Interfaith Dialogue 2.0, 335–36
Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC), 336
International Federation of Secular Humanistic Jews, 271
International Monetary Fund, 63
International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON, or the Hare Krishnas), 51, 151–52
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, 86
Introduction to the Devout Life (Francis de Sales), 78
Iranian hostage crisis (1979–81), 25
Iranian Revolution (1979), 10, 25
Islam: “clash of civilizations” between Christianity and, 12, 54, 56, 98; demographics of followers of, 18–19; Five Pillars of, 31–34, 57–58, 60, 199; Islamism ideology of, 52–54; jihad (struggle) and, 34–36; making the case for preeminence of, 18–20; as missionary religion, 19; origins of, 39–40; Progressive Islam movement of, 20, 54–57; relationship between Christianity and, 96–97; Shariah (law) and, 49–50; Shia and Sunni divisions of, 12, 50–52; justice in, 42, 56–57; Sufism, 57–63, 109; Wahhabism theology of, 53–54; Western images of, 25–26. See also Muhammad; Muslims; Quran
Islamism ideology, 52–54
Israel: founding of modern state of (1948), 256; Zionism movement leading to modern state of, 268, 271–72
iyalawo (mother of secrets), 204
Jackson, Phil, 176
Jade Emperor (Lord Heaven), 306–7
Jahannam (hell) [Islam], 47
Jainism, 15, 172
Jakes, T. D., 93
Jantzen, Grace, 106, 286
Jefferson, Thomas, 84
Jehovah’s Witnesses, 82
Jennings, Ken, 203
Jerusalem: First Temple destruction in, 254, 261; Muslim-Christian struggles over, 97; Second Temple built in, 255; Second Temple destruction in, 255, 256, 261
Jesus Christ: biblical description of, 70, 71–73; Book of Mormon on, 41, 83; on casting sinners to hell, 47–48; comparing the Quran to, 39; “Great Commission” of, 85; Islamic beliefs related to, 37; number of books written about, 70–71; portrayed as Asian, African, or female, 94; questions raised by, 339; as transformer, 115; Trinity doctrine on, 36, 68–70, 84. See also God
Jesus (film), 67
Jesus of the People (McKenzie), 94
The Jewish Catalog, 276
Jewish with Feeling (Schachter-Shalomi), 277
Jewish Renewal, 276–78
Jewish Renewal (Lerner), 277
Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), 269, 270
The Jew in the Lotus (Kamenetz), 276
Jews: Ashkenazi, 247; covenants made between God and, 257–58; Ethiopian, 247; exile and return of, 253–57; global demographics of, 245; Holocaust and the, 10, 17, 256–57, 258, 272; death of Jesus used to justify persecution against, 35; Kaddish prayers for the dead by, 106, 252; kippah (Jewish head covering), 56, 268; as “people of the book,” 26, 57, 256; Quran on relations with Muslims, Christians, and, 48–49; Sephardic, 247, 250; Zionism and, 268, 271–72
jihad (struggle) [Islam], 34–36
Jim Crow legislation, 11
jnana yoga (Hindu discipline of wisdom), 137
Jodo Shu (Pure Land) Buddhist school, 191
John the Baptist, 75
John of the Cross, St., 5
Jones, Regina, 273
Jordan, Michael, 13
Joshua, 254
Judah (southern kingdom), 254–55
Judaism: on “arguing for the sake of God,” 4, 248–50; birth of, 239; community and memory as central to, 252–53; Conservative, 269; covenants made in, 257–58; demographics of modern, 245; dietary laws of, 259, 260; divisions within, 12, 251; exile and return narrative of, 253–57; feminist theology and role of women in, 272–73; filial piety importance in, 116; God of, 252–53; Hasidism, 268–69; Jewish Renewal movement of, 276–78; “Judaism of the dual Torah,” 262; Kabbalah, 217, 273–75; Kaddish prayer of, 106, 252, 266; Levitical codes and commandments of, 258–59; liberation and law traditions of, 257–60; life cycle rituals of, 266–67; Modern Orthodox, 268; narrative and law elements of, 243–45, 257–60; Neviim and Ketuvim text of, 244; Orthodoxy, 256, 266, 267, 268; Passover and major holidays of, 263–66; Reconstructionist and Humanistic, 270–71; Reform, 266, 267–68, 270; Sabbath and minor holidays of, 260, 262–63; Shema formula of, 251–52; worldwide influence of, 245–48
