What does it mean to live as a religious person today? 'Religions in Focus' offers an introduction to living religions, examining the relationship between present-day demands and religious traditions, sacred texts and authoritative teachings. The essays examine how religion is expressed across the world; from Sikhs, shamans and animists, indigenous religionists in Africa and the African diaspora, to Muslims, Latter Day Saints, Jews, Japanese religionists, and Zoroastrians. 'Religions in Focus' presents an engaging analysis of religious life that will be of interest to students of anthropology...

To mark the retirement of John F. A. Sawyer, Professor of Religious Studies in the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, colleagues and former students from around the world have contributed studies on his areas of interest: the study of Hebrew, the books of the Jewish Bible, and the culture and traditions of Judaism. The essayists consider not simply the origin of the meaning of word and text, but also the many and strange ways in which word and text become transposed, re-oriented and often enough traduced by later interests and purposes. The roll call of scholars reads: Philip Alexander,...