This extensive work explores the changing world of religions, faiths and practices. It discusses a broad range of issues and phenomena that are related to religion, including nature, ethics, secularization, gender and identity. Broadening the context, it studies the interrelation between religion and other fields, including education, business, economics and law. The book presents a vast array of examples to illustrate the changes that have taken place and have led to a new world map of religions. Beginning with an introduction of the concept of the “changing world religion map”, the book first focuses on nature, ethics and the environment. It examines humankind’s eternal search for the sacred, and discusses the emergence of “green” religion as a theme that cuts across many faiths. Next, the book turns to the theme of the pilgrimage, illustrated by many examples from all parts of the world. In its discussion of the interrelation between religion and education, it looks at the role of missionary movements. It explains the relationship between religion, business, economics and law by means of a discussion of legal and moral frameworks, and the financial and business issues of religious organizations. The next part of the book explores the many “new faces” that are part of the religious landscape and culture of the Global North (Europe, Russia, Australia and New Zealand, the U.S. and Canada) and the Global South (Latin America, Africa and Asia). It does so by looking at specific population movements, diasporas, and the impact of globalization. The volume next turns to secularization as both a phenomenon occurring in the Global religious North, and as an emerging and distinguishing feature in the metropolitan, cosmopolitan and gateway cities and regions in the Global South. The final part of the book explores the changing world of religion in regards to gender and identity issues, the political/religious nexus, and the new worlds associated with the virtual technologies and visual media.

Created by two of the field’s leading experts, this unique introduction to international religious demography outlines the challenges in interpreting data on religious adherence, and presents a contemporary portrait of global religious belief. Offers the first comprehensive overview of the field of international religious demography – detailing what we know about religious adherents around the world, and how we know it Examines religious freedom and diversity, including agnostics and atheists, on a global scale, highlighting trends over the past 100 years and projecting estimates for the year 2050 Outlines the issues and challenges related to definitions, taxonomies, sources, analyses, and other techniques in interpreting data on religious adherence Considers data from religious communities, censuses, surveys, and scholarly research, along with several in-depth case studies on the global Muslim population, religion in China, and the religious demography of recently created Sudan and South Sudan Argues against the belief that the twentieth-century was a ‘secular’ period by putting forward new evidence to the contrary Provides resources for measuring both qualitatively and quantitatively important data on the world's religious situation in the twenty-first century

The world's religions have emerged as one of the greatest geopolitical forces now shaping our lives. Now available in an updated edition, this authoritative atlas is an essential resource for understanding the powerful role of religion around the globe. In an accessible text packed with information, it maps the current nature, extent, and influence of each of the major religions and shows, country by country, how religions are spread through broadcasting, missionary work, schooling, and banking; how they relate to government, laws, and world hunger; and the role they play in wars. It traces the emergence of new religious movements, the survival of traditional beliefs, and the presence of atheism and agnosticism. The Atlas of Religion also locates the origin, the heartland, and the sacred places of each of the major religions and provides essential background with a valuable table showing the fundamental beliefs of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, and Taoism. Copub: Myriad Editions Limited

World Religions This revolutionary book discusses the multitude of often contradictory religions developed by man. Key features of the book include: Mans physical evolution briefly discussed Religious evolution: from animism to theism Historical and current religions of the world: 1) Africa and Oceania 2) The Americas and West Indies 3) Europe and Northern Asia. 4) The Middle East 5) India 6) China and Japan Many new religions and sects: (a) In the period 15001900 (b) Since 1900 Alternative credos are discussed: (a) Quasi-religions movements (b) Philosophical beliefs (c) Scientific beliefs (d) Political beliefs How religions are created and spread Key issues: 1) Proliferation of new religions and sects 2) Religious persecution and conflict 3) Religious corruption and terrorism Mohronism: a new religion based on Mohrs ten laws and including Murphys law Recommendations, including: (a) Mohrs contact theory (b) Mere exposure research Industry and reader comment has included the following: Some provocative and timely issues A prophetic warning A huge topic It could outsell the Bible G. A. Mohr did his PhD in Cambridge, where his father helped split the atom. Geoff Mohr published papers and books on subjects ranging from engineering to corrosion and cancer. His books A Microcomputer Introduction to the Finite Element Method, A Treatise on the Finite Element Method and Finite Elements for Solids, Fluids, and Optimization established him as a world-leading scientist. His recent books include the following: The Pretentious Persuaders The Variant Virus The Doomsday Calculation The War of the Sexes Heart Disease, Cancer & Aging, 2nd edn. The History & Psychology of Human Conflict 2045: A Small Town Survives Global Holocaust Elementary Thinking for the 21st Century The legendary John Argyris called Geoff Mohr The greatest scientist in Australia. Edwin Fear is a descendant of Anne Boleyn, whose husband founded the Church of England. He gained a diploma of business science (DBS) majoring in marketing from IASC. He contributed to many research papers and books and cowrote The Evolving Universe, Relativity, Redshift, and Life From Space with G. A. Mohr and Richard Sinclair.

Curriculum guide to teaching about the world's more prominent religions to help students achieve a greater tolerance of different cultures for grade 6 but coudl be used in grades 5-8.

The only book of its kind, this balanced and accessibly written text explores the geographical study of religion. Roger W. Stump presents a clear and meticulous examination of the intersection of religious belief and practice with the concepts of place and space. He begins by analyzing the factors that have shaped the spatial distributions of religious groups, including the seminal events that have fostered the organization of religions in diverse hearths and the subsequent processes of migration and conversion that have spread religious beliefs. The author then assesses how major religions have diversified as they have become established in disparate places, producing a variety of religious systems from a common tradition. Stump explores the efforts of religious groups to control secular space at various scales, relating their own uses of particular spaces and the meanings they attribute to space beyond the boundaries of their own communities. Examining sacred space as a diverse but recurring theme in religious belief, the book considers its role in religious forms of spatial behavior and as a source of conflict within and between religious groups. Refreshingly jargon-free and impartial, this text provides a broad, comparative view of religion as a focus of geographical inquiry.

First Published in 2001. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Two abundantly illustrated volumes offer a vibrant discussion of how the divine is and has been represented in art and architecture the world over. Beginning with the ancient worlds of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome and moving forward through time, Art and Architecture of the World's Religions explores the major faiths from countries and continents around the globe, helping readers better understand the creations their beliefs have inspired. After tracing the history and development of a religion, the book provides a general overview of its principal beliefs and key practices. It then offers specific examples of how works of art/architecture reflect that religion's values. The focus of each chapter is on the temples, churches, and religious buildings, statues, paintings, and other works of art and architecture created by believers. Each representative work of art or architecture is examined in terms of its history, materials, symbols, colors, and patterns, as its significance is explained to the reader. With extensive illustrations, these volumes are the definitive reference work on art and architecture of the world's religions.

First Published in 2001. Charting the history and geo­graphic development of American religions, The Routledge Historical Atlas of Religion in America dis­plays in vibrant visual and textual detail the intimate relationship between American spiritual belief and the events that formed the nation. Mirroring the variety found in America's religious past and present, coverage focuses on such diverse topics as: Indigenous American Religions, Russian Orthodoxy, French Catholicism, The Puritans, Judaism in the Colonies, The Great Awakening, American Metaphysical Movements, African American Churches, The Mormons, Islam, Buddhism and German Sects in Colonial America. Loaded with more than 50 full-color maps, charts, and illustrations, The Routledge Historical Atlas of Religion in America is an indispensable ref­erence for those interested in the American religious experience.