Invitation to World Religions

by Jeffrey Brodd, Layne Little, Bradley Nystrom

Featuring a unique, consistent, and modular chapter structure "Teachings," "Way of Life," and "History" and numerous pedagogical features, Invitation to World Religions invites students to explore the world's great religions with respect and a sense of wonder. It describes the essential features of each religion and shows how they have responded to basic human needs and to the cultural contexts in which they developed. The authors also encourage students to develop an appreciation of what religious beliefs and practices actually mean to their adherents.



A consistent, modular chapter structure "Teachings," "Way of Life," and "History" enables students to focus on content rather than trying to navigate each chapter anew

In personal, candid interviews, a diverse array of people share the ways in which they live their faiths

Visual Keys to important religious symbols in easy to read tables offer quick reference and comparison points

Chapter opening maps provide geographical context for each religion's development

Timelines help students trace the evolution of each religion within its larger social and political context

Seeking Answers sections at the end of each chapter encourage students to constructively compare the ways in which different religions address the same essential questions

For Review questions prompt students to reexamine essential concepts

For Further Reflection questions invite students to think critically and to engage in deeper analyses

Key Terms are boldfaced at their first appearance and defined in the glossary that follows each chapter

A Glossary at the back of the book includes all of the key terms from the text

Suggestions for Further Reading direct students to some of the best and most recent print and online resources on each tradition

A wealth of rich, robust, and relevant color photographs and illustrations keep students visually engaged

An Instructor's Manual with Computerized Test Bank on CD, downloadable Learning Management System Cartridges, and a Companion Website provide additional resources

Genres: Nonfiction, School, Textbooks, Religion, Reference

555 pages, Paperback

First published July 16, 2012

Reviews

[Trixy Lemell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It gives a lot of history, tells of the traditions, and does not sugar coat the issues of all religions. One of my favorite parts is that it always includes religion and women, opening up on how women were treated in the past, the real reason behind it, how they are treated now, and how women are changing the religion in modern time. The book also comes with wonderful images and a Q&A section at the end of the chapter in which a follower of the religion gives their personal experience. This book gives a complete overview for those wanting to know a little bit more about a variety of different religions including those of the east, west, new age, tribal religions, and even an outlook on atheism.

[Felicia Stimmell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book that doesn't overwhelm you with too much but just enough to get curious. I really enjoyed studying using this book as reference, and a place to start in my research. If you want to get a good idea of the many different religions and their beliefs on this planet. I'm sure this is not a complete book of world religions considering there are just so many but this is a good start!!

[Erin Kingland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for World Religions with Dr. Mark Freeland at SDState. Provides a good overview for surface level information of organized religions but does not necessarily cover the perspectives of those who practice them

[Elizabeth Zimmermann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for a class. It was not as dry as some textbooks are and did a good job explaining everything.

[Beth Bauman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read specific chapters for class.

[Kira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Out of the books Ive read as an overview of global belief systems, this one was probably the most comprehensive, and as objective as a western publication tends be on international matters. However, there were a few moments throughout my cover to cover read that left me feeling they could’ve been a bit more objective, and there was a subtle concealing of power/biopolitics in discussion on religions. Particularly in relation to the analysis of beliefs largely accepted by americans & europeans compared to analysis of beliefs accepted by chinese. For example, the book spent numerous pages airing/critiquing the connection between governmental corruption (& cultural revolution) and Confucist & daoist teachings; meanwhile it spent 6 sentences out of approx. 60 pages connecting colonialism (of like half the world) to christianity (i.e. doctrine of discovery, manifest destiny, missionization, colonial notions of purity derived from racist scripture). I felt a bit of a hidden curriculum, with the unequal representation on topics. Terrorism was discussed in the context of islam, but not in the context of christianity (KKK & nazis think they are christian); and while we could all agree that no terrorist group is condoned by the overwhelming majority of people in a religion, it felt a bit odd that discussion of terrorism/extremist violence was sprinkled in various chapters of most the main religions, except christianity (at least what stood out rather obviously to me). Confuciusm & daoism were lumped in the same chapter, and the interview in that chapter was rather disappointing as it was two questions (compared to like 3-5 in others) and the second question was almost like the interviewer was disagreeing with the interviewee like, “ How is it possible to believe in religious pluralism when they contradict (according to the interviewer, a biased western understanding of dualism)?”. And the guy was like “uh different philosophies for different things; one for school/work/family, one for health & marriage, one for death & aging”. And idk, that makes a lot of sense to me to not be so singularly attached to one modality of being & thinking, but it gave a sense that the writers did not like or agree with the belief/concept, which is exactly what unbiased writing should not present. Other than those few critiques about structure, I really enjoyed the reading and will probably reference it as I travel or expand my relationships across a variety of religions & cultures. Also maybe its a bit different as I have a different edition of this textbook. So idk what has changed.

[Chris Jenson · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excellent text book on the world's religions. Each chapter is nicely organized into sections on the teachings of the religion, its history, and the religion as a way of life. I am only giving 3 stars because I take the rating descriptions on this website seriously. Four stars would be "I really liked it" and five stars "I loved it." I just liked this text. No text of this sort could get more than 3 stars from me. It is a great text.

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had to read this book for a religion class and as far as a required textbook goes it wasn’t bad. Some of the chapters seemed unnecessarily long, so I usually ended up skipping the last few pages of each just to finish the chapters before my next class discussion.

[Chris Schaben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great textbook for any student who wants to learn about World Religions.

[Ashley]

I don't think I can rate this because I liked it but also disliked it in equal amounts. It simply strengthened my discussions posts in class.