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Zusatztext the 63 contributors are all experts in their fields...[who] impress the reader with the sense of just how malleable religious life has been. Informationen zum Autor Mark Juergensmeyer is Director of Global and International Studies and Professor of Sociology and Religious Studies at University of California, Santa Barbara. Klappentext This is a reference for understanding world religious societies in their contemporary global diversity. Comprising 60 essays! the volume focuses on communities rather than beliefs! symbols! or rites. It is organized into six sections corresponding to the major living religious traditions: theIndic cultural region! the Buddhist/Confucian! the Jewish! Christian! and Muslim regions! and the African cultural region. In each section an introductory essay discusses the social development of that religious tradition historically. The other essays cover the basic social factsthe communityssize! location! organizational and pilgrimage centers! authority figures! patterns of governance! major subgroups and schismsas well as issues regarding boundary maintenance! political involvement! role in providing cultural identity! and encounters with modernity. Communities in the diaspora and atthe periphery are covered! as well as the central geographic regions of the religious traditions. Thus! for example! Islamic communities in Asia and the United States are included along with Islamic societies in the Middle East. The contributors are leading scholars of world religions! many of whomare also members of the communities they study. The essays are written to be informative and accessible to the educated public! and to be respectful of the viewpoints of the communities analyzed. Zusammenfassung This is a reference for understanding world religious societies in their contemporary global diversity. Comprising 60 essays, the volume focuses on communities rather than beliefs, symbols, or rites. It is organized into six sections corresponding to the major living religious traditions: the Indic cultural region, the Buddhist/Confucian, the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim regions, and the African cultural region. In each section an introductory essay discusses the social development of that religious tradition historically. The other essays cover the basic social factsthe communitys size, location, organizational and pilgrimage centers, authority figures, patterns of governance, major subgroups and schismsas well as issues regarding boundary maintenance, political involvement, role in providing cultural identity, and encounters with modernity. Communities in the diaspora and at the periphery are covered, as well as the central geographic regions of the religious traditions. Thus, for example, Islamic communities in Asia and the United States are included along with Islamic societies in the Middle East. The contributors are leading scholars of world religions, many of whom are also members of the communities they study. The essays are written to be informative and accessible to the educated public, and to be respectful of the viewpoints of the communities analyzed....
