Encyclopedia of World Religions PDF
Preview Encyclopedia of World Religions
Britannica E NCYCLOPEDIA OF W ORLD R ELIGIONS Cover photographs: (Left to Right by row) ©Insy Shah—Gulfimages/Getty; ©Robert Harding—Digital Vision/Getty; ©Richard Hamilton Smith/Corbis; ©Roger Wood/Corbis; ©John Block—Botanica/Getty; ©Tom Le Goff—Digital Vision/Getty; ©Murat Taner—zefa/Corbis; ©John William Banagan—Photodisc Green/Getty; ©Bryan Mullennix—Photodisc Red/Getty Britannica E NCYCLOPEDIA OF W ORLD R ELIGIONS Jacob E. Safra, Chairman of the Board Jorge Aguilar-Cauz, President Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Chicago • London • New Delhi • Paris • Seoul • Sydney • Taipei • Tokyo Britannica E NCYCLOPEDIA OF W ORLD R ELIGIONS Encyclopædia Britannica First published in 1768, Encyclopædia Britannica has long been the standard by which all other reference works are judged. It represents a tradition of excellence that was built, over the centuries, on meticulous scholarship and unmatched attention to detail. Today, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., produces a range of fine products for reference, education, and learning in different media and in many different languages. Wherever you see the Britannica name—in print, on the Internet, CD-ROM, or DVD—it is your guarantee of quality, accuracy, and authority. © 2006 BY ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA, INC. Copyright Under International Copyright Union All Rights Reserved Under International and Universal Copyright Conventions by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Library of Congress Control Number: 2005935497 International Standard Book Number: 978-1-59339-491-2 The original edition of this book, created in conjunction with Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, was published in 1999 as Merriam-Webster’s Encyclopedia of World Religions. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Encyclopædia Britannicaand other fine products are available on the Internet at http://www.britannica.com. (Trademark Reg. U.S. Pat. Off.) Printed in Singapore. ADVISORSANDAUTHORS ConsultingEditor Christianity ReligionsofEastAsia WendyDoniger JaroslavPelikan NormanGirardot MirceaEliadeDistinguished SterlingProfessorofHistory ProfessorofReligionStudies ServiceProfessoroftheHistory (Emeritus) LehighUniversity ofReligions YaleUniversity UniversityofChicago ReligionsofIndia Islam JohnStrattonHawley PrimaryContributors JuanE.Campo ProfessorofReligion ProfessorofReligiousStudies BarnardCollege Buddhism UniversityofCalifornia ColumbiaUniversity FrankReynolds atSantaBarbara ProfessoroftheHistory MarthaAnnSelby ofReligions Judaism SouthernMethodistUniversity UniversityofChicago JacobNeusner DistinguishedResearchProfessor ReligionsofIndigenousPeoples ComparativeReligion ofReligiousStudies DavídL.Carrasco andReligiousStudies UniversityofSouthFlorida ProfessorofReligion HansH.Penner PrincetonUniversity PrestonH.KelseyProfessor ReligionsofAncientPeoples ofReligion MortenWarmind DartmouthCollege AdjunctProfessor CopenhagenUniversity AdditionalContributors AfricanReligions BrianK.Smith SaraMandell LauraGrillo NewYorkUniversity UniversityofSouthFlorida CollegeofWooster RupaVisnawath SteveMason Buddhism ColumbiaUniversity (“FlaviusJosephus”) JeffShirkey YorkUniversity UniversityofChicago SusanWadley (“Qhole”) JacobStaub Christianity SyracuseUniversity Reconstructionist MichaelFrassetto RabbinicalCollege (“JesusChrist”) Islam EncyclopædiaBritannica KevinReinhart JamesR.Strange (“Eahera”) UniversityofSouthFlorida JamesO’Donnell DartmouthCollege (“St.Augustine”) Millennialism UniversityofPennsylvania Jainism RichardLandes JohnCort BostonUniversity Gnosticism DenisonUniversity KarenKing NativeAmericanReligions HarvardUniversity Judaism ChristopherJocks AlanJ.Avery-Peck DartmouthCollege Hinduism CollegeoftheHolyCross PaulArney LawrenceE.Sullivan ColumbiaUniversity PhilipR.Davies HarvardUniversity (“DeadSeaScrolls”) JefferyKripal UniversityofSheffield NewReligiousMovements (“Uektism”) MurrayRubinstein WestminsterCollege IthamarGruenwald BaruchCollege (“QabbalahandJewish JamesLocktefeld Mysticism”) BrianK.Smith CarthageCollege TelAvivUniversity NewYorkUniversity ChristianNovetzke StevenKatz Sikhism ColumbiaUniversity (“TheHolocaust”) GurinderSingh-Mann BostonUniversity ColumbiaUniversity v © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. CONTENTS v AdvisorsandAuthors MajorArticles▲ viii Editor’sPreface ix Introductionby WendyDoniger xi ExplanatoryNotes xiii GuidetoPronunciation xvii PronunciationSymbols 