Understanding World Religions: An Interdisciplinary Approach

864 Pages·2011·16.39 MB·English

by  Irving Hexham

UNDERSTANDING
WORLD
RELIGIONS

IRVING HEXHAM
Crisp, comprehensive, packed with unusual insights, and refreshing in style,
Hexham’s book is invaluable for anyone wishing to understand the recent
religious resurgence that has caught so many educated people by surprise, and
shown up their tone deafness about all that is happening.
—OS GUINNESS, author of The Case for Civility

As Pope Benedict constantly reminds us, Christians today face a new situation
where other religious traditions once more challenge Christian belief just as they
did in the days of the apostles. This book helps us understand our non-Christian
neighbors and as such is a valuable tool for all Catholic educators.
—HENRY ROSENBAUM, SAC Former Director of Education for the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary

This is not the conventional or predictable textbook on world religions. As a
good teacher, Irving Hexham is not afraid to offer the kind of opinion or insight
that is bound to provoke discussion and debate. This book is the fruit of many
years of trying to encourage university students to engage meaningfully with the
study of religion and is borne out of great experience.
—GERALD J. PILLAY, Vice-Chancellor (President) and Rector,
Liverpool Hope University

This textbook-type tour of world religions, spiced with personal close-ups,
fully merits a place on thoughtful Christians’ bookshelves. Informal and
informative, learned, wise, chatty, and sometimes provocative, it is a very
impressive performance.
—J. I. PACKER, Professor of Theology, Regent College

My former colleague from Regent College days, and long-time friend, Irving
Hexham has written an absolutely fascinating book on world religions which
reflects a balance and level of scholarship rarely found in introductory works.
Therefore, I enthusiastically endorse this book.
—BRUCE WALTKE, Professor of Old Testament, Knox Theological
Seminary

Irving Hexham writes that “bland approaches [to the study of religion]
produce bland students.” Irving Hexham is not bland, and by combining
authoritative knowledge of the world’s religions with a keen eye for current
events, he has given us a textbook that will not produce bland students. Instead it
will produce students who know about religion and who know how religious
people the world over relate to the crucial issues of the day.
—TERRY C. MUCK, Dean and Professor of Mission and World Religion,
E. Stanley Jones School of World Mission and Evangelism, Asbury
Theological Seminary

Irving Hexham is well known to his many readers through his publications on
religious studies, both as a general field of research, as well as represented in
various movements, both local and worldwide. In Understanding World
Religions, his provocative work, especially on African and also Indian religious
views, is worth the price of the volume. We need to examine these often
neglected areas of study.
—GARY R. HABERMAS, Distinguished Research Professor and Chair of
the Department of Philosophy and Theology, Liberty University

Often it is just scholars who take real interest in world religions and new
religious movements. The only time most of us lift our heads is when we hear of
some tragic event that shows us other people believe differently than we do. But
this is the world we live in and Irving Hexham’s book is a resource that brings
clarity to this vast world of religious beliefs. This book needs to be read and kept
available on the bookshelf of every Christian leader.
—CARSON PUE, President, Arrow Leadership
CONTENTS

