
Cultural Literacy for Religion: Everything the Well-Educated Person Should Know
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Narrated by:
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Mark Berkson
According to polls conducted by Gallup and the Pew Research Forum on Religion & Public Life, the majority of Americans fail basic tests about religion, including tests on their own faith. This is troublesome because religious literacy is about so much more than naming deities or knowing the stories of ancient history. For many of us, religion is a way to examine and understand ourselves.
Moreover, religious literacy – the knowledge of basic teachings, symbols, practices, founders, institutions, and values of the world's religious traditions - can shed new light on the world around us and knock down the boundaries between us, making us better neighbors and better citizens. These 24 enlightening lectures offer you the chance to experience the breadth and depth of the world's religions from all angles – historical, theological, and cultural. They take you on a tour of the world and its religious cultures. From India to East Asia to the Middle East to the United States, your journey with Professor Berkson introduces you to the beliefs and practices of other traditions and provides you with new insights into your own.
The course approaches each religion from an "imaginative insider's perspective." What does the world look like from the perspective of someone within each tradition? What does this person value and care about? What are the everyday scriptures, rituals, traditions, and holidays like?
Along the way, you'll discover certain features that are common to many religions – concepts of divinity, scripture, rituals, and explanations of good and evil - and you'll find new ways to attain greater self-understanding.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
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I do wish that there was a chapter on Pagan religions. Even a minor one. But it was still a great overall feel for all the major religions you would encounter in the news.
A fantastic summary of World Religions.
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Highly, highly recommended.
Fantastic
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Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
It's very fast and necessarily cursory, but well taught and very insightful.Who was your favorite character and why?
N/AWhich scene was your favorite?
N/AWhat’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?
Professor Berkson sheds great light on Hinduism, showing that polytheism strives to make monotheism reachable and sensed by the masses.Any additional comments?
NOBreadth and Depth of Knowledge with good humor too
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Major topics covered in this course include Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, Shintoism, Shamanism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Jainism, Sikhism, and the Bahá'í Faith.
I also enjoyed the first two lectures, “Religion: It’s meaning and Importance” and “Facets of Religion: Divinity and Devotion”, and last two, “Religion and Law in America” and “Religion Today: Trends, Challenges, and Hope”, as bookends to the other lectures. These additional chapters take what you learned (or are about to learn) and put them into context.
Personally, I wish religion was taught more in public schools (in the form of secular study-- not proselytizing). It would definitely demystify some of the hocus pocus people learn about religion when they ask a question about a religious topic and are told, “WE DoN’T TaLk AbOUt ReLIGioN HeRE, mY CHiLd. IT iS FoRbIDDeN.” Add a dash of radicalism from the news and no wonder people think it’s spooky!
Like a College Course
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Good perspective of most religions in the world. Respecting all the difference s that leads us to the same idea!
Thank you!
Touching and seeing the elephant!
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This type of course should probably be strongly recommended at the college level - if not high school. A solid enough curriculum could be developed to cover one quarter or semester. Understanding of others' religious beliefs is critical to building a more equitable society.
Valuable information explained with deep respect!
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Informative and interesting
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Required Religious Knowledge for Citizens of 2019
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fantastic. All should listen
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Thuroughly Enjoyed!
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