Religious conversion has always been and remains today a controversial issue in many of the world's reigions. It has been promoted, condoned, banned but almost never ignored. Although it normally appears in a religious context, the language of conversion can be discerned at the heart of the new religious pluralism that is increasingly present at least in many Western societies. This volume explains the practices of various world religions and highlights some of the issues that cut across traditions and emerge in distinctive ways in different ways in different religions and cultural settings. The first three chapters offer students some theoretical perspectives, and are followed by accounts of the history of conversion in Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism, Chinese religion and Zoroastrianism, as well as descriptions of contemporary practice. Additonal chapters look in depth at personal stories of conversion, both within Christianity and from Christianity Eastern and New Age forms of religion. The book will be of interest to undergraduates as well as the general reader interested in gaining an insight into an enduring controversy that affects all religions.Christopher Lamb is Head of the Centre for Inter-Faith Dialogue at Middlesex University, London. M. Darrol Bryant is Professor of Religion and Culture at Renison College, University of Waterloo, Ontario.

About the Author
M. Darroll Bryant, is professor of Religion and Culture at Renison College and Chairman of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Waterloo in Ontario.

Reviews
"...the volume does an excellent job of distinguishing between ethnic and universal religions, pointing out that conversion is more apt to be associated with the universal religions...this is an excellent volume, one that should be on the shelf of any scholar or student interested in conversion. Perhaps its strongest point is that it is written in a style that makes it accessible both to scholars and to lay persons."--Hindu-Christian Studies, 14 (2001)



Book Information
ISBN 9780304338436
Author Christopher Lamb
Format Paperback
Page Count 348
Imprint Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd.
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Weight(grams) 560g