Understanding the many faiths of the many peoples of the earth requires a balance of knowledge and empathy. For twenty-five years, Many Peoples, Many Faiths has successfully explored the diverse religions and cultures comprising our world by presenting factual information in a sensitive and engaging style. In this Seventh Edition, Robert Ellwood and Barbara McGraw describe the conceptual, sacred, and social elements of various religions, incorporating recent methods in religious studies. This widely-used text portrays religious life as an intriguing and important dimension of human existence.

Especially new to this edition are expanded discussions of:

• The role of women in world religions
• Diverse religious practices within the mufti-cultural United States
• Contemporary religious movements throughout the world (e.g., an entire chapter is devoted to such emerging religions as China's Falun Gong)
• Practical outlines for writing papers on religious visits and world religions
• Updated topics on social problems and how religions respond

The authors have added new books to the Suggested Reading list and have expanded the Glossary as a true teaching aid. The text's illustrations and maps are improved to bring to life the colorful world of religion and its geography.

• NEW - Women in world religions—Offers new and enlightening information on the role and experience of women in religion.

  • Broadens students' understanding of diversity in religious practices and beliefs. Ex.___

• NEW - Contemporary religious movements—Devotes an entire chapter to such emerging religions as China's Falun Gong, and discusses the social conditions that tend to give rise to such movements, their sociological nature, and what they say about the societies in which they appear.

  • Makes students aware of the latest trends in religion. Ex.___

• NEW - Outlines—Contains practical outlines for a religious visit/paper and general world religions research paper.

  • Helps students understand what to look for when they take a trip to an actual Hindu or Buddhist temple, mosque, synagogue or church and presents them with a framework for organizing their thoughts and developing a written project on their trip; also helps them outline a research paper on a wide variety of world religions topics. Ex.___

• NEW - Currency—Updates material throughout, concluding with a final chapter that explores paths religion may take in the future.

  • Provides students with a platform for discussion on many interesting and timely news topics, i.e., the role of homosexuality in religion today, and how religion fits into such world crises as ecology and population growth. Ex.___

• Practitioner chapter sections—Features a section in each chapter that describes the experience of each faith's practitioners in the United States and summarizes the affect of that faith on larger American culture.

  • Makes students aware what draws people to a certain faith and how a person's religious choice may affect their choices, relationships, and environment. Ex.___

• Focus on individual religions—Pays close attention to the religions themselves and to the inner experiences they engender through the use of narratives, charts of the fundamental teachings and practices of each religious tradition, and timelines.

  • Engages students with a variety of introspective questions—What does it really feel like to live as part of this religions tradition?; What was it like in the past?; How does this religion answer the great questions of the meaning of human life?; What is the origin and destiny of humanity?; How do we express that meaning now and live in accordance with it? Ex.___