Religion is the most fundamental, comprehensive of all human activities. it tries to make sense out of not simply one or another aspect of human life, but of all aspects of human experience. At the core of every civilization lies its religion, which both reflects and shapes it. Thus, if we wish to understand human life in general and our specific culture and history, we need to understand religion. What is religion? Religion is an explanation of the ultimate meaning of life, and how to live accordingly; based on a notion of the Transcendent. Normally it contains the four "C's": Creed, Code, Cult, Community-structure. CREED refers To The cognitive aspect of a religion; it is everything that goes into the "explanation" of the ultimate meaning of life. CODE OF BEHAVIOR, or ethics, includes all the rules and customs of action that somehow follow from one aspect or another of the Creed. CULT means all the ritual activities that relate the follower to one aspect or another of the Transcendent, either directly or indirectly, prayer being an example of the former and certain formal behavior toward representatives of the Transcendent, such as priests, of the latter. COMMUNITY-STRUCTURE refers To The relationships among the followers; this can vary widely, from a very egalitarian relationship, As among Quakers, through a "republican" structure as Presbyterians have, To a monarchical one, As with some Hasidic Jews have with their Rebbe. THE TRANSCENDENT, As the roots of the word indicate, means "that which goes beyond" the everyday, The ordinary, The surface experience of reality. it can mean spirits, gods, a Personal God, An Impersonal God, Emptiness, etc. This volume looks at the ways we humans have developed to study religion. However, a new age in human consciousness is now dawning: The Age of Global Dialogue, a radically new consciousness which fundamentally shifts the ways we understand everything in life, including religion. This global dialogical way of understanding life does not lead to one global religion, but it does lead toward a consciously acknowledged common set of ethical principles, a Global Ethic. The book looks at these two movements—the Age of Global Dialogue and inchoative Global Ethic—in order to help readers understand what is going on around them, So they might make informed, intelligent decisions about the meaning of life and how to live it. Author note:Leonard Swidleris Professor of Religion at Temple University.Paul Mojzesis Academic Dean and Professor of Religious Studies at Rosemount College.

Thinking beyond the absolutes Christians and other religious persons increasingly find "deabsolutized" in our modern thought world, Swidler reflects on the ways we humans think about the world and its meaning now that increasingly we notice that there are other ways of understanding the world than the way we grew up in. In this new situation we need to develop a common language we can use together both to appreciate our neighbors and enrich ourselves, what the author calls Ecumenical Esperanto, because it should serve as a common language without replacing any of the living languages of our religious and ideological traditions. Of course, such thinking anew about the world and its meaning must necessarily mean thinking anew about all of our religious beliefs--but this time, in dialogue.

This is a volume written for persons who live in the mental world of modernity--that is, in a world that cherishes (1) freedom as the core of being human; (2) critical-thinking reason as the arbiter of what to affirm or not; (3) history, process, and dynamism at the heart of human life and society; and (4) dialogue with those who think differently yet who sense that there is somehow more to life, to reality, than meets the eye: that there is a depth or spiritual dimension not captured in our everyday experiences, which is customarily called religion. Religion for Reluctant Believers explores the meaning of life: its joys, problems, and terrors, its pluses and minuses. In short, it asks the question, do you want to buy into Religion with a capital r, into a particular religion, or into no religion at all?

Thinking beyond the absolutes Christians and other religious persons increasingly find "deabsolutized" in our modern thought world, Swidler reflects on the ways we humans think about the world and its meaning now that increasingly we notice that there are other ways of understanding the world than the way we grew up in. In this new situation we need to develop a common language we can use together both to appreciate our neighbors and enrich ourselves, what the author calls Ecumenical Esperanto, because it should serve as a common language without replacing any of the living languages of our religious and ideological traditions. Of course, such thinking anew about the world and its meaning must necessarily mean thinking anew about all of our religious beliefs--but this time, in dialogue.

This invaluable volume gathers together the cumulative insight of more than fifty years of Leonard Swidler's work on dialogue. The founder and president of the Dialogue Institute, Swidler offers through experience and research his theory and tools of interreligious, intercultural, and international dialogue.

This comprehensive volume brings together a distinguished editorial team, including some of the field’s pioneers, to explore the aims, practice, and historical context of interfaith collaboration. Explores in full the background, history, objectives, and discourse between the leaders and practitioners of the world’s major religions Examines relations between religions from around the world, moving well beyond the common focus on Christianity, to also cover over 12 major religions Features a wealth of case studies on contemporary interreligious dialogue Charts a long-term shift away from a competitive rivalry between belief systems, and a change in focus towards the more respectful, cooperative approach reflected in institutions such as the World Council of Churches Includes up-to-date commentary on the growing dialogue of recent years, written by some of the leading figures working in the field of interfaith discourse

Muthuraj Swamy provides a fresh perspective on the world religions paradigm and 'interreligious dialogue'. By challenging the assumption that 'world religions' operate as essential entities separate from the lived experiences of practitioners, he shows that interreligious dialogue is in turn problematic as it is built on this very paradigm, and on the myth of religious conflict. Offering a critique of the idea of 'dialogue' as it has been advanced by its proponents such as religious leaders and theologians whose aims are to promote inter-religious conversation and understanding, the author argues that this approach is 'elitist' and that in reality, people do not make sharp distinctions between religions, nor do they separate political, economic, social and cultural beliefs and practices from their religious traditions. Case studies from villages in southern India explore how Hindu, Muslim and Christian communities interact in numerous ways that break the neat categories often used to describe each religion. Swamy argues that those who promote dialogue are ostensibly attempting to overcome the separate identities of religious practitioners through understanding, but in fact, they re-enforce them by encouraging a false sense of separation. The Problem with Interreligious Dialogue: Plurality, Conflict and Elitism in Hindu-Christian-Muslim Relations provides an innovative approach to a central issue confronting Religious Studies, combining both theory and ethnography.