American Transcendentalism And Asian Religions

Author : Arthur Versluis
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
Page : 364 pages
File Size : 52,6 Mb
Release : 1993
Category : Asia
ISBN : 9780195076585

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American Transcendentalism and Asian Religions by Arthur Versluis Pdf

Arthur Versluis offers a comprehensive study of the relationship between the American Transcendentalists and Asian religions. He argues that an influx of new information about these religions shook nineteenth-century American religious consciousness to the core. With the publication of ever more material on Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism, the Judeo-Christian tradition was inevitably placed as just one among a number of religious traditions. Fundamentalists and conservatives denounced this influx as a threat, but the Transcendentalists embraced it, poring over the sacred books of Asia to extract ethical injunctions, admonitions to self-transcendence, myths taken to support Christian doctrines, and manifestations of a supposed coming universal religion.

Author : Arthur Versluis
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 364 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 1993-09-16
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780195360370

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American Transcendentalism and Asian Religions by Arthur Versluis Pdf

The first major study since the 1930s of the relationship between American Transcendentalism and Asian religions, and the first comprehensive work to include post-Civil War Transcendentalists like Samuel Johnson, this book is encyclopedic in scope. Beginning with the inception of Transcendentalist Orientalism in Europe, Versluis covers the entire history of American Transcendentalism into the twentieth century, and the profound influence of Orientalism on the movement--including its analogues and influences in world religious dialogue. He examines what he calls "positive Orientalism," which recognizes the value and perennial truths in Asian religions and cultures, not only in the writings of major figures like Thoreau and Emerson, but also in contemporary popular magazines. Versluis's exploration of the impact of Transcendentalism on the twentieth-century study of comparative religions has ramifications for the study of religious history, comparative religion, literature, politics, history, and art history.

Author : Arthur Versluis
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
Page : 321 pages
File Size : 55,6 Mb
Release : 2014
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780199368136

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American Gurus by Arthur Versluis Pdf

By the early twenty-first century, a phenomenon that once was inconceivable had become nearly commonplace in American society: the public spiritual teacher who neither belongs to, nor is authorized by a major religious tradition. From the Oprah Winfrey-endorsed Eckhart Tolle to figures like Gangaji and Adhyashanti, there are now countless spiritual teachers who claim and teach variants of instant or immediate enlightenment. American Gurus tells the story of how this phenomenon emerged. Through an examination of the broader literary and religious context of the subject, Arthur Versluis shows that a characteristic feature of the Western esoteric tradition is the claim that every person can achieve "spontaneous, direct, unmediated spiritual insight." This claim was articulated with special clarity by the New England Transcendentalists Bronson Alcott and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Versluis explores Transcendentalism, Walt Whitman, the Beat movement, Timothy Leary, and the New Age movement to shed light on the emergence of the contemporary American guru. This insightful study is the first to show how Asian religions and Western mysticism converged to produce the phenomenon of "spontaneously enlightened" American gurus.

Author : Carl T. Jackson
Publisher : Greenwood
Page : 328 pages
File Size : 48,5 Mb
Release : 1981
Category : Religion
ISBN : UVA:X000358109

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The Oriental Religions and American Thought by Carl T. Jackson Pdf

Author : Jane Naomi Iwamura
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 227 pages
File Size : 51,8 Mb
Release : 2011
Category : History
ISBN : 9780199738601

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Virtual Orientalism by Jane Naomi Iwamura Pdf

Jane Iwamura examines contemporary fascination with Eastern spirituality and provides a cultural history of the representation of Asian religions in American mass media. At the heart of her study is the Oriental Monk, a non-sexual, solitary, conventionalized icon who generously and purposefully shares his wisdom with the West.

Author : Michael J. Altman
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 288 pages
File Size : 42,6 Mb
Release : 2017-07-03
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780190654931

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Heathen, Hindoo, Hindu by Michael J. Altman Pdf

Today, there are more than two million Hindus in America. But before the twentieth century, Hinduism was unknown in the United States. But while Americans did not write about "Hinduism," they speculated at length about "heathenism," "the religion of the Hindoos," and "Brahmanism." In Heathen, Hindoo, Hindu, Michael J. Altman argues that this is not a mere sematic distinction-a case of more politically correct terminology being accepted over time-but a way that Americans worked out their own identities. American representations of India said more about Americans than about Hindus. Cotton Mather, Hannah Adams, and Joseph Priestley engaged the larger European Enlightenment project of classifying and comparing religion in India. Evangelical missionaries used images of "Hindoo heathenism" to raise support at home. Unitarian Protestants found a kindred spirit in the writings of Bengali reformer Rammohun Roy. Popular magazines and common school books used the image of dark, heathen, despotic India to buttress Protestant, white, democratic American identity. Transcendentalists and Theosophists imagined the contemplative and esoteric religion of India as an alternative to materialist American Protestantism. Hindu delegates and American speakers at the 1893 World's Parliament of Religions engaged in a protracted debate about the definition of religion in industrializing America. Heathen, Hindoo, Hindu is a groundbreaking analysis of American representations of religion in India before the turn of the twentieth century. Altman reorients American religious history and the history of Asian religions in America, showing how Americans of all sorts imagined India for their own purposes. The questions that animated descriptions of heathens, Hindoos, and Hindus in the past, he argues, still animate American debates today.

