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Living Religions, 10th edition

Published by Pearson (May 6, 2016) © 2017

  • Mary Pat Fisher
  • Robin Rinehart

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  • Integrated within the narrative, interactives and videos empower students to engage with concepts and take an active role in learning. REVEL's unique presentation of media as an intrinsic part of course content brings the hallmark features of Pearson's bestselling titles to life. REVEL's media interactives have been designed to be completed quickly, and its videos are brief, so students stay focused and on task.
  • Located throughout REVEL, quizzing affords students opportunities to check their understanding at regular intervals before moving on.
  • REVEL’s integrated writing tools enable educators to introduce writing – among the best ways to foster and assess critical thinking – into the course without significantly impacting their grading burden. Self-paced Journaling Prompts throughout the narrative encourage students to express their thoughts without breaking stride in their reading. Assignable Shared Writing Activities direct students to share written responses with classmates, fostering peer discussion.
  • REVEL’s fully mobile learning experience enables students to read and interact with course material on the devices they use, anywhere and anytime. Responsive design allows students to access REVEL on their tablet devices and smart phones, with content displayed clearly in both portrait and landscape view.
  • Highlighting, note taking, and a glossary let students read and study however they like. Educators can add notes for students, too, including reminders or study tips.
Superior assignability and tracking tools help educators make sure students are completing their reading and understanding core concepts
  • REVEL’s assignment calendar allows educators to indicate precisely which readings must be completed on which dates. This clear, detailed schedule helps students stay on task by eliminating any ambiguity as to which material will be covered during each class. And when students know what is expected of them, they're better motivated to keep up.
  • REVEL’s performance dashboard lets educators monitor class assignment completion as well as individual student achievement. It offers actionable information that helps educators intersect with their students in meaningful ways, such as points earned on quizzes and tests and time on task. Of particular note, the trending column reveals whether students' grades are improving or declining — which helps educators identify students who might need help to stay on track.
Engaging features bring the world’s religions to life
  • Personal interviews with followers of each faith provide interesting and informative first-person accounts of each religion as perceived from within the tradition. We have presented these quotations in excerpts woven throughout the text, such as new insights from a Yoruba dancer and a Jain nun. In addition, each chapter opens with an emblematic quotation taken from this first-person material.
    • “Living…” feature boxes offer first-person quotations from various people, such as a “spiritual but not religious” student in the United States.
    • Interview boxes focus on how practitioners of each faith experience the beliefs and rituals of their tradition. New Interview boxes have been incorporated into Chapter 1, Religious Responses, and Chapter 6, Daoism and Confucianism.
  • Sixteen Religion in Practice feature boxes portray the spiritual activities and beliefs of religious groups or individuals, such as the indigenous American sun dance and the Hindu sacred thread ceremony, providing fascinating insights into significant practices and festivals. The tenth edition includes two new Religion in Practice boxes:
    • NEW! The Religion in Practice box in Chapter 5, Buddhism, details a senior nun’s explanation of death rites in Tibetan Buddhism.
    • NEW! The Religion in Practice box in Chapter 8, Judaism, follows the stories of an LGBT couple who are personally and professionally active in the Jewish community.
  • Eight Religion in Public Life feature boxes portray the spiritual roots of people who are making significant contributions to modern society, such as the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu. The tenth edition includes two new Religion in Public Life boxes:
    • NEW! A Religion in Public Life box profiles Malala Yousafzai, the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize winner who is courageously continuing to campaign for the right to education despite being shot by the Taliban in Pakistan.
    • NEW! A Religion in Public Life box focuses on the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan, representing 130 different religious and ethnic groups who gather to jointly advise the Kazakhstani government on public issues.
  • Ten Teaching Story feature boxes contain tales that serve as takeoff points for discussions about core values embedded in each faith.
