This study traces the critique of Enlightenment modernism that began with Ralph Waldo Emerson and culminated in the thought of Charles Sanders Peirce and the mature Josiah Royce. Varieties of Transcendental Experience argues that these thinkers provide a constructive alternative to deconstructionist postmodernism that is compatible with the Christian faith.

Western conceptions of objectivity and individuality have resulted in a readier appreciation of the worth of the animals and nature than has been recognized. This provocative book takes issue with the popular view that the Western cultural tradition, in contrast to Eastern and Aboriginal traditions, has encouraged attitudes of domination and exploitation towards nature, particularly animals. Preece argues that the Western tradition has much to commend it, and that descriptions of Aboriginal and Oriental orientations have often been misleadingly rosy, simplified and codified according to current fashionable concepts. Animals and Nature is the result of six years' intensive study into comparative religion, literature, philosophy, anthropology, mythology and animal welfare science.

Against the Modern World is the first history of Traditionalism, an important yet surprisingly little-known twentieth-century anti-modern movement. Comprising a number of often secret but sometimes very influential religious groups in the West and in the Islamic world, it affected mainstream and radical politics in Europe and the development of the field of religious studies in the United States, touching the lives of many individuals. French writer Rene Guenon rejected modernity as a dark age and sought to reconstruct the Perennial Philosophy - the central truths behind all the major world religions. Guenon stressed the urgent need for the West's remaining spiritual and intellectual elite to find personal and collective salvation in the surviving vestiges of ancient religious traditions. A number of disenchanted intellectuals responded to his call. In Europe, America, and the Islamic world, Traditionalists founded institutes, Sufi brotherhoods, Masonic lodges, and secret societies. Some attempted unsuccessfully to guide Fascism and Nazism along Traditionalist lines; others later participated in political terror in Italy. Traditionalist ideas were the ideological cement for the alliance of anti-democratic forces in post-Soviet Russia, and in the Islamic world entered the debate about the relationship between Islam and modernity. Although its appeal in the West was ultimately limited, Traditionalism has wielded enormous influence in religious studies, through the work of such Traditionalists as Ananda Coomaraswamy, Huston Smith, Mircea Eliade, and Seyyed Hossein Nasr.

This book follows the life of Ivan Aguéli, the artist, anarchist, and esotericist, notable as one of the earliest Western intellectuals to convert to Islam and to explore Sufism. This book explores different aspects of his life and activities, revealing each facet of Aguéli's complex personality in its own right. It then shows how esotericism, art, and anarchism finally found their fulfillment in Sufi Islam. The authors analyze how Aguéli's life and conversion show that Islam occupied a more central place in modern European intellectual history than is generally realized. His life reflects several major modern intellectual, political, and cultural trends. This book is an important contribution to understanding how he came to Islam, the values and influences that informed his life, and-ultimately-the role he played in the modern Western reception of Islam.

Winner of the 2014 Nautilus Award represents “Better Books for a Better World”—the Gold Award (Best Book of the Year) in the category of Religion/Spirituality: Other Traditions & Practices. Here is a prayer book that offers you the wisest, most comforting of prayers, while also guiding you on how to pray. Whatever your experience of prayer, you will find a new depth of inspiration and support in these pages. From the most ancient heartfelt prayers to those newly written by the author herself, this is a collection that meets us where we are—and takes us where we most want to go. As a writer and spiritual leader who has supported and guided many thousands of people to live more hopefully, Stephanie Dowrick has a rare understanding of what prayer is and how faithfully it can support you, whatever your faith background or journey. Some of the world’s most beautiful words are gathered here—as are many of the most uplifting and consoling. From prayers to be shared with family, friends or community, to prayers that take you within to your own soul’s depths, this is a collection to be used and cherished.