Experiencing the World's Religions: Tradition, Challenge, and Change with PowerWeb: World Religions - 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.

Michael Molloyhas made the study of religion his life's work. Fascination with religion beganwith interest in the architecture of temples, mosques, churches, and shrines.Experience of ceremonies at those places led to love of religious music andart. In his early graduate work, he focused on the imagery of cloud anddarkness in mystical literature. In his doctoral work, he examined the mysticalthought of Aldous Huxley, after Huxley had been influenced by Hinduism andMahayana Buddhism. To do this, he interviewed Huxley's wife Laura, Huxley'ssister-in-law, and friends of Huxley.   Molloy received a grant from the East-West Center in Hawai`ito study there, and he received his doctorate from the University of Hawai`i.During this time, he studied in Japan with Abe Masao in Kyoto and withSobharani Basu at Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi. He practiced Zenmeditation at Bushinji in Shikoku and later received a certificate from theOomoto School of Traditional Japanese Arts in Kameoka, Japan. He has written Experiencingthe World's Religions (McGraw-Hill) and The Christian Experience(Bloomsbury). Currently he is writing a memoir of his grandparents and parentsand their religious background. Molloy has taught many philosophy & religion courses,including World Religions, Asian Philosophies, Western Mysticism, Greek andRoman Philosophy, Ethics, Nietzsche, Religion and the Meaning of Existence, andIndian Philosophy. He is a Professor Emeritus of the University of Hawai`i.   To complement his academic work, he has had threeexhibitions of his paintings"Landscapes of the Mind," "LuminousDarkness," and "Renaissance." He co-directed two radio series ofinterviews with musicians, writers, and artists on KAIM-FM and Hawai`i PublicRadio. He worked on the Inari Shrine Preservation Committee to move the shrineto a new location and then to renovate it.