  • UPDATED! An enhanced image program provides 53 new images which, along with more than 200 existing images, help to bring religions to life. Many of the new photographs have been taken by author Mary Pat Fisher during her personal research trips for this edition. Narrative captions offer additional insights into the characteristics and orientation of each tradition and the people who practice it. Five maps that facilitate student understanding of particular religions have been altered and improved for this edition.
  • Quotations from primary sources throughout the book provide direct access to the thinking and flavor of each tradition. Attempts have been made to use accessible modern translations to aid student understanding.
New and revised content helps students see how religion intersects with contemporary issues
  • NEW! As globalization continues to alter cultures and facilitate greater contact among people of different religions, it has become increasingly difficult to sort out reified individual religions. To address this new world order, the authors examine globalization’s effects upon religion in each chapter of the tenth edition.
  • NEW! Tied together by globalization, people around the world have been affected by a widespread economic recession. The attitudes of religions toward economic issues—including greed, materialism, and the growing gap between rich and poor—are examined throughout this edition.
  • NEW! This tenth edition follows the disturbing trend of violence perpetrated in the name of religion, while making distinctions between the basic teachings of religions, none of which condones wanton violence, and the ways in which religions have been politicized. Every religion is struggling with its responses to modernity, including fundamentalist and exclusivist reactions to increasing pluralism within our societies, and these struggles are discussed in each chapter.
  • NEW! The tenth edition includes new and updated coverage of how religions intersect with contemporary environmental and societal issues. The authors provide material on religious approaches to contemporary ecological concerns, such as contamination from oil extraction that has devastated coastal areas in Nigeria and ominous signs of climate change everywhere. The tenth edition also covers many other social issues that are being taken up by religious leaders, such as LGBT acceptance, structural injustice, corruption, HIV/AIDS, and female infanticide.
  • NEW! The tenth edition includes expanded coverage of women, with women’s voices and contributions woven into the discussion of each religion. Though gains have been made recently, obstacles to women’s expression of their spirituality still exist, however, and are discussed within the context of the various religious traditions.
A variety of pedagogical features boosts student success
  • NEW! Learning objectives at the start of each chapter are designed to help students focus on key topics. To reinforce learning, these objectives appear as questions under section headings, and brief summaries of the main points are also included at the end of each chapter.
  • Key terms, defined and highlighted in boldface when they first appear, are included in an extensive glossary. Many key terms are also listed and defined at the end of each chapter to help students immediately review and reinforce what they’ve learned. The glossary also includes guides to the pronunciation of many words.
  • UPDATED! Suggested reading lists of relevant books have been reinstated and updated for each chapter.
Dynamic content matched to the way today's students read, think, and learn brings content to life
  • Integrated within the narrative, interactives and videos empower students to engage with concepts and take an active role in learning. REVEL's unique presentation of media as an intrinsic part of course content brings the hallmark features of Pearson's bestselling titles to life. REVEL's media interactives have been designed to be completed quickly, and its videos are brief, so students stay focused and on task.
  • Located throughout REVEL, quizzing affords students opportunities to check their understanding at regular intervals before moving on.
  • REVEL’s integrated writing tools enable educators to introduce writing — among the best ways to foster and assess critical thinking — into the course without significantly impacting their grading burden. Self-paced Journaling Prompts throughout the narrative encourage students to express their thoughts without breaking stride in their reading. Assignable Shared Writing Activities direct students to share written responses with classmates, fostering peer discussion.
  • REVEL’s fully mobile learning experience enables students to read and interact with course material on the devices they use, anywhere and anytime. Responsive design allows students to access REVEL on their tablet devices and smart phones, with content displayed clearly in both portrait and landscape view.
  • Highlighting, note taking, and a glossary let students read and study however they like. Educators can add notes for students, too, including reminders or study tips.

