The Journey
With open minds, eager for the many benefits of studying religions, we now begin an intellectual
pilgrimage to many of the world’s important living religions. We will first look at a sample of
religions often associated with native peoples across the globe. We will then go on to study
religions that emerged on the Indian subcontinent and then to the religions that arose in China
and Japan. Next we will travel to the area east of the Mediterranean Sea—a generally arid region
that nonetheless has been fertile ground for new religious ideas. Finally, we will encounter some
of the newest religious movements and will consider the modern religious search.
Our journey, though academic and intellectual, may prompt strong emotions in some readers. For
some it will be a prelude to an actual physical pilgrimage. For others it will be an intellectual
pilgrimage that will provoke both doubt and insight.
We begin with the knowledge that at the end of every journey we are not quite the same as we
were when we started. Ours is a journey of discovery, and through discovery, we hope to become
more appreciative of the experience of being human in the universe.
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