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Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best nonfiction books of all time
"The Varieties of Religious Experience is certainly the most notable of all books in the field of the psychology of religion and probably destined to be the most influential [one] written on religion in the twentieth century," said Walter Houston Clark in Psychology Today. The book was an immediate bestseller upon its publication in...
"The Varieties of Religious Experience is certainly the most notable of all books in the field of the psychology of religion and probably destined to be the most influential [one] written on religion in the twentieth century," said Walter Houston Clark in Psychology Today. The book was an immediate bestseller upon its publication in...
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Scientology is known for its celebrity believers and its team of "volunteer ministers" at disaster sites such as the World Trade Center; its notably aggressive response to criticism or its attacks on psychiatry; its requirement that believers pay as much as hundreds of thousands of dollars to reach the highest levels of salvation. The author offers a full, journalistic history of the Church of Scientology, in an even-handed account that establishes...
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A preeminent scientist asserts the irrationality of belief in God and the grievous harm religion has inflicted on society from the Crusades to 9/11. He critiques God in all his forms, from the sex-obsessed tyrant of the Old Testament to the more benign (but still illogical) Celestial Watchmaker favored by some Enlightenment thinkers. He eviscerates the major arguments for religion and demonstrates the supreme improbability of a supreme being. He shows...
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James George Frazer attempted to define the shared elements of religious belief and scientific thought, discussing fertility rites, human sacrifice, the dying god, the scapegoat, and many other symbols and practices whose influences had extended into 20th-century culture. His thesis is that old religions were fertility cults that revolved around the worship and periodic sacrifice of a sacred king. Frazer proposed that mankind progresses from magic...
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A groundbreaking new look at the story of America
At the heart of the nation's spiritual history are audacious and often violent scenes. But the Puritans and the shining city on the hill give us just one way to understand the United States. Rather than recite American history from a Christian vantage point, Peter Manseau proves that what really happened is worth a close, fresh look.
Thomas Jefferson himself collected books on all religions and...
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Despite its reputation for religious intolerance, the Middle East has long sheltered many distinctive and strange faiths: one regards the Greek prophets as incarnations of God, another reveres Lucifer in the form of a peacock, and yet another believes that their followers are reincarnated beings who have existed in various forms for thousands of years. These religions represent the last vestiges of the magnificent civilizations in ancient history:...
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"Winner of the 2007 Mirra Komarovsky Best Book Award, Eastern Sociological Society" "Finalist for the 2006 Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion in Analytical-Descriptive Studies, American Academy of Religion" "Finalist for the 2006 Book Award in Christianity and Culture, Christianity Today" Robert Wuthnow is the Gerhard R. Andlinger '52 Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for the Study of Religion at Princeton University. His...
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Fascinating book explores the underlying concept of the changeless as the basis of Egyptian religion, and how it unifies what scholars had believed to be an unrelated jungle of weird myths, doctrines, and practices generated by local cults. Relation of the idea of the changeless to moral and political philosophy, Egyptian government and society, literature and art. Chronological Table. Index. Preface. 32 halftones.
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"In The Elementary Forms of Religious Life (1912), Emile Durkheim set himself the task of discovering the enduring source of human social identity. He investigated what he considered to be the simplest form of documented religion - totemism among the Aborigines of Australia. Aboriginal religion was an avenue 'to yield an understanding of the religious nature of man, by showing us an essential and permanent aspect of humanity'. The need and capacity...
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"This is the first book to describe and explain all of the ancient world's major mystery cults -- one of the most intriguing but least understood aspects of Greek and Roman religion. In the nocturnal Mysteries at Eleusis, participants dramatically re-enacted the story of Demeter's loss and recovery of her daughter Persephone; in the Bacchic cult, bands of women ran wild in the Greek countryside to honor Dionysus; and in the mysteries of Mithras, men...
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Doubleday Anchor Books volume A51
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Beginning with Greece's earliest rites, this volume traces the development of the classic religion of the Olympian gods and discusses the religion of the philosophic schools of the fourth century BC. It portrays the emergence of Christianity and concludes with an account of the efforts of Julian the Apostate to restore a new variety of paganism.
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Does God exist? Can spirituality be integrated with science? Is happiness possible? Do miracles really happen? Not only does The Visionary Window answer "yes" to all of these questions, but it skillfully combines the fields of philosophy, cosmology, religion, and psychology to form a new way of thinking about science and spirituality. Stepping beyond the classic work of prominent seventies physicist Fritjof Capra, Goswami details his own pioneering...
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"A deluxe hardcover edition of the most famous science-fiction novel of all time--part of Penguin Galaxy, a collectible series of six sci-fi/fantasy classics, featuring a series introduction by Neil Gaiman A human raised on Mars, Valentine Michael Smith has just arrived on planet Earth. Among his people for the first time, he struggles to understand the social mores and prejudices of human nature that are so alien to him, while his own "psi" powers--including...
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"The Elementary Forms of Religious Life: Illustrated" is a seminal work by the French sociologist Émile Durkheim, offering a groundbreaking exploration of the nature and function of religion in human societies. In this illustrated edition, Durkheim's complex theories are brought to life through visual representations, enhancing the reader's understanding and engagement with the text.
Durkheim examines the fundamental elements of religious beliefs,...
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"In an era of confusing religious ideas, Christians need information they can trust. And as Western culture drifts further and further from its Christian roots, there is an even greater need for awareness of the beliefs of those around us. The Kingdom of the Cults equips readers to understand the claims of numerous cults, sects, and religions, including some that masquerade as mainstream Christian denominations, contrasting those claims with biblical...
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Huston Smith, the author of the classic bestseller The World's Religions, delivers a passionate, timely message: The human spirit is being suffocated by the dominant materialistic worldview of our times. Smith champions a society in which religion is once again treasured and authentically practiced as the vital source of human wisdom.
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Bollingen volume 17
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Since its release in 1949, The Hero With a Thousand Faces has influenced millions of readers by combining the insights of modern psychology with Joseph Campbells' revolutionary understanding of comparative mythology. In these pages, Campbell outlines the Hero's Journey, a universal motif of adventure and transformation that runs through virtually all of the world's mythic traditions. He also explores the Cosmogonic Cycle, the mythic pattern of world...
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The Story of the Transformation of Jesus from Divinity to Celebrity
The United States (it is often pointed out) is one of the most religious countries on earth, and most Americans belong to one Christian church or another. But, as Stephen Prothero argues in American Jesus, many of the most interesting appraisals of Jesus have emerged outside the churches: in music, film, and popular culture; and among Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and people of no religion...
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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham reveals how the Founding Fathers viewed faith—and how they ultimately created a nation in which belief in God is a matter of choice.
At a time when our country seems divided by extremism, American Gospel draws on the past to offer a new perspective. Meacham re-creates the fascinating history of a nation grappling with religion and politics–from...
At a time when our country seems divided by extremism, American Gospel draws on the past to offer a new perspective. Meacham re-creates the fascinating history of a nation grappling with religion and politics–from...
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