Judaism text: Haggadah reading, 265; Mishnah, 244, 267; read during Seders, 265–66; scriptures of, 244; Shulchan Aruch, 250; Talmud, 244, 249–50, 251, 262, 273, 275; Tanakh, 244, 249, 253, 254, 257, 261–62, 275; Torah, 41, 140, 244, 258–59
Judeo-Christian-Islamic notion, 26–27
Judeo-Christian tradition, 26–27
Jude, St., 80
Julian of Norwich, 99
junzi (exemplary person) [Daoism], 110
justice: Gita on dharma, 161; Progressive Muslims on the struggle for, 54–55; Quran’s social themes concerning, 42, 56–57
Kabah shrine (Mecca), 34
Kabbalah Centre (Los Angeles), 274
Kabbalistic Judaism, 217, 273–75
Kaddish prayer (Judaism), 106, 252, 266
kali yuga (degenerate age) [Hinduism], 11
Kallen, Horace, 249
Kamenetz, Rodger, 276
Das Kapital (Marx), 125
Kaplan, Mordecai, 270, 271
The Karate Kid (film), 282
karma (action), 147
karma yoga (Hindu discipline of action), 137
Kennedy, John F., 126
Kerouac, Jack, 176, 192, 282
Ketuvim (Judaism), 244
Khadijah, 39
Khomeini, Ayatollah, 25, 50
Kierkegaard, Søren, 81
Kimbanguist Church of Congo, 67
King James Bible, 79
King, Martin Luther, Jr., 54, 81
Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC), 93
King, Walter, 228
kippah (Jewish head covering), 56, 268
The Kitchen God’s Wife (Tan), 307
“knights of faith,” 81, 99
Knox, John, 79
kosher dietary laws (Judaism), 259, 260
Koufax, Sandy, 246
Koyaanisqatsi (out of balance life), 11–13
Ku Klux Klan, 11, 70
Kundun (film), 29
Kung Fu (TV show), 282
Küng, Hans, 6
Kurien, Prema, 168
Kuti, Fela Amkulapo, 229
Lady of Great Mystery (Daoism immortal), 315
Lalli, Nica, 327
Lamaism, 197
Laozi (Lao-Tzu), 281, 290, 293–94, 296, 298–99, 314, 315
Laozi (Lao-Tzu), 219–93, 281, 292. See also Daodejing
Last Supper, 81
Last Supper (Leonardo da Vinci), 9
Latin American liberation theology, 54
Lawrence of Arabia (film), 29
Leaving Church (Taylor), 301
Lee, Bruce, 283
Lenin, Vladimir, 317, 324
Leo IX, Pope, 75
Leonardo da Vinci, 9
Leon, Moses de, 275
Lerner, Michael, 277
Letting Go of God (Sweeney), 327
Let Us Now Praise Famous Men (Agee), 294
Libeskind, Daniel, 246
li (Confucianism), 113, 116–17, 118, 124
Lincoln, Abraham, 87–88
Little Buddha (film), 176
Lobdell, William, 327
Losing My Religion (Lobdell), 327
Lost (TV series), 103
Lotus Sutra, 191
Lu Dongbin, 282
Luther, Martin, 76, 77, 78, 83, 90, 93, 272
Lu Xun, 125, 126
McKenzie, Janet, 94
Mahabharata epic (Hinduism), 153, 159–62
Mahayana Buddhism: compassion of, 42; conventional truth versus Absolute Truth of, 195, 200–201; description of, 176–77, 186–90; shunyata (emptiness) teaching of, 193–96, 199
Maimonides, 252, 266
Mair, Victor, 280
Malcolm X, 29
Mao Zed
ong, 122, 290
Marsden, George, 86
Marx Brothers, 247
Marx, Karl, 125, 180, 218, 317, 320, 323–24
masjid (place of prostration) [Islam], 27
The Matrix (film), 176
Mecca: Kabah shrine of, 34; Muhammad’s “night journey” from, 26–27, 40; pilgrimage to, 34
meditation practices (Buddhism), 178–79
megachurches, 93–94
Meir, Golda, 273
Mencius, 119–20, 123, 124, 126, 299
Mencius (Confucianism), 104, 121
Mencken, H. L., 319
Methodism, 87
Metta meditation, 178–79
Meyer, Stephenie, 84
Miami Vice (TV show), 217
“A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” (Lutheran hymn), 78
Milosevic, Slobodan, 317
Mishnah (Judaism text), 244, 267
Modern Orthodox Jews, 268
Mohists, 116
moksha (spiritual liberation) [Hinduism], 136–37, 138, 147–48, 150, 151, 152–53, 161–62
monasticism: Benedictines, 66; Buddhism, 174, 176, 180
monotheism: Christian Trinity doctrine and, 36, 68–70, 84; Islam on nature of Allah, 36–37, 45–46; Judaism, 248–250, 217, 252–53, 257–58, 275
Mormonism: early history of LDS Church and, 82–84; growing quickly, 12; members from Latin America and South Pacific, 91–92; split over successor of Joseph Smith, 51. See also Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Morrison, Toni, 226–27
