Experiencing the World's Religions: Tradition, Challenge, and Change - Softcover

A new chapter, "Alternative Paths" (chapter 11), includes discussion of Wicca, Druidism, Santería, Voodoo, Candomblé, Scientology, Falun Gong, Cao Dai, Rastafarianism, and Baha'i traditions.
Chapter 1 contains a new section on critical questions in the study of religion.
More specific examples of indigenous practices have been added to chapter 2.
Chapter 4 covers Buddhism in greater detail.
Chapter 9 has additional material on Christian diversity, and on Mormonism.
Religious ethics are discussed in chapter 12.
New photos and captions, and dozens of refinements, appear throughout the text.
The text encourages direct experiences with each religion; every chapter begins with a "First Encounter" that animates some lived aspect of a religion, and ends with "Religion Beyond the Classroom," which suggests ways to experience individual religions at home and while traveling.
Art, music, and architecture related to religions are emphasized; for example, the book provides descriptions of paradise in Islamic art, the development of Christian music and vocal treatments of the Mass, and Shinto shrine design.
Major religious figures, such as Jesus, Luther, Mohammed, the Buddha, and Gandhi, are examined as real people, not simply historical figures.
Key religious sites described include the bathing ghats of Benares, the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Saint Peter's Basilica, the Great Mosque of Mecca, and the Meiji Shrine.
Pedagogy at the end of each chapter includes a list of defined key terms, a pronunciation guide, and individual and group study projects.

Appreciation for religion was programmed into me when I was young--before I had any chance to resist its fascination. My grandmothers were my first teachers. When my mother's mother was 19 she went to Paris to study painting and to experience cultural life there. She stayed in Paris for two years, and it was a turning point in her life. She returned home to create paintings, which surrounded me as I grew up in Los Angeles. She also returned with hundreds of photographs of religious statues, paintings, and other objects, as well as a thirst to take her grandchildren to museums and churches. My other grandmother was a choir director, and I remember many hours spent in the choir loft, which vibrated from the pedal notes of the organ music. It was through art and music that I discovered the richness of religion. Early experiences like these led me to leave the country after college in order to see the world, and my travels made me recognize how much people and their cultures are shaped by religions. When I returned, I studied religion formally. My MA degree (at St. John's University) allowed me to study the images of darkness in Jewish and Christian mystical literature. I received a scholarship from the East-West Center in Hawai`i, and in Hawai`i my life began to be influenced by the thought of Asia. For my Ph.D. (at the University of Hawai`i) I wrote on the Hindu and Buddhist mysticism to be found in the writings of Aldous Huxley. I had the pleasure of meeting Huxley's wife Laura in Los Angeles, interviewing people who knew him, and reading his original manuscripts at UCLA. I did graduate work at Banaras Hindu University, and later studied traditional Japanese arts--including kendo, tea ceremony, ceramics, and calligraphy--in Kyoto. I have practiced meditation at Christian and Buddhist monasteries in Asia, Europe, and the United States. I am currently writing a book for McGraw-Hill on Christianity. I live in Honolulu.