement during its early years.

Medicine and Religion is the first book to comprehensively examine the relationship between medicine and religion in the Western tradition from ancient times to the modern era. Beginning with the earliest attempts to heal the body and account for the meaning of illness in the ancient Near East, historian Gary B. Ferngren describes how the polytheistic religions of ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome and the monotheistic faiths of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have complemented medicine in the ancient, medieval, and modern periods.

Baffled by Buddhism? Confused by Catholicism? Mystified by Mysticism? World Religions can lift the cloud surrounding the main faiths of the world. Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, Buddhism and many more key faiths are explained clearly; providing detailed insight into the key practices and figures of each religion, this is perfect for those beginning their exploration into faith, or for those just needing a quick reference tool. World Religions details the beliefs from modern Scientology to the world's oldest faith - Zoroastrianism - and everything in between.

With a sweeping and witty examination of religion's history, alongside fascinating doses of science and philosophy, Craig A. James has opened an exciting new way to understand the pervasiveness of modern religions. Thousands of authors have written about the how, when, and what of religion, but few have dared ask "Why?" The Religion Virus will finally give you that "Aha!" moment — that is, why religion evolved from simple spirituality into the vast monotheistic system that pervades Western society.

According to the Pew Research Center, approximately 37 percent of Americans identify themselves as spiritual but not religious. How to Be Spiritual Without Being Religious is a book for that sizable number of folks who seek a rich and authentic interior life but find formal religious affiliation unappealing. It is a clear and nondogmatic guide for finding one's own path of transformation, for embracing a vision of a "practical faith" that enhances a life of happiness and peace.   

The Varieties of Religious Experience is considered to be the classic work in the field. To quote Wikipedia, "James was most interested in understanding personal religious experience. The importance of James to the psychology of religion - and to psychology more generally - is difficult to overstate. He discussed many essential issues that remain of vital concern today. What makes James writing so special is that he could take a very complex subject and, without watering it down, make it understandable to 'the rest of us.'"

A gripping exposé that exposes the dark underbelly of modern religious movements. This meticulously researched work uncovers the unsettling connections between the Christian Identity movement and the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), revealing how religion has been weaponized for political gain and social manipulation.

Born and raised in Essex, Maajid Nawaz was recruited into politicised Islam as a teenager. Abandoning his love of hip-hop music, graffiti and girls, he was recruited into Hizb ut-Tahrir (the Liberation Party), where he played a leading and international role in the shaping and dissemination of an aggressive anti-West narrative. While studying for his Arabic and law degree, he travelled around the UK and to Denmark and Pakistan, setting up new cells.

In this innovative and deeply felt work, Bron Taylor examines the evolution of "green religions" in North America and beyond: spiritual practices that hold nature as sacred and have, in many cases, replaced traditional religions. Tracing a wide range of groups - radical environmental activists, lifestyle-focused bioregionalists, surfers, new-agers involved in "ecopsychology", and groups that hold scientific narratives as sacred - Taylor addresses a central theoretical question.

In the book of Genesis, God bestows a new name upon Abram - Abraham, a father of many nations. With this name and his covenant, Abraham would become the patriarch of three of the world's major religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Connected by their mutual - if differentiated - veneration of the one God proclaimed by Abraham, these traditions share much beyond their origins in the ancient Israel of the Old Testament. This Very Short Introduction audiobook explores the intertwined histories of these monotheistic religions.