Moses: biblical story of, 73, 244, 254, 255, 257; as Jew by adoption, 262; as liberator and lawgiver, 258; Torah delivered through, 244; transmitting the Law, 114–15
Moyers, Bill, 6
Mo-zi, 116
Muhammad: accomplishments and influence of, 38–39; Hadith recording of words and deeds of, 49–50; life of, 39–40; “night journey” of, 26–27, 40; on questioning for learning, 23; questions raised by, 339; Quran revealed to, 28; as transformer, 114, 115. See also Islam
Muhammad Ali, 29, 187, 283
Müller, Max, 16, 133
Murphy, Joseph, 224
Muslim feminism, 55–56
Muslims: adhan (call to prayer), 27–28, 30–31; global demographics of, 28–29; growing political power of American, 20; Mecca pilgrimage required of, 34; Progressive Islam movement of, 20, 54–57; Quran on relations with Jews, Christians, and, 48–49; Ramadan observance by, 33–34; relationships between Christians and, 96–97; required to give charity to the poor, 32; rise of Islamism ideology among some, 52–54; Shariah (law) adhered to by, 49–50; Western popular culture portrayal of, 29–30. See also Islam; Shias; Sunnis
mysterium tremendum (fear of God), 48
mysticism: Christian, 98–99; Kabbalistic Judaism, 217, 273–75; Sufism, 58–59, 60, 109, 199
Nagarjuna, 193
Narayana (Vishnu) poem, 152
Naropa Institute (Colorado), 276
National Council of Ex-Muslims, 325
Nation of Islam (NOI), 29
Nazism, 10, 256–57
Neo-Confucianism movement, 104,
120–21, 285
Neusner, Jacob, 255
Neviim (Judaism), 244
Neville, Robert, 124
New Atheists: attacks against religion by, 9, 66, 317–26; crossroads facing, 328–29; debate over creed of, 323–26; ethics of, 325; Godthink, 9, 322–23, 336
New Confucianism, 123–24
Newdow, Michael, 323
New Testament. See Bible
Nicene Creed (Christianity), 67, 68, 69, 70, 74, 199, 251
Nichiren, 191
Nietzsche, Friedrich, 176, 317, 325
Nigeria: independence (1960) of, 218; Islam and Christianity religions in, 221. See also Africa
Night (Wiesel), 9
9/11: Engaged Buddhism criticism of
racial profiling following, 180; Judeo-Christian-Islamic reconception following, 26–27; need to understand religions following, 17; public power of religion influenced by, 320; reading the Quran following, 45; Muslims’ rejection of terrorism and, 10; religious role in terrorism of, 8, 11; U.S. postage stamp issued prior to, 34. See also
terrorism; United States
nirvana (Buddhism): no distinction between samsara and, 200; overcoming suffering to goal of, 177–80, 182–83
Nixon, Richard, 127
Noah’s Ark, 73, 246
Noble Eightfold Path (Buddhism), 14, 172, 181, 200, 201
Noll, Mark, 95
Obama, Barack, 117, 317
Obatala (Yoruba orisha), 215–16
O’Connor, Flannery, 300
Ogun (Yoruba orisha), 216–18
Olcott, Henry Steel, 173
Olodumare (Yoruba Supreme Being), 211–12
Olupona, Jacob, 221
The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History, 38
Onfray, Michel, 9, 318, 319, 326
On the Jews and Their Lies (Luther), 272
OPEC nations, 63
Orishas (DC Comics series), 229
orishas. See Yoruba orishas
Orthodox Jews, 256, 266, 267, 268
orthodoxy (right thought) vs. orthopraxy (right practice), 32, 70, 157, 252
Orunmila (Yoruba orisha), 214, 234
Osanyin (Yoruba orisha), 218
Osborne, Joan, 68
Oshun (Yoruba orisha), 214–15
Osteen, Joel, 93
Ottoman Empire fall (1918), 19, 40
Otto, Rudolf, 48
Oudil, 273
Oya (Yoruba orisha), 218
Oyotunji African Village, 227–28
pacifism, of Sermon on the Mount, 11
Paradise: as goal of Muslims, 32; Quran on the path to, 32, 42–43
Paradise (Morrison), 227
Passover (Jewish festival), 258, 263–66
Patel, Eboo, 336
Patriarch of Constantinople, 75
Paul, 93
Pearl of Great Price (Mormonism), 83
Pentecostalism, 87–91, 92
“people of the book” (Ahl al-Kitab), 26, 57, 256
The Perennial Philosophy (Huxley), 5
perennial philosophy, 6–7
Perfect Realization Daoism, 309–10
Peter, St., 75
Petersham, Maud and Mishka, 65
philosophical Daoism, 311–12