1 EncyclopediaofWorld ReligionsfromAaron 16AfricanReligions 48AnatolianReligions toZwingli ColorPlates: SacredPlaces, followingpage238 SacredRituals, followingpage430 SacredImages, followingpage686 SacredCostumes, followingpage910 1168 Bibliography 250Confucianism 316EgyptianReligion 370GermanicReligion 584Judaism 714MesopotamianReligions 726Millennialism 868Pre-ColumbianMeso- 876Pre-ColumbianSouth 920ReligiousExperience AmericanReligions AmericanReligions vi © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 94AustralianReligion 146Buddhism 202Christianity 388GreekReligion 432Hinduism 514Islam 548Jainism 762MysteryReligions 770Mythology 782NativeAmericanReligions 798NewReligiousMovements 932Ritual 940RomanReligion 996Shintj 1006Sikhism 1030StudyofReligion 1042Symbolismand 1060Taoism Iconography vii © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. PREFACE eligionhasbeenoneofthegreatupliftingandunifyingforcesofhumanhistory.The worditselfderivesfromanancientLatintermmeaning“tobindtogether,”and thereligionsoftheworldhaveoftenbroughtdiversegroupstogetherinpursuitof highermoralorspiritualgoals.Inthiswayreligionhasnotonlystrengthenedthe bonds of community but also provided many of the basic moral principles on whichsocietieshavebeenbuilt.Theworld’sartandliteraturehavebeengreatly shapedbyreligion,andmoderntheatertracesitsoriginstoancientandmedieval religiousrituals.Notleastimportant,religionprovidescomfortandconsolation andaguideforunderstandinglife’strialsandtriumphs,wondersandtragedies. Religionhasalsobeenoneofthemostdivisiveanddestructiveforcesinhistory. TheCrusadesandtheMusliminvasionsofIndiaareperhapsthebest-knownex- amples of this tendency, but there have been numerous other incidents of vio- lenceandsocialunrestinspiredbyreligioushatred.Inthemodernworld,religion hasbeenusedtojustifytheoppressionofwomen,thedestructionofmonumental worksofart,andthemurderofcountlessthousandsofinnocentpeople. The fundamental importance of religion in human history and everyday life callsforadeeperunderstandingofthereligionsoftheworld,anditisthepurpose ofthisvolumetoaidinthiseffort.BasedonMerriam-Webster’sEncyclopediaof WorldReligions,publishedinconjunctionwithEncyclopædiaBritannicain1999, theBritannicaEncyclopediaofWorldReligionsisahandy,one-volumecompen- dium covering the significant people, beliefs, and practices of the various reli- gionsoftheworld.Manyofitsarticleshavebeenrevisedandupdatedtoreflect changesinscholarshiportodocumentotherchangesinreligiousbeliefandprac- tice.Thefocusofthevolumeremainstrulyglobal,however,reflectingtheedi- tors’intentiontoprovideforeachoftheworld’sreligionsacomprehensiveover- viewofitscurrentstateandathoroughsurveyofitshistoricaldevelopment.The volumeincludesarticlesonthemajorreligionsoftheworld,discussionsoftheir various subgroups, and introductions to new religious movements that have emerged in recent times. There are articles on the founders of the world’s reli- gions;biographiesoftheologians,saints,andotherinspirationalfigures;anddis- cussionsofsacraments,holydays,anddogmas.Thealreadyextensivecoverageof the earlier edition has been complementedby new articles on a varietyof sub- jects,includingpopesBenedictXVIandUrbanII,theTaliban,fundamentalism, theWesternWall,andtheCrusades. The roughly 3,500 entries in the volume were either written specifically for thisencyclopediaordrawnfromEncyclopædiaBritannica;inbothcasestheyre- flectthehighstandardsofscholarshipwithwhichBritannicahaslongbeenasso- ciated.Thearticlesaredrawntogetherbyanintricatesystemofcross-references andareaugmentedbynumerousphotographsandillustrations,including32color platesorganizedbytheme.Thereareseveralmapsshowingthegeographicdistri- butionoftheworld’sreligionsaswellasmissionaryroutes,holysites,andother historical and cultural developments. The maps themselves have been revised andupdatedforthisvolume.Finally,theextensivescholarlybibliographyofMer- riam-Webster’sEncyclopediaofWorldReligionshasbeensubstantiallyrevised andupdatedtoguidetheinterestedreadertothelatestandmostdefinitivestud- iesonawiderangeoftopics. The Britannica Encyclopedia of World Religions will provide all readers, regardlessofbackground,withadeeperappreciationofthereligiousexperienceof people throughout history and across the globe. We at Encyclopædia Britannica areconfidentthatyouwillfindthisvolumeavaluableadditiontoyourreference library. The Britannica Encyclopedia of World Religions was prepared for publication by a team of dedicated Britannica staff members. In alphabetical order, they are: Marilyn Barton, Steven Bosco, Nancy