Title: Religions of Asia, Third Edition
Contributors: John Y. Fenton, Norvin Hein, Frank E. Reynolds, Alan L. Miller, Niels C. Nielsen, Jr., Grace G. Burford, and Robert K.C. Forman (General Editor)
( Man, I hope if I’m ever a professor or scholarly writer, I don’t turn my name into Jennifer L. Nafziger).
Review:
Religions of Asia provides a very basic outline of major religions trends in Asia and the development of those religions in a socio-political, cultural, and sometimes geographical context.
It is a pretty dry read–not the most engaging and accessible, but it is helpful to get a general outline on religious theory in India, China, Japan, and occasional diversions into other South-East Asian countries.
It is not a good source for very-detailed analysis of the major religions of in the region. But then, what can you expect from a collection of essays that seek to define and organize thousands of years of religious motivation of the most populated area on earth…in 216 pages?
It would probably be more interesting to you if you already have some kind of understanding of Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, or Daoism, as well as a base understanding of history in Asia. Or if you just have the patience to get through it. Religions of Asia does do a nice job of identifying major sects and trying to emphasize the interplay of the above religions in places like China and Japan.
Though it creates more questions than it answers, it is a great book for finding out what you might be interested in knowing more about for further reading. Also, I found the glossary of terms in the back quite helpful.
It is also quite old (12 years), though I don’t know if there are newer editions, so the most modern of trends are not up-to-date, but that’s ok–12 years is kind of dwarfed by the 2500 B.C.E. the Hindu section starts with…