philosophical Hinduism, 144–50
Pink Floyd, 103
Pinker, Steven, 318
Pitt, Brad, 292
Pittsburgh Platform (1885), 268
Plato, 123
Platonism, 172
Pledge of Allegiance lawsuit, 323
politics: Jewish influence in American, 246; Bible used in American, 18; Christianity and modern divisions of, 95–96; Hindutva (Hinduness) movement in Indian, 8, 167–68; Islamism ideology of Muslim extremists, 52–54; religious role in, 6–11; Religious Right impact on, 8, 320, 338
Pol Pot, 317
popular Daoism, 310–11
Prabhavananda, Swami, 6
Prabhupada, Swami, 51
prayers: Jewish Kaddish, 106, 252, 266; Muslims called to adhan, 27–28, 30–31; Orthodox Jews three times a day, 256; Progressive Islam’s mixed-gender Friday prayer service (2005), 55
Presbyterianism, 79
Progressive Islam movement, 20, 54–57
Progressive Muslims (Safi), 54
Protestantism: comparison of Catholicism and, 80–82; evangelicalism, 84–86; Lutherans, Calvinists, Anglicans, and Anabaptists, 78–79; origins of, 76–78; Pentecostalism, 87–91
Protestant Reformation, 76–78
puja (worship) [Hinduism], 157–59
Pullman, Philip, 103
Purim (Jewish festival), 263
Puritans, 79
al-Qaeda: Islamic extremists of, 19; Islamism ideology of, 52–54
qigong (breathing exercises), 282
Qin dynasty (China), 120, 122
Quakers, 68, 276
Quanzhen (Chuan-ch
en) tradition (Daoism), 309–10
Queen Mother of the West (Daoism), 307
Quran: chastisement warnings in the, 46–47; comparing Christian Bible to, 43–45; comparing Jesus to the, 39; content, themes, and organization of, 41–45; descriptions of Allah in the, 36–37; “The Forenoon” sura in the, 45–46; Jahannam (hell) in the, 47; mentions of war in the, 35; on path to Paradise, 32, 42–43; revealed to Muhammad, 28; justice in the, 42, 56–57; “sword verses” in the, 97; written by Allah and the word of God, 40–41. See also Islam
Qutb, Sayyid, 53
Rabin, Yitzhak, 9
Rahner, Karl, 6
Ramadan (Islam fasting month), 33–34
Ramakrishna, 165–66, 167, 339
Ramakrishna Vedanta Society, 6
Ramayana epic (Hinduism), 153, 159, 162–64
Ramayan (comic book series), 164
Ram Lila (weeklong performance), 163
Rand, Ayn, 324
Rastafarianism movement, 15
Reagan Revolution (1980s), 10
Reconstructionist Judaism, 270–71
Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (Philadelphia), 270
rectification of names (Confucianism), 112
Reform Jews, 266, 267, 268, 270
Refuel (New Testament), 75
religion: American public’s growing concerns about, 320–21; Confucianism debate of philosophy versus, 105–9, 129–30, 186; dual toxic and tonic nature of, 9–11; examining the influence of, 17–18; “false and your own” categories of, 5–6; futile search for essence of, 12–13; Harvard University atheism rally (2009) protesting, 327–28; making the case for preeminence for a specific, 18–20; metamorphosis promise of, 331–32; New Atheists’ attacks on, 9, 66, 317–18, 319, 320–26; perennial philosophy on, 6–7; seven dimensions of, 49; social, economic, political, and military importance of, 7–11. See also beliefs
religious Daoism, 312–13
religious differences: “argument allergy” reluctance to discuss, 4–5; blind men examining elephant story demonstrating, 338–39; different paths metaphor of, 1–2; fairness in examining, 20–22; “false and your own” categories of, 5–6; four-step approach to problems/solutions/techniques/exemplars, 13–16; Interfaith Dialogue 2.0 for exploring, 335–36; overview of the multitudes of, 1–3; revelations of examining, 333–40; sports analogy of, 22; on what is wrong with the world, 11–13
Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know—and Doesn’t (Prothero), 13
religious literacy: 20–24, 337
Religious Right, 8, 320, 338
religious rivalries: “clash of civilizations” as, 12, 54, 56, 98; social, economic, political, and military impact of, 7–8
religious tolerance: “all religions are one” mantra of, 3, 4, 8; attacks on ideal of, 321
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