Anatomy of the Sacred: An Introduction to Religion presents a uniquely comprehensive introduction to the nature and variety of religious belief and practice. Organized into three sections, Part One explores such questions as What is religion? Why study religion? And how does one go about the study of religion? It includes illustrations of specific methods and disciplines drawn from the work of eminent scholars in the field of religion.

Part Two examines universal forms of religious experience and expression and includes discussions of the sacred or holy; the nature of religious symbolism, myth, and doctrine; religious ritual; sacred scripture; as well s the social forms and dimensions of religion.

Part Three consists of a comparative analysis of six fundamental components that make up a religious world-view. These include deity or ultimate reality; cosmogony; the nature of the human problem, theodicy or the problem of evil; ethics or moral action; and the ways and goals of salvation or enlightenment. Examples are selected from a wide range of primal and archaic religions as well as from the great historical religious traditions of the present. An epilogue explores the challenges to religion introduced by modern pluralism and secularization.

Among this text's special features are:

• A highly readable comparative study of religious experience that incorporates the most up-to-date scholarship and translates it into terms accessible to undergraduates.
• Extensive citation of well-selected cross-cultural primary materials from primal, archaic, and modern religious traditions that illustrate the great variety of religious belief and practice.
• Each chapter includes an introductory overview, photographs, key words, review questions, suggestions for further reading, and a comprehensive glossary of terms and proper names.

• NEW - Carefully revised length of text.

  • Simplifies illustrative material for students, in order to enhance readability and comprehension. Ex.___

• NEW - Epilogue on the unique challenges to religion in the new millennium.

  • Allows students to understand how secularism and pluralism threaten all world religions and forms of traditional belief and practice. Ex.___

• NEW - Key Words —For each chapter.

  • Helps students distinguish between essential names, terms, and concepts, and the names or words necessary for illustration, etc., but not crucial to the purposes or goals of the chapter. Ex.___

• NEW - Updated Suggestions for Further Reading.

  • Introduces students to some of the best recent scholarly literature available on a wide range of topics. Ex.___

• A focus on commonly asked questions.

  • Allows students to explore: What is religion? How do religions offer different answers to basic human questions? What shared characteristics can be found in comparing religious beliefs and practices? Ex.___

• Up-to-date scholarship—By scholars such as Mircea Eliade, Carl Jung, Victor Turner, and René Gerard.

  • Discusses topics of the sacred, religious symbolism and myth, ritual, and the social dimension of religion in terms of recent research but accessible to undergraduates. Ex.___

• An exploration of why humans are religious.

  • Emphasizes the nature of religion, its uniqueness to humans, and the reasons to study it. Ex.___

• Universal forms of religious experience and expression.

  • Discusses the experience of the sacred or holy, the nature of religious symbolism, myth and doctrine ritual, scripture and the social significance of religion. Ex.___

• A comparative analysis of seven fundamental dimensions that make up a religious world view.

  • Explores deity, cosmogony, the human problem, ethics, theodicy, and the ways and goals of salvation or enlightenment. Ex.___

• A wide range of primitive, ancient, and modern religions.

  • Assembles for students material on the great historical and living religious traditions, both eastern and western. Ex.___

• A cross-cultural approach—Includes examples throughout.

  • Affords students the opportunity to explore various beliefs and practices, such as ritual scriptures, and ethics, showing the similarities and differences among the world's great religions. Ex.___