Introduction to World Religions: A Clear Path
Edition: 2
Copyright: 2022
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Introduction to World Religions: A Clear Path provides students to the opportunity to explore the histories and practices of five major world religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. While the religions do indeed differ, in some ways they are fascinatingly intertwined. What is distinctly unique about this program of study is that the author, a world traveler and university professor who has visited approximately 20 countries, shares his own personal pictures, experiences, and insights from these travels in order to showcase the similarities, differences, as well as the individual nuances of each religion. Therefore, Introduction to World Religions: A Clear Path provides an engaging and experientially-based exploration of the great world religions that is both state-of-the-art and student-friendly, and includes helpful study tools such as flashcards, audio lectures, PowerPoint presentations, and practice unit quizzes.
Unit 1: Roots of Western Religions
Introduction and Early Images of God
Egyptian Religion
Mesopotamian Religion
Persian Religion (Zoroastrianism)
Greek Religion
Roman Religion
Summation: Religion and Culture Interact
Unit 2: Judaism
Jewish Origins
Ancient Judaism and Archaeology
Jewish History Review
Early Jewish Groups
The Torah and the Talmud
Rabbinic Ethics/Kabbalah
The Tragedy of the Holocaust
Modern Jewish Denominations
Jewish Rituals and Holidays
A Look at Synagogues
Unit 3: Christianity
Early Christian Challenges/Origins
The First Christian Texts: Paul and the Gospels
Jesus’s Life and Teachings
Jesus and Archaeology
The Church Fathers and Early Christianity
The Middle Ages and the Great Schism
The Protestant Reformation
Christianity Comes to the New World
Christianity in Practice: A Look at Sacraments
Christian Ethics
Unit 4: Islam
Introduction to Islam and a Visit to a Bedouin Camp
Islamic Origins and the Life of Muhammad
The World According to the Qur’an
Islam’s Challenge After Muhammad
Islamic Denominations Arise
Origins of Shariah Law
Middle Age Islamic/Jewish Relations
The Six Articles of Faith
The Five Pillars of Islam
A Look at Mosques
Islamic Ethics
Modern Issues: Women’s Rights and Jihad
Unit 5: Hinduism
Introduction to Hinduism
A Different Way of Thinking
Learning the Basics
Hindu Origins
The Vedas, Upanishads, and Later Texts
The Social Caste System and Early Hinduism
Life Stages and Aims
Paths to Moksha
Hindu Worship and the Gods
Modern Struggles and Denominations
A Personal Look at the Ganges River
Women in Hinduism
Unit 6: Buddhism
Introduction to Buddhism
A Quick Lesson Regarding Buddha Statues
Basic Buddhist Thought and Relation to Hinduism
The Four Noble Truths and Nirvana
Buddhist Origins and the Story of the Buddha
Early Buddhism and the Rise of Denominations
The Dalai Lama
Buddhist Ethics
Dr. Aaron M. Gale is an associate professor and the Head of the Program for Religious Studies at West Virginia University in the United States. Dr. Gale earned his Ph.D. in Biblical Studies from Northwestern University in 2001. His primary research focuses on the relationship between formative Judaism and early Christianity as seen through the lens of the New Testament texts. In addition, Dr. Gale participated in an archaeological dig at biblical Bethsaida, in Israel, for 9 summer seasons. Dr. Gale's travels throughout the world also cultivated a keen interest in the histories and practices of ancient and modern cultures and traditions. As a result, he has taught Introduction to World Religion courses for over 15 years, both in the classroom and online. His previous publications include the book Redefining Ancient Borders: The Jewish Scribal Framework of Matthew's Gospel (T&T Clark, 2005) as well as the annotated notes for Matthew's Gospel found in the first and second editions of The Jewish Annotated New Testament (eds. Amy-Jill Levine, Marc Zvi Brettler, Oxford University Press, 2011 and 2017, respectively).