Religious issues and interreligious dialogues : an analysis and sourcebook of developments since 1945 /

This encyclopedic reference will serve scholars and teachers of religion studies throughout the 90s. Although the concerns raised here may not appear directly in undergraduate syllabuses, they cannot be ignored even in introductory courses, and graduate seminars must carefully consider them. The comprehensive bibliographies following each chapter are themselves worth the price of the book. In 27 quite uneven chapters 26 authors present discussions varying widely in content, style, positions, and readability. Chapters are devoted to Christianity (seven), theory and methodology (three), feminism, Islam, and Confucianism (two each), Buddhism, Taoism, Japan, and China (one each). The dialogues involve Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, Confucianism, and Christianity; some are more successful than others. There are rebuttals in only two cases, a technique that could have been more widely used. Certain articles, however, are outstanding--Reuther and Wawrytko on feminist issues, Stoeffler's summary of major trends in Protestantism; Duran, Esposito, and Sonn, who explore what it means to be a Muslim in today's world; Heine's critique of both Buddhism and Christianity; Van Buren, who shows that Jesus is not the central dividing issue between Christians and Jews; Cobb, Lai, and Inada who discuss various aspects of Buddhism in interrelgious dialogue, ending the book on a very positive note. -H. M. Buck, Wilson College

Written by leading religious scholars, the 27 articles in this book offer both a broad overview of important issues (e.g., relativism, feminism, conservatism, liberalism, and sociopolitical and moral problems) and a discussion of interfaith and intra-Christian dialogue. All the articles are good, and some truly outstanding; and though a few are specialized in nature, as a whole they do an excellent job of placing the material in philosophical, historical, and social context. A monumental collection; essential for academic and seminary libraries and highly recommended for public libraries as well.-- Carolyn M. Craft, Longwood Coll., Farmville, Va. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.