Cover
Title Page
Introduction
PART 1: STUDYING RELIGION
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTORY ISSUES IN THE STUDY OF
RELIGION
CHAPTER 2: A BIASED CANON
PART 2: AFRICAN TRADITIONS
CHAPTER 3: AFRICAN RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS
CHAPTER 4: WITCHCRAFT AND SORCERY
CHAPTER 5: GOD IN ZULU RELIGION
CHAPTER 6: THE CASE OF ISAIAH SHEMBE
PART 3: THE YOGIC TRADITION
CHAPTER 7: THE ORIGINS OF YOGIC RELIGIONS
CHAPTER 8: THE RICHNESS OF THE HINDU TRADITION
CHAPTER 9: RETHINKING THE HINDU TRADITION
CHAPTER 10: GANDHI THE GREAT CONTRARIAN
CHAPTER 11: BUDDHISM
CHAPTER 12: THE DEVELOPMENT OF BUDDHIST BELIEF AND
PRACTICE
CHAPTER 13: THE MORAL QUEST OF EDWARD CONZE
CHAPTER 14: OTHER YOGIC-TYPE TRADITIONS
PART 4: THE ABRAMIC TRADITION
CHAPTER 15: EARLY JUDAISM
CHAPTER 16: RABBINIC AND OTHER JUDAISMS
CHAPTER 17: JEWISH FAITH AND PRACTICE
CHAPTER 18: MARTIN BUBER’S ZIONIST SPIRITUALITY
CHAPTER 19: CHRISTIANITY
CHAPTER 20: CHRISTIAN HISTORY
CHAPTER 21: CHRISTIAN FAITH AND PRACTICE
CHAPTER 22: CHRISTIAN POLITICS ACCORDING TO
ABRAHAM KUYPER
CHAPTER 23: THE CHALLENGE OF ISLAM
CHAPTER 24: MUSLIM BELIEFS AND PRACTICES
CHAPTER 25: MUSLIM PIETY
CHAPTER 26: SAYYID QUTB AND THE REBIRTH OF
CONTEMPORARY ISLAM
CONCLUSION: WHITHER RELIGIOUS STUDIES?
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING
CREDITS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Copyright
About the Publisher
Share Your Thoughts
INTRODUCTION
ABOUT THIS BOOK
Why on earth would anyone write yet another introduction to world
religions? In the course of writing this book I have asked myself this question
many times. The reason is, however, fairly simple. I was dissatisfied with
existing religious studies texts, which tend to be rather antiseptic works written
on the basis of a 1960s Star Trek form of cultural relativism that is, frankly, dull.
Like Captain Kirk and his crew, their authors appear to feel mandated to observe
religious traditions without offering criticisms of any except Christianity. Such
an approach attempts to present “the facts” as neutrally as possible, but it fails to
stimulate discussion or challenge the prejudices of students about real issues.
Therefore, I attempt to go beyond mere description to introduce students to
the type of controversy that I believe lies at the heart of all healthy academic
pursuits. My book aims to be like Rodney Stark’s one-time best-selling
Sociology (1992), which presents theories and issues in the context of real
academic disputes. It also takes its cue from Walter Kaufmann’s equally
stimulating Religion in Four Dimensions (1976). The rationale behind this
approach is that one ought to draw students into the study of religion and
religions by addressing issues that capture their imaginations.
When my Concise Dictionary of Religion first appeared in 1993, various
reviewers praised it for its objectivity in reporting basic information.
Nevertheless, some reviewers worried that it was “opinionated,” that after giving
the facts, I sometimes gave my opinion. William M. Johnston saw the logic of
my approach as a teaching technique when he wrote, “More than most reference
book writers, Hexham fans controversy … this introduction to persons and
concepts sparkles, particularly in classroom use. No other glossary combines
range, incisiveness and outspokenness so dexterously … This glossary shows
how a reference work can voice dissent without sacrificing rigor.”
I believe that while individuals who belong to different religions may be good
people, the teachings of some religious groups may be evil. Therefore, papering
over controversial issues simply opens the door for critics like Christopher
Hitchens, the author of God Is Not Great (2007), and groups such as the
Freedom from Religion Foundation, who fault scholars of religion for their lack
of common sense. One may strongly disagree with Hitchens and his colleagues,
such as Oxford professor Richard Dawkins,1 the author of The God Delusion
(2006), who together form a group of highly critical writers promoting what is
often called the “new atheism,”2 but one cannot deny that they make some
interesting points.
From experience, I know that students are far more likely to take an issue
seriously and become fascinated by a topic if they are presented with different
opinions that challenge their way of thinking or the work of other academics.
Bland approaches produce bland students. Therefore, when I present
controversial topics or points of view that are normally ignored by introductory
texts, I am not necessarily presenting my own views. What I am doing is
presenting ideas and arguments that I believe will stimulate debate and draw
students into serious discussions about the study of religion.
