Encyclopedia of Religion by Lindsay Jones (ED) (S.V "Butler Joseph" تا S.V "Blavatski" از) کے مضامین کا علمی و تنقیدی جائزہ

Abstract

A religion is an organized collection of beliefs, cultural systems, and world views that relate humanity to an order of existence. There are many religions in the world. The study of religions emerged as a formal discipline during the 19th century when the methods and approaches of history, philosophy, literary criticism, psychology, anthropology, sociology, economics, and other fields were brought to bear on the task of determining the history, origins, and functions of religion. Since 19th Century, encyclopaedias have been written to explain world religions. Encyclopedia of Religion which consists of 15 volumes is one such encyclopaedia. It was first published in 1987 which sought "to introduce educated, non-specialist readers to important ideas, practices, and persons in the religious experience of humankind from the ancient past to our days." Encyclopedia of Religion is a comprehensive study of different religions but it lacks critical analysis. The critical appreciation and analytic study of this voluminous book will benefit large circle of educated people who are still deprived from the realm of its knowledge. For this purpose, an attempt has been made here to critically evaluate Encyclopaedia of Religion (Volume 2) from page 977 to 1339 including topics from Blavatski to Butler Joseph.