Author : Harold Netland
Publisher : InterVarsity Press
Page : 372 pages
File Size : 42,6 Mb
Release : 2001-08-14
Category : Religion
ISBN : 083081552X

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Encountering Religious Pluralism by Harold Netland Pdf

Harold Netland traces the emergence of the pluralistic ethos that challenges Christian faith and mission, interacting heavily with philosopher John Hick and providing a framework for developing a comprehensive evangelical theology of religions.

Author : Thomas A. Tweed,Stephen R. Prothero
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 49,9 Mb
Release : 1999
Category : History
ISBN : 0195113381

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Asian Religions in America by Thomas A. Tweed,Stephen R. Prothero Pdf

This book traces the American encounter with Asian religions through historical documents and writings, from the late 18th century to the present and including works from Bruce Lee, John Lennon, Amy Tan, Frederick Douglass and Tan Nhat Hanh.

Author : Arthur Versluis
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 55,8 Mb
Release : 2014
Category : Religious leaders
ISBN : 0190201959

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American Gurus by Arthur Versluis Pdf

From Ralph Waldo Emerson and Walt Whitman to the twentieth century, the Beat movement, the psychedelic revolution, Timothy Leary, the influence of Hindu gurus to the New Age movement, Versluis tells the enthralling saga of how contemporary American immediatism came into being. Versluis shows how the confluence of Asian religions and Western mysticism come together to produce the continuing and fascinating saga that culminates in the phenomenon of contemporary 'spontaneously enlightened' American gurus.

Author : Wouter J. Hanegraaff
Publisher : SUNY Press
Page : 600 pages
File Size : 53,9 Mb
Release : 1998-01-01
Category : Religion
ISBN : 0791438546

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New Age Religion and Western Culture by Wouter J. Hanegraaff Pdf

Presents the first systematic analysis of the structure and beliefs of the New Age movement, and the historical emergence of "New Age" as a secularized version of Western esoteric traditions.

Author : Laura A. Leibman
Publisher : Gale, Cengage Learning
Page : 9 pages
File Size : 55,8 Mb
Release : 2024-06-29
Category : Study Aids
ISBN : 9781535848800

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Gale Researcher Guide for: Transcendentalist Literature by Laura A. Leibman Pdf

Gale Researcher Guide for: Transcendentalist Literature is selected from Gale's academic platform Gale Researcher. These study guides provide peer-reviewed articles that allow students early success in finding scholarly materials and to gain the confidence and vocabulary needed to pursue deeper research.

Author : Randall L. Nadeau
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
Page : 290 pages
File Size : 46,6 Mb
Release : 2014-01-28
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781118471968

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Asian Religions by Randall L. Nadeau Pdf

ASIAN RELIGIONS “A unique introduction to Asian religions, combining the scholarly rigor of an established historian of Asian religions with the willingness to engage empathetically with the traditions and to suggest that readers do the same.” Joseph A. Adler, Kenyon College “Randall L. Nadeau has accomplished what only a few have tried, but which has been much needed in the study of religions. He has written a genuinely novel approach to the religions of Asia… This is a work that should find its way into Asian humanities, history, religion, and civilization courses.” Ronnie Littlejohn, Belmont University This all-embracing introduction to Asian religious practices and beliefs takes a unique approach; not only does it provide a complete overview of the basic tenets of the major Asian religions, but it also demonstrates how Asian spiritualities are lived and practiced, exploring the meaning and significance they hold for believers. In a series of engaging and lively chapters, the book explores the beliefs and practices of Confucianism, Taoism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Japanese religions, including Shintō. Using a comparative approach, it highlights the contrasts between Asian and Western modes of thinking and living, and debates the influence of religion on real-world issues including work, economic growth, the environment, human rights, and gender relations. Nadeau, a leading figure in this field, takes an empathetic approach to Asian religious and cultural traditions, and considers Asian spiritualities to be viable systems of belief for today’s global citizens. Integrating exercises, activities, and an appealing mixture of examples, such as novels and biographies, this refreshing book leads readers to an enhanced understanding of the ideas and practice of Asian religions, and of their continuing relevance today.

Author : American Academy of Religion
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 84 pages
File Size : 49,7 Mb
Release : 1973
Category : Asia
ISBN : UVA:X030237812

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Asian Religions/history of Religion, 1973 by American Academy of Religion Pdf

Author : Michael J. Altman
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 201 pages
File Size : 49,7 Mb
Release : 2017
Category : History
ISBN : 9780190654924

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Heathen, Hindoo, Hindu by Michael J. Altman Pdf

Heathen, Hindoo, Hindu is a groundbreaking analysis of American representations of religion in India before the turn of the twentieth century. Before Americans wrote about "Hinduism," they wrote about "heathenism," "the religion of the Hindoos," and "Brahmanism." Americans used the heathen, Hindoo, and Hindu as an other against which they represented themselves. The questions of American identity, classification, representation and the definition of"religion" that animated descriptions of heathens, Hindoos, and Hindus in the past still animate American debates today.

Author : American Academy of Religion,American Academy of Religion. Asian Religions Section-History of Religions Section
Publisher : Scholars Press
Page : 79 pages
File Size : 55,9 Mb
Release : 1974
Category : Asia
ISBN : 0884201147

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Asian Religions-History of Religion by American Academy of Religion,American Academy of Religion. Asian Religions Section-History of Religions Section Pdf