For example, in chapter 9 I present various arguments about the origins of
Indian, or what I call “yogic,” religions, which are related to the Indus Valley
civilization, and I raise issues surrounding the Aryan invasions. Then, in chapter
10 I introduce Nirad C. Chaudhuri’s ideas about the development of the Hindu
tradition. Not everyone will agree with what is said here; Chaudhuri is an
important commentator who makes a convincing argument that deserves
attention even though some people regard his work as controversial. By
presenting the Hindu tradition in this way, I intend for students to be stimulated
to find out more and to seriously study the issues involved.
Therefore, while some people will disagree with the ideas and arguments, the
way they are presented allows professors and students alike to enter into
meaningful debates. In this way the book is a teaching tool rather than a set text
that preserves a received tradition.
Another area where some readers will feel disquiet is in my discussions of
various modern thinkers at the end of each main section that outlines a major
religious tradition. For example, my treatment of Gandhi as a contrarian will
surprise many readers and annoy some. Others will complain that I spend far too
little time discussing Gandhi’s personal religious beliefs and far too much time
on his views about imperialism and cultural issues. My approach is intended to
make people see beyond stereotypes. What I hope to achieve is a presentation
that makes the reader want to read what Gandhi, and the others I discuss,
actually said and that develops in the reader a fascination with these important
and, each in their own way, fascinating people.
As a student of Ninian Smart (1927–2001), I place great value on
understanding a religion as it is understood by its practitioners. To borrow
Smart’s words, I believe the student of religion must learn to “walk in anther
person’s moccasins,” or, to put it another way, “see the world through the
interpretive lenses, or tinted glasses, worn by true believers.”
My other mentors include Edward Conze (1904–1979), James Dickie (or
Yaqub Zaki, to give him his Arabic name), Kenneth Ingham, and Fred Welbourn
(1912–1986)—all of whom took very different approaches to the study of
religion and never avoided controversy. I also admire, among others, the work of
Walter Kaufmann (1921–1980) and Karl Popper (1902–1994), to whom I owe
an intellectual debt. From all of these people I learned that “understanding
precedes criticism,” which expresses the spirit of this book.
The book is divided into four parts: (1) “Studying Religion,” (2) “African
Traditions,” (3) “The Yogic Tradition,” including Hindu religions and
Buddhism, and (4) “The Abramic Tradition,” which includes Christianity,
Judaism, and Islam; these are followed by a short conclusion reflecting on
Christian approaches to other religious traditions. Each part deals with a major
religious tradition and some of its manifestations. These sections are designed to
provide basic information about various religions in an engaging way. Thus, the
last chapter dealing with each major religion focuses on one particular
individual. In this way students are given insights into the work of people who
embrace specific religious traditions, and they are helped to see that very often
such people adopt positions that seem contradictory to outsiders. This is done to
help students grasp the complexity of religious life and recognize that
engagement with an individual’s life and work brings with it the realization that
religious beliefs are never as neat and clear-cut as they appear in most textbooks.
Initially I had planned to make each part and each section within it identical.
As a result I intended to produce a uniform manuscript which allows students to
compare the history, teachings, and practices of each major religious tradition
with those of other traditions systematically. As I wrote the book, I found that
this neat scheme did not work. Religions and religious traditions are different.
Each is unique. Therefore, a different approach was demanded for each tradition
if I hoped to capture its essence in a few short chapters. As a result the book
lacks the obvious cohesion of the earlier plan but is, I believe, more authentic
and useful to the student of religions.
Some readers will no doubt find the inclusion of footnotes tiresome and
inappropriate for an introductory textbook. Although I can understand this
reaction, I believe it is wrong. Therefore, I compromised by providing footnotes
—and at times there are a lot of them—only for those sections and arguments
where serious questions exist about the claims I make. In this way I provide