Superior assignability and tracking tools help educators make sure students are completing their reading and understanding core concepts
  • REVEL’s assignment calendar allows educators to indicate precisely which readings must be completed on which dates. This clear, detailed schedule helps students stay on task by eliminating any ambiguity as to which material will be covered during each class. And when students know what is expected of them, they're better motivated to keep up.
  • REVEL’s performance dashboard lets educators monitor class assignment completion as well as individual student achievement. It offers actionable information that helps educators intersect with their students in meaningful ways, such as points earned on quizzes and tests and time on task. Of particular note, the trending column reveals whether students' grades are improving or declining – which helps educators identify students who might need help to stay on track.

Engaging features bring the world’s religions to life
  • The tenth edition includes two new Religion in Practice boxes:
    • The Religion in Practice box in Chapter 5, Buddhism, details a senior nun’s explanation of death rites in Tibetan Buddhism.
    • The Religion in Practice box in Chapter 8, Judaism, follows the stories of an LGBT couple who are personally and professionally active in the Jewish community.
  • The tenth edition includes two new Religion in Public Life boxes:
    • A Religion in Public Life box profiles Malala Yousafzai, the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize winner who is courageously continuing to campaign for the right to education despite being shot by the Taliban in Pakistan.
    • A Religion in Public Life box focuses on the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan, representing 130 different religious and ethnic groups who gather to jointly advise the Kazakhstani government on public issues.
  • UPDATED! An enhanced image program provides 53 new images which, along with more than 200 existing images, help to bring religions to life. Many of the new photographs have been taken by author Mary Pat Fisher during her personal research trips for this edition. Narrative captions offer additional insights into the characteristics and orientation of each tradition and the people who practice it. Five maps that facilitate student understanding of particular religions have been altered and improved for this edition.

New and revised content helps students see how religion intersects with contemporary issues
  • As globalization continues to alter cultures and facilitate greater contact among people of different religions, it has become increasingly difficult to sort out reified individual religions. To address this new world order, the authors examine globalization’s effects upon religion in each chapter of the tenth edition.
  • Tied together by globalization, people around the world have been affected by a widespread economic recession. The attitudes of religions toward economic issues–including greed, materialism, and the growing gap between rich and poor–are examined throughout this edition.
  • This tenth edition follows the disturbing trend of violence perpetrated in the name of religion, while making distinctions between the basic teachings of religions, none of which condones wanton violence, and the ways in which religions have been politicized. Every religion is struggling with its responses to modernity, including fundamentalist and exclusivist reactions to increasing pluralism within our societies, and these struggles are discussed in each chapter.
  • The tenth edition includes new and updated coverage of how religions intersect with contemporary environmental and societal issues. The authors provide material on religious approaches to contemporary ecological concerns, such as contamination from oil extraction that has devastated coastal areas in Nigeria and ominous signs of climate change everywhere. The tenth edition also covers many other social issues that are being taken up by religious leaders, such as LGBT acceptance, structural injustice, corruption, HIV/AIDS, and female infanticide.
  • The tenth edition includes expanded coverage of women, with women’s voices and contributions woven into the discussion of each religion. Though gains have been made recently, obstacles to women’s expression of their spirituality still exist, however, and are discussed within the context of the various religious traditions.

A variety of pedagogical features boosts student success
  • Learning objectives at the start of each chapter are designed to help students focus on key topics. To reinforce learning, these objectives appear as questions under section headings, and brief summaries of the main points are also included at the end of each chapter.
  • UPDATED! Suggested reading lists of relevant books have been reinstated and updated for each chapter.
1. Religious Responses
2. Indigenous Sacred Ways
3. Hinduism
4. Jainism
5. Buddhism
6. Daoism and Confucianism
7. Shinto
Special Section — Zoroastrianism
8. Judaism
9. Christianity
10. Islam
11. Sikhism
12. New Religious Movements
13. Religion in the Twenty-first Century
Mary Pat Fisher writes about all religions, not only from academic research, but also from her experiences with religions around the world. Much of her knowledge comes from the unique interfaith community in India, Gobind Sadan, where she has lived since 1991. In addition to eight editions of Living Religions, she has written other textbooks about religions and also about art.
Robin Rinehart is the author of several books on Asian religions, as well as the new co-author of Living Religions. She currently serves as Dean of the Faculty and Professor of Religious Studies at Lafayette College, Pennsylvania.

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