West Africa's Women of God examines the history of direct revelation from Emitai, the Supreme Being, which has been central to the Diola religion from before European colonization to the present day. Robert M. Baum charts the evolution of this movement from its origins as an exclusively male tradition to one that is largely female. He traces the response of Diola to the distinct challenges presented by conquest, colonial rule, and the post-colonial era. Looking specifically at the work of ...

Scholars have sometimes maintained that the study of the history of African religions is an impossible endeavor. Some have contended that African religions do not have a history unto themselves, apart from their interaction with the newer religious traditions of Islam and Christianity. Others concede that such a history exists, but believe the source materials are insufficient to reconstruct such a history. This book speaks directly to these critics. The history of African religions become...

Scholars have sometimes maintained that the study of the history of African religions is an impossible endeavor. Some have contended that African religions do not have a history unto themselves, apart from their interaction with the newer religious traditions of Islam and Christianity. Others concede that such a history exists, but believe the source materials are insufficient to reconstruct such a history. This book speaks directly to these critics.By relying on the existing corpu...

"Readers cannot but be provoked and stimulated by this splendidly iconoclastic and refreshing book."—Andrew Porter, New York Times Book ReviewThe Wealth and Poverty of Nations is David S. Landes's acclaimed, best-selling exploration of one of the most contentious and hotly debated questions of our time: Why do some nations achieve economic success while others remain mired in poverty? The answer, as Landes definitively illustrates, is a complex interplay of cultur...

Every cow just wants to be happy. Every chicken just wants to be free. Every bear, dog, or mouse experiences sorrow and feels pain as intensely as any of us humans do. In a compelling appeal to reason and human kindness, Matthieu Ricard here takes the arguments from his best-sellers Altruism and Happiness to their logical conclusion: that compassion toward all beings, including our fellow animals, is a moral obligation and the direction toward which any enlightened societ...

First English translation of the book that introduced the realm of Hollow Earth• Explores the underground world of Agarttha, sometimes known as Shambhala, a realm that is spiritually and technologically advanced beyond our modern culture• One of the most influential works of 19th-century occultism• Written by the philosopher who influenced Papus, Rene Guénon, and Rudolf SteinerThe underground realm of Agarttha was first introduced to the Western world in 188...

In this new and substantially expanded Third Edition, Philip Jenkins continues to illuminate the remarkable expansion of Christianity in the global South--in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Drawing upon the extensive new scholarship that has appeared on this topic in recent years, he asks how the new Christianity is likely to affect the poor, among whom it finds its most devoted adherents. How should we interpret the enormous success of prosperity churches across the Global South? Politic...

A powerful and essential anthology that sheds light on the status of women throughout the worldHailed by Alice Walker as "one of the most important human documents of the century," this collection of groundbreaking essays examines the global status of women's experiences, from oppression to persecution. Originally published in 1984, the compilation features pieces written by a diverse set of powerful women—journalists, politicians, grassroots activists, and scholar...

Long the dominant religion of the West, Christianity is now rapidly becoming the principal faith in much of the postcolonial world--a development that marks a momentous shift in the religion's very center of gravity. In this eye-opening book, Lamin Sanneh examines the roots of this "post-Western awakening" and the unparalleled richness and diversity, as well as the tension and conflict, it has brought to World Christianity. Tracing Christianity's rise from its birth on the edge of the Roma...

A collection of Daniélou's writings that builds a bold and cogent defense of India's caste system• Looks at the Hindu caste system not as racist inequality but as a natural ordering of diversity• Reveals the stereotypes of Indian society invented to justify colonialism• Includes never-before-published articles by the internationally recognized Hindu scholar and translator of The Complete Kama Sutra (200,000 copies sold)In classical India social ethi...

Th is book is one of the fi rst ever published on Haiti after the catastrophic Earthquake of January 12 2010. In Haiti:Th e Refoundation of a Nation we are introduced to the fruit of the authors long refl ection and diligent research on the nature of the Haitian state and its diffi cult evolution through more than two hundred years of history. In it, the author believes that Haitis errors began as far back as 1804, and therein lies the primary reason for its troubles. Th e state has unwitt...

Continuing the narrative from Volume One of: From Bharata to India, this second volume spans the years from the Muslim conquests down to the present era.The Volume begins by contrasting the stifling theocracy of the Abrahamic religions (Judaism and Christianity), and of Islam, to the pristine ideation of compassion, love and universal wellbeing inherent in the Vedic world. The forced conversion of pagan peoples and their places of worship was consequently institutionalized by intol...