Ian S. Markham - A World Religions Reader

1. Chapter 2
2. Chapter 3
3. Chapter 4
4. Chapter 5
5. Chapter 6
6. Chapter 7
7. Chapter 8
8. Chapter 9
9. Chapter 10
10. Chapter 11
11. Chapter 12
12. Chapter 13
13. Chapter 14

This is the Reader I have long been looking for. This Reader will enhance and enliven any standard textbook by enabling students not just to understand but to feel, not just to study but to pass over to, what these religious communities have been and what they offer our contemporary world.

Paul Knitter, Union Theological Seminary (of the previous edition).

This will be an invaluable source for those in Religious Studies who need access to some central texts in translation. The commentaries, lists of data and questions for reflection will be particularly useful for those beginning a study of religions.

Professor J. S. K. Ward, University of Oxford (of the previous edition).

This new edition expands an already useful textbook making it an improved resource for introducing world religions. By presenting excerpts from sacred texts and voices from within the traditions, this book provides more than mere facts about various beliefs; it allows insight into the worldviews and ethical concerns of adherents, making it the most valuable Reader on world religions to date to any student or teacher that seeks to study or teach the religious traditions of the world.

S. Wesley Ariarjah, Drew University (of the previous edition)

An accessible and sympathetic introduction to the worlds religions as understood by their adherents.

Ingrid Mattson, Hartford Seminary, USA (of the previous edition)

Fourth Edition

Edited by

Ian S. Markham and Christy Lohr Sapp

This fourth edition first published 2020
2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Edition History
Blackwell Publishers Ltd (1e, 1996 and 2e, 2000); Blackwell Publishing Ltd (3e, 2009)

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The right of Ian S. Markham and Christy Lohr Sapp to be identified as the authors of the editorial material in this work has been asserted in accordance with law.

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Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

Names: Markham, Ian S., editor. | Sapp, Christy Lohr, editor.
Title: A world religions reader / edited by Ian S. Markham and Christy Lohr Sapp.
Description: Fourth edition. | Hoboken, NJ : WileyBlackwell, 2020. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019036680 (print) | LCCN 2019036681 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119357094 (paperback) | ISBN 9781119357018 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781119357070 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: ReligionsTextbooks.
Classification: LCC BL80.3 .W658 2020 (print) | LCC BL80.3 (ebook) | DDC 200dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019036680
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019036681

Cover Design: Wiley
Cover Images: arkira/Getty Images, Jakkree Thampitakkul/Getty Images

For our children
Luke Markham and Sadie & Riley Sapp

Our world needs a basic religious literacy. And it is a delight to see that A World Religions Reader is fulfilling this need. Every new edition is an opportunity. Once again we have retained features that professors and students find helpful. So, to enable crossreligious comparison, the chapters in the Reader are structured in the same way to introduce: the essence of a tradition (which is called the mind), worldviews, institutions and rituals, ethical expression, and modern expression. As a teaching tool, the Reader has retained fact sheets at the end of each chapter, including a glossary, and an annotated bibliography. We have also retained the spirit of each chapter: the focus is to provide a sympathetic introduction to each tradition through the primary texts. The dark and destructive side of religion is outlined in the chapter on secular humanism, which is treated as a faith tradition and also outlined in a sympathetic way.