The New Religions
Type
Book
Authors
Category
Cults
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Publication Year
1970
Publisher
Pages
245
Tags
Description
"These teachings resonate with something in people which is utterly untouched by everything else in our society, something which "makes no sense" from one point of view, but which makes the most essential and urgent sense in the world from another point of view."
This book describes the teachings and practices of the new, predominantly Oriental religions that are rapidly gaining influence in America - particularly in the West and among the young. In remarkably lucid and informative terms, Jacob Needleman examines the specific areas in which traditional Western religions have failed modern man, and the ways in which the Eastern religions offer their followers the practical means for improving the quality of their lives.
He offers a comprehensive picture of the activities, doctrines, and organizational structure of the most significant movements, a portrait of some of their leaders, and a glimpse into the experiences of their adherents. His research has included personal participation in many of the group's activities as well as readings in their most influential philosophers, both American and foreign.
The result is a vital and absorbing study of a phenomenon that has not only dramatically altered the lives of those it has touched directly, but also, Dr. Needleman believes, "bids well to change the religious life of the Western world itself."
Despite his relative youth, Jacob Needleman has had a varied and distinguished career. He graduated from Harvard in 1956, used several grants, including a Fulbright, to study in Europe during the next three years, and received his Ph.D. in philosophy from Yale in 1961. He spent a year as a trainee in clinical psychology, another year as a research fellow at the Rockefeller Institute, and was visiting scholar at Union Theological Seminary. Since 1962, he has taught at San Francisco State College, where he is now Chairman of the Department of Philosophy.
Taken from the inside flaps.
This book describes the teachings and practices of the new, predominantly Oriental religions that are rapidly gaining influence in America - particularly in the West and among the young. In remarkably lucid and informative terms, Jacob Needleman examines the specific areas in which traditional Western religions have failed modern man, and the ways in which the Eastern religions offer their followers the practical means for improving the quality of their lives.
He offers a comprehensive picture of the activities, doctrines, and organizational structure of the most significant movements, a portrait of some of their leaders, and a glimpse into the experiences of their adherents. His research has included personal participation in many of the group's activities as well as readings in their most influential philosophers, both American and foreign.
The result is a vital and absorbing study of a phenomenon that has not only dramatically altered the lives of those it has touched directly, but also, Dr. Needleman believes, "bids well to change the religious life of the Western world itself."
Despite his relative youth, Jacob Needleman has had a varied and distinguished career. He graduated from Harvard in 1956, used several grants, including a Fulbright, to study in Europe during the next three years, and received his Ph.D. in philosophy from Yale in 1961. He spent a year as a trainee in clinical psychology, another year as a research fellow at the Rockefeller Institute, and was visiting scholar at Union Theological Seminary. Since 1962, he has taught at San Francisco State College, where he is now Chairman of the Department of Philosophy.
Taken from the inside flaps.
Number of Copies
1