Donohue Canfield, Gavin Chiu, Kimberly L. Cleary, Jeannine Deubel, Brian Duignan, Annie Feldmeier, Carol Gaines, Kim Gerber, Kurt Heintz, Steven Kapusta, Larry Kowalski, Lara Mondae, Lorraine Murray,KathyNakamura,CateNichols,TheodorePappas,DennisSkord,Sylvia Wallace,BruceWalters,MarkWiechec,andMeganWilliams. MICHAELFRASSETTO,EDITOR vviiiiii © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. INTRODUCTION heBritannicaEncyclopediaofWorldReligionsseekstorespondinasystematicway tothegrowingimportanceofreligioninthecontemporaryworld.Wehaveentered thenewmillenniuminthemiddleofaconversationthathasbeenbuildingtoacri- sisthroughoutthe20thcenturybetweenpeoplewholivereligionandpeoplewho studyit,sometimestojustifyit,sometimestochallengeit,sometimestosatisfy theircuriosityaboutit.Religiousfaithisanexplicitlycontestedissueinpolitics— locally(prayerinschool),nationally(theinfluenceofChristianvaluesuponlegis- lativeandjudicialpolicy),andinternationally(Islambeingthemostprominentbut bynomeanstheonlyreligionintheheadlines)—butmanyparticipantsintheseen- countersaregenuinelytryingtounderstandoneanother’spositions.Thisbookis intendednotonlyforpeoplewhobelieveinreligionbutalsoforpeoplewhodonot, inthehopesofestablishingasoundbodyofknowledgeaboutreligiontobeusedin formulatingacommongroundforbothtypesofpeopletostandonintheirongoing conversation. Religionhasalwaysbeenamatteroflifeanddeath,notonlyintermsofitsown functions(baptismandburial)butalsoasarallyingpointfordecidingthelife— moreoftenthedeath—oflargegroupsofpeoplelabeledinfidels.Generallyspeak- ing,however,inthepastitwasdeemedsufficienttoknowone’sownreligioninor- dertogotowartodefenditagainstinfidels;nowwehavebeguntounderstandthat weneedabroader—darewesayencyclopedic?—understandingofotherpeoples’re- ligionsifwewantnottogotowar,andnottobeinfidelsourselves. Thegrowingprominenceofnewspaperandtelevisioncoverageofreligiousfac- torsembeddedinworld-shakingeventstakingplacearoundtheglobehasunfortu- natelynotbeenmatchedbyanequallydeepening,orevenbroadening,understand- ingofthoseissues.Thepressuresonpoliticiansandjournaliststomakejudgments aboutreligionquickly,oftenonthebasisofludicrouslyinadequateknowledge,has erodedratherthannurturedthepublicavailabilityofreliableinformation.Andthe presenceofanenormousandsteadilygrowingbodyofmisinformationontheIn- ternetissurelypartoftheproblem,notpartofthesolution.Thisispreciselythe moment,therefore,toassembleabodyofknowledgethatisasobjectiveandau- thoritativeaspossible,andthecriticalneedforsuchknowledgeexplainswhyso manyencyclopediasofreligionhaveappearedinrecentyears.Weneedtoknow,for instance,notonlyhowmanyMuslimsthereareintheworld(intheUnitedStates theyaremorenumerousthanEpiscopalians),buthowmanydifferentwaysthere aretobeaMuslim,andwhatthedifferentgroupsamongthembelieveanddo. Itmightbeargued,however,thatreligionisnotafittingsubjectforanencyclo- pedia,thatreligion—soformless,sosubjective,suchamovingtarget—cannotbe pinneddownwithinagenrethatpromisesorganized,comprehensivefactualdata. Theveryphrase“fromAtoZ”—or,tousethereligiousphrase,“alphatoomega”— promisesatotalitythatwecannotdeliver.Thepresentvolumeanswersthatchal- lenge,astheEnglish-speakingworldhaslongregardedtheEncyclopædiaBritan- nicaastheultimatesourceofdispassionate,authoritativeknowledge.Aparallel authorityexistedintheMiddleAges,whendisputeswereoftensettledbyresorting towhatwascalledtheSortesVirgilianes,or“Virgil’sLottery.”Facedwithanim- portantdecision,onewouldcloseone’seyes,openavolumeofVirgilatrandom,and placeone’sfingeruponthepage,toalinewhichwasthenreadouttogivetheadvice thatwassought. Igrewupinahomewherethedinnertablewasoftenhastily cleared,inmid-course,tomakewayforavolumeoftheBritannicatobethrown down,sometimeswithconsiderableforce,andopenedtoapassagewhichwasthen readforthtosilenceanopponent:“There,yousee?Itoldyouso.” Butitbehoovesustomakeadistinctionbetweenfacts,objectivity,andauthor- ity. The scales have fallen from our postmodern eyes; we have become aware of ourepistemologicalnakedness,andwehavebeentoldthatthereisnosuchthing as objective knowledge. But even the philosopher-historian R.G. Collingwood, a championofthisview,admittedthat, thoughthestoryofCaesar’sassassination canbetoldinvariousways,therearewaysinwhichitcannotbetold:itcannot besaidthatCaesarkilledBrutus.Indismissingtheargumentthat,becausecom- pleteobjectivityisimpossibleinthesematters,onemightaswellletone’ssenti- mentsrunloose,theeconomistRobertSolowlikenedittosayingthat,becausea